MacRumors

Coming after our report late last week on Wal-Mart's preparations to begin offering the iPad for sale in the retail giant's stores, The Wall Street Journal has now confirmed (subscription required) the company's plans for an official launch on Friday. As we previously noted, however, some stores are already seeing iPads put on display and stock set out for sale.

The Bentonville, Ark., retail giant said that what it lacked in timeliness it will make up for in sales heft. It vowed to slowly ramp up the number of U.S. stores carrying the iPad to more than 2,300 by the height of the holiday season in mid-November.

There will also be no Wal-Mart "rollback" price cut on the iPad: The tablets will sell for Apple's suggested retail price, which starts at $499 for the cheapest version with 16 gigabytes of storage and wireless internet access but no 3G mobile connection.

Wal-Mart will also offer online ordering for the iPad, but only for in-store pickup and not for delivery, a policy similar to that employed for other Apple products offered by the retailer.

The iPad will also be featured in an "interactive display" alongside Apple's other products in Wal-Mart stores, serving to draw customers' attention to the device and demonstrate its capabilities.

In a sign of the increasing size of the iPhone app business, early App Store success story Ngmoco is set to be acquired by Japanese social gaming firm DeNA for $400 million.

DeNA, the Japanese social game giant, said Tuesday that it would acquire Ngmoco, a Silicon Valley iPhone game developer, for $400 million - one of the largest deals ever involving an iPhone application developer and another sign that the iPhone is fast becoming the hottest game device on the market.

DeNA's pursuit of Ngmoco comes as the Japanese firm seeks to rapidly expand its existing focus, which includes a dominant mobile social gaming platform in its home country, to an international and cross-platform scale.

Though the company is little known outside Japan, DeNA's projected revenue for this year is already on par with estimates for Facebook. DeNA booked sales of about 48 billion yen, or $575 million. Ms. Namba said it was on track to double that figure this fiscal year to more than $1 billion.

DeNA has purchased or invested in several other U.S. gaming firms in recent months, but the deal for Ngmoco marks by far its largest foray into the market.

Ngmoco was one of the initial recipients of money from the high-profile $100 million iFund venture capital pool offered by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company had some early App Store success with the likes of Topple and Rolando, but has since become more focused on social gaming with such titles as its We Rule/We Farm/We City series.

At a media event today, Microsoft officially unveiled its Windows Phone 7 operating system, along with nine new handsets from a variety of manufacturers that will run the new operating system. Windows Phone 7 saw its first introduction back in February.

"We have a beautiful lineup in this first wave of Windows Phone 7 handsets," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. "Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience - one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a 'glance and go' format."

One of Microsoft's launch carrier partners in the U.S. is AT&T, which has announced three new Windows Phone 7 devices: the HTC Surround, the LG Quantum, and the Samsung Focus. The Focus is set to launch on November 8th, with the other two handsets following suit by the holidays. T-Mobile is planning to launch the HTC HD7 in mid-November, with the Dell Venue Pro also set to ship by the holidays. Verizon and Sprint will begin offering Windows Phone 7 devices in 2011.

Centered around "hubs" that allow users to quickly see a variety of pieces of information related to such topics as People, Music, Photos, and Office, Windows Phone 7 will also accommodate third-party apps such as Twitter, eBay and a library of gaming titles from EA, in addition to apps from smaller developers facilitated by Microsoft's developer program for the platform. In a departure from the icon-focused user interface used by Apple and others, Microsoft has chosen to utilize a flowing interface of flexible "tiles" that can each represent various pieces of information depending on the type of data required to be presented.

As noted by TUAW, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is moving to approve a registered trademark for Apple's much-used advertising tagline for the iPhone and App Store: "There's an app for that."

Apple initially filed for the trademark in four separate classes in December 2009, and was granted initial allowance for the mark in May of this year, although the company was still required to provide evidence of its use in commerce for the registration to become finalized. In August, Apple moved to divide the trademark application into two separate applications of two classes each, and also filed the required "Statement of Use" evidence that it was using the trademark in commerce for one of those divided applications.

Late last week, the USPTO granted Apple's request to divide the application and by Friday the government attorney in charge of Apple's application had signed off on the Statement of Use and authorized the trademark for final registration in the following classes:

035: Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics

042: Maintenance and updating of computer software; providing information concerning computer software via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; providing search engines for obtaining data via communications networks; providing temporary use of computer software and online facilities to enable users to access and download computer software; providing online non-downloadable computer software that generates customized recommendations of software applications based on user preferences

While Apple has used the tagline extensively in its own advertising, the slogan has also been mimicked and parodied by a significant number of outlets, perhaps most notably by Verizon in its "There's a Map For That" ad campaign targeting AT&T's 3G network coverage.

Last week, ZDNet Australia reported that Apple is planning to include in its next iOS software update a fix for an issue related to Daylight Saving Time that is currently plaguing users of the iPhone's alarm functionality in Australia and New Zealand.

The issue, which affects only recurring alarms set through the iPhone's "Clock" application, is resulting in alarms going off one hour earlier than their scheduled times. It first appeared in New Zealand late last month as that country switched to Daylight Saving Time, and reared its head in Australia earlier this month when that country made the switch.

Apple Australia told ZDNet Australia that a solution to the bug was already in the pipeline.

"We're aware of this issue and already developed a fix which will be available to customers in an upcoming software update," Apple said.

It is unclear when Apple plans to deploy the fix, but it seems reasonable to assume that Apple will want to patch the issue as quickly as possible as more countries switch to or from Daylight Saving Time in the coming weeks. Apple has already announced that it will be releasing iOS 4.2 in November, but that timeframe may not be soon enough for this fix, suggesting that an iOS 4.1.1 may make an appearance in the near future.

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.