MacRumors

TechCrunch, which offered some of the earliest specific claims of a late 2010 manufacturing run for the Verizon iPhone, now reports that the fifth-generation iPhone due for release in mid-2011 will utilize a dual-mode chip to provide compatibility with both GSM and CDMA network technologies on a single device. The updated model will not, however, support the 4G LTE standard that several carriers are preparing to roll out.

First things first - the iPhone CDMA model due in January won't support LTE. But here's where it gets really interesting: sources tell me that the iPhone refresh in mid-2011 won't support LTE either. Instead, Apple will produce a dual mode iPhone containing 3G flavors of GSM and CDMA, which operates on all carriers worldwide. If this holds true, Apple won't support the LTE standard until some time in 2012.

The report goes on to note that Apple may be reluctant to offer 4G compatibility until some of the technological bugs have been worked out and deployment schedules allow the service to be extended to cover larger portions of the population.

Apple simply doesn't want to be the guinea pig on new LTE networks that aren't ready for primetime, and Steve Jobs knows not to trust the hype that's spewed by the carriers on 4G. The truth is that 3G networks have many more years of life, and the transition to LTE will be much slower than the carriers want you to believe (LTE doesn't even have its voice standard fleshed out yet).

A somewhat-delayed entry into the field of 4G devices would not be a new tactic for Apple, as the company similarly elected to offer the original iPhone as an EDGE-only device in 2007, despite the fact that 3G networks were already prevalent in many of its top markets.

Back in May, Wal-Mart announced that it was expecting to begin offering the iPad for sale in its U.S. retail stores "later this year", and with the holiday shopping season rapidly approaching and rival Target launching the device in over 1700 stores around the United States just this past weekend, speculation has centered around when Wal-Mart might follow suit.

In a potential answer to that speculation, we've received word that Wal-Mart sent an email to its store managers today outlining the iPad models and related accessories that should be making their way to store shelves in the near future. According to this partial photo of the alleged email sent to us, Wal-Mart plans to offer all six models of the iPad, with initial stock of just five units per model for this location. In addition, a number of standard accessories, as well as AppleCare, will be also be offered.

Wal-Mart currently offers over 2,800 "Supercenter" stores around the U.S. along with an additional 750 somewhat-smaller discount stores, presenting a significant opportunity for Apple to expand the iPad's distribution network should the device be carried in all of the chain's stores.

Update: We've received another photo of a portion of the notice, which reveals that Wal-Mart will be rolling out iPad availability beginning next week to 1,000 stores by the end of October, with more stores being added in early November. We've been told that Wal-Mart's plans call for a total of 800 stores to be added in November.

Store displays will include a live demo unit inside a case that will include a looping video presentation of the device's features.

Update 2: And we've now received a photo of the iPad already on the shelves at a Wal-Mart in Denver, Colorado:

The New York Times adds their confirmation that Apple is planning to launch a Verizon iPhone early next year.

After more than three years of using only AT&T cellphone networks, Apple is now making a version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon's network, according to a person who is in direct contact with Apple. Apple and Verizon will begin selling the phone early next year, said the person, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because the plans were supposed to be confidential and he did not want to alienate his contacts at Apple.

The report comes just days after the Wall Street Journal similarly reported that Apple was going to ramp up production of a Verizon iPhone later this year for an early 2011 launch.

This is not the first time that we've seen rumors for a Verizon iPhone, though the combination of sources from both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal adds to the credibility of this round of rumors. Interesting to note is that Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg will be keynoting the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show on January 6th, 2011.

In a commentary on the latest rumors of Apple planning to release a 7-inch iPad model early next year, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple notes that such a device has existed in Apple's labs for quite some time, having been developed alongside the 9.7-inch model that became the original release of the iPad.

The fact is, Apple already has a 7-inch iPad. They have had one of the smaller devices since they started making the 9.7-inch iPad that we have now.

To be clearer, the two devices were developed at the same time. They have pretty much the same specs, except, of course, the 9.7-inch model has a higher density screen than its smaller counterpart.

Apple's tablet plans date back many years, even preceding those for the iPhone, which itself evolved from the early tablet concepts. Consequently, it should not be a surprise that Apple has been toying with various sizes and form factors over the years. Last year, it was reported that Apple had investigated a range of screen sizes for its tablet projects over the previous several years, ranging from 4 inches up to as much as 12 inches and including a 7-inch version.

For whatever reason, Apple decided to launch with the 9.7-inch iPad we see today, but it appears that the company has been ready to release a 7-inch version on relatively short notice for some time. With a number of other companies gearing up to launch 7-inch tablets over the coming months, observers are naturally speculating about whether Apple plans to match that size with its own offering. But as Dalrymple notes, Apple may not even feel that it needs to release the smaller model in the face of the coming competition.

With other companies releasing their 7-inch tablets, you may wonder why Apple doesn't push its device out the door. I think the answer to that is quite simple - they don't have to release it.

The iPad is the one of the best selling devices in history. Why would Apple need to release a smaller version to compete in a market it owns. It doesn't.

With a smaller model almost certain to command a lower sales price, Apple may be hesitating to release the 7-inch iPad as customers continue to snap up the current iPad nearly as fast as the company can stock them. Consequently, observers will have to wait for additional information to come to light to see if and when Apple begins to move forward on production of the smaller iPad or if it continues to sit on the design while undoubtedly refining it in its labs as technology advances.

As noted by M.I.C. gadget, Apple has once again tightened requirements for iPhone 4 purchases in its Chinese retail stores, now requiring that customers make reservations before visiting their stores to purchase the device. The change comes amid shortages of the iPhone 4 that have been accompanied by scalpers scooping up a significant portion of the available supply.

Here's how the new restrictions work: a customer needs to reserve an iPhone 4 online, choose the nearest retail store to pick up, and then Apple China offers the date and time for you to pick up. An email will be sent to customers after the reservation is successfully made. When a customer is picking up the iPhone 4 at the retail store, the name on the reservation must match the name on his/her ID exactly. Shoppers are reminded that they may purchase only one iPhone 4 each day.

Apple deployed the one-per-person limit and ID requirement last week in order to address the scalping issue, but has apparently felt the need to go further in requiring reservations to limit the number of walk-in customers attempting to get their hands on the popular device.

As confirmed by Macworld, Apple's Chinese retail stores are taking only a limited number of reservations per day, corresponding to the stock on hand at each location. Stocks at all four retail stores were sold out by late morning today, indicating that customers may now find themselves competing online for reservation spots until the supply crunch is alleviated.

Just as Apple has been reported to be seeking to block streaming music firm Spotify from entering the United States, The New York Post claims that the company is negotiating with music labels to offer a subscription-based music service. A subscription service would offer users unlimited access to music for a monthly fee, as opposed of the pay-per-track model the iTunes Store has utilized since its inception.

Apple iTunes boss Eddy Cue was on the phone with music honchos as recently as a few weeks ago trying to figure out how the partners can move forward.

One source said the service could have tiered pricing ranging from $10 to $15, although there are issues to be ironed out, including how much music would be included in each tier and how long consumers would be able to access that content.

According to the report, music labels appear to be receptive to the idea, hoping that the offering would re-energize the stagnating digital music segment.

While rumors of a subscription service have floated around since the iTunes Store's launch, Apple has consistently taken the position that it has no plans to offer such a model because consumers have not expressed much interest it, although the company has never ruled out the possibility of changing of its mind.

Apple has also been rumored for some time to be talking with record labels about offering a cloud-based service that would permit users to store their purchased iTunes content on Apple's servers and stream it to a variety of Internet-connected devices, although the company has been said to be scaling back its near-term plans for that offering. With the proliferation of iOS-based mobile devices from Apple, customers appear to be increasingly interested in cloud-based services as an alternative to manually syncing content across their devices.

CNET reports that popular Swedish music streaming service Spotify, which is struggling to line up deals to allow it to launch its free service in the United States, is being targeted by Apple in an attempt to keep music labels from signing on with Spotify. Apple is reportedly arguing to the labels that Spotify's free service would undermine the existing digital music business in the U.S., an industry that is dominated by Apple's iTunes Store.

In meetings in Los Angeles recently, Apple executives told their music industry counterparts that they had serious doubts about whether Spotify's business model could ever generate significant revenues or profits, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

But Apple executives worried about the effects of a free music service might have on the rest of the market. They noted that it's tough to sell something that someone else is giving away, the sources said. One industry insider said it is only logical that if Spotify were allowed to launch a free-music service here, at a time when Nielsen recently reported that the growth of digital sales has flattened out, it could eat into the businesses of proven revenue-producers like Apple and Amazon.

Spotify has already missed two target dates for launching its service in the U.S., and reportedly has yet to reach agreements with any major U.S. labels as it seeks to meet yet another launch target set for the end of the year.

Spotify is only available in seven European countries at the moment, including the UK, France, and Spain, but its expansion to the U.S. has been highly-anticipated for quite some time. The company released an iPhone application last year to allow users to stream music via Wi-Fi or 3G, although the application is obviously only available in countries where the service is offered.

ifoAppleStore reports that a new Apple retail store currently under construction in the St. Louis Galleria may offer a unique feature: a mall kiosk in front of the store serving as a Wi-Fi lounge and check-in area for Genius Bar appointments. Apple will reportedly take advantage of a permanent kiosk being vacated by Starbucks directly in front of the new store's location to offer the feature, a first for the company.

According to mall observers, Starbucks is soon moving its coffee sales operation to the second floor, outside the entrance to the Nordstrom store that opens in September 2011. Apple will then reportedly occupy the 592 square-feet permanent kiosk as a Genius Bar check-in space, Wi-Fi lounge and/or training space.

The new Apple retail store, which will reportedly be the largest mall-based store in the company's chain, is replacing a much smaller mini-store currently in the mall which registers as one of Apple's best-performing locations.

The report notes that Microsoft has employed a similar "lounge" concept in front of its retail store in Mission Viejo, California.

Apple today released a pair of firmware updates for 2007 and 2008 models of the MacBook and MacBook Pro, addressing an issue with the machines not charging properly when used with the new "L-shaped" MagSafe power adapters.

This firmware update addresses an issue with certain MacBook and MacBook Pro models from 2007-2008 that prevents them from charging with new power adapters.

According to a support document on the issue, the following models are affected:

- MacBook (13-inch Late 2007)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008)
- MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
- MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)

Apple initially used the "L-shaped" MagSafe adapter for the MacBook Air, as its slimmer profile and cord orientation enabled the connector to fit the notebook's form factor without hindering its ability to rest on flat surfaces. With numerous complaints from customers regarding fraying and overheating issues with the original "straight-style" design used since MagSafe's introduction, Apple has now transitioned to the L-shaped MagSafe design for all of its notebook models and standalone adapters.

The New York Times reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other executives recently held a secret meeting with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to discuss a number of topics, including how the two companies might work together to take on Apple in the mobile industry, as well as a possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft.

Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, recently showed up with a small entourage of deputies at Adobe's corporate offices in San Francisco to hold a secret meeting with Adobe's chief executive, Shantanu Narayen.

The meeting, which lasted over an hour, covered a number of topics, but one of the main thrusts of the discussion was Apple and its control of the mobile phone market and how the two companies could partner in the battle against Apple. A possible acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft were among the options.

One source indicates that representatives of the two companies discussed Apple's refusal to support the viewing of Flash content on its mobile devices and how a partnership between the companies might offer them additional leverage against Apple's gains in the sector.

A second source reveals that executives revisited the possibility of an acquisition of Adobe by Microsoft, a proposal that was briefly floated several years ago before being abandoned over fears that the merger would not pass muster under antitrust regulations. With the growth of Apple and Google, however, those concerns may be less now than they were at the time of the initial discussions.

Adobe's stock is currently up over 10% on the rumors of a Microsoft acquisition.

gdgt reports that Apple is currently investigating an issue with the way third-party "slide-on" cases for the iPhone 4 can interact with the iPhone 4's glass back, trapping dirt and other material between the two layers and causing scratching that can lead to cracking or shattering of the device's glass.

According to my sources both inside and outside Apple, after Antennagate the iPhone engineering team identified another potential design flaw that appears to have sent them into a quiet lockdown, and has them working behind the scenes in what's been described to me as something of a quiet panic to preempt any further tarnishing the iPhone brand. Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases -- specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case -- can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass.

According to the report, Apple has put together a lab and a team to conduct testing on the issue in order to determine how widespread it might be and how it could be mitigated.

The report also notes that Apple has until this week blocked sales of nearly all third-party cases from its retail stores, although it seems reasonable that Apple may simply have been limiting such sales while it was giving away free bumpers to customers as part of its efforts to address the antenna performance issue.

Last month Firaxis Games/2K Games launched Civilization V for Windows to strongly positive reviews.

In Civilization V, the player leads a civilization from prehistoric times into the future on a procedurally-generated map, achieving one of a number of different victory conditions through research, diplomacy, expansion, economic development, government and military conquest.

Civilization has been an incredibly popular game franchise that dates all the way back to 1991. As of 2008, the franchise has been said to have sold over 8 million copies.

We've received reliable word that Civilization V for the Mac is due very soon -- likely in the coming weeks. Up until now, Mac gamers have been left wondering if and when we'd be getting a version of Civilization V for ourselves. Civilization IV, for example, had made its way to the Mac platform but not for nearly a year after the original PC release. It seems the Mac is finally starting to achieve some improved parity with major gaming releases.

Mission Repair has posted a photo showing an iPad back-enclosure that has two dock connectors -- one on the landscape side and one on the portrait side.

Ask and you shall receive: Heres a shot of an iPad back case showing the dock connectors both on the bottom of the iPad (as were used to) and on the side of the iPad so you can dock it in landscape mode. Just as we hoped.

The current iPad model only has a dock connector on the portrait (narrow) side. Apple has had patents describing this configuration and early rumors that described this design for the original iPad.

Mission Repair believes this could represent the next iPad. However, we've heard that this design was for the original iPad and subsequently scrapped. We suspect this is an old hardware prototype for the original iPad, as the next iPad has been said to take on a thinner form factor.

Apple is scheduled to announce earnings results for its just-ended fourth fiscal quarter of 2010 on October 18th, and one of the big questions is just how many iPhones the company was able to sell during the three-month period. Apple's highest quarterly iPhone sales to-date came in the quarter ending in March of this year, with 8.8 million iPhones sold. The company's iPhone sales dipped slightly to 8.4 million in the June quarter as a successful iPhone 4 launch in the waning days of the quarter wasn't quite able to offset lagging sales over the majority of the quarter as customers held back in anticipation of the new version.

Fortune takes a look at what Wall Street analysts are thinking as far as iPhone sales for the September quarter, finding a broad range of estimates as supply shortages have led to some uncertainty over just how many iPhones Apple has been able to get out to its customers. Analysts are predicting, however, that Apple will see a record-setting quarter for iPhone sales, with estimates ranging from a low of 10 million to a high of over 13 million. The estimates represent anywhere from 35% to 80% year-over-year growth compared to the 7.4 million iPhones sold in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009.

Of all its products, none is more important to Apple's bottom line than its smartphone, which generated $5.4 billion in fiscal Q3 -- 40% of the company's total revenue. The iPhone 4, launched three days before the end of that quarter, has been in short supply ever since, making it trickier than usual for analysts trying to estimate sales in advance of Apple's quarterly earnings report.

Averaging analysts' estimates to arrive at a consensus number for the quarter, Apple may be looking at approximately 11.8 million iPhones sold, an increase of 60% year-over-year.

Fortune conducted a similar analysis of iPad sales estimates earlier this week, placing consensus estimates at about 5 million for the quarter, on top of the 3.27 million iPads sold in the launch quarter earlier this year.

Forbes reports on a research note from Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White, who reveals that he has spoken with a component supplier for Apple's iPad who claims that Apple appears to be poised to ship 45 million iPads next year after moving in excess of 16 million units this year. The predictions exceed even the rosiest expectations published to date and come on top of a report earlier this week predicting the iPad to represent the fourth-largest consumer electronics category in the United States next year behind TVs, smartphones, and notebook computers.

The contact, says White, shipped more than 6 million parts to Apple during the third quarter of the year and expects to ship 7 million more in the fourth quarter.

Since Apple uses one unit of this particular component in each iPad, that adds up to shipments of 13 million iPads in the second half of 2010. For 2011, the contact believes Apple will sell as many as 45 million iPads, adds White.

The supplier's report of 13 million iPads for the second half of 2010 comes on top of Apple's announced sales of over 3 million iPads for the launch quarter earlier this year.

White follows on the recent theme of predicting a smaller iPad, but also offers additional details about the specs he believes will make an appearance in the smaller model.

As others have already speculated, White's contact says the second-generation iPad will be smaller, with a screen that measures about seven inches, compared to the first iPad's 9.7-inch screen. The new iPad will also include the high-resolution "Retina" display that the latest version of the iPhone (4) boasts, a micro or mini USB port, a camera and greater capacity of up to 128 gigabytes. The amount of storage in the current generation of iPads tops out at 64 gigabytes.

We believe these listed specs to be rather optimistic, however, given Apple's desire to keep iPad prices relatively low. In particular, a 7-inch high-resolution Retina display would appear to be a challenge for Apple, both in implementation and in pricing. High-resolution displays in dimensions approaching that size are just beginning to appear, but pricing for the new products is unknown and are likely to be rather high for a company that will almost certainly have to bring a 7-inch iPad in at a starting price under the $499 entry-level price for the current iPad.

Apple has once again started offering its iPhone 4 bumpers for sale in its online store following the end of the free case program, which expired September 30th. While the bumpers had quietly reappeared for sale in the company's retail stores as of October 1st, the online store continued to list the bumpers as "currently unavailable" until today.

All six bumper colors are currently available, priced at $29 and available for shipping within 24 hours.