MacRumors

Bloomberg reports that Amazon is preparing to unveil its new 7-inch Android-based tablet, with the "Kindle Fire" device carrying an unexpectedly low price tag of $199. Amazon will be introducing the tablet at its media event set to begin in just a few minutes.

The Kindle Fire will have a 7-inch display and sell for $199, compared with $499 for Apple’s cheapest iPad, Amazon executives said. The device, a souped-up version of the Kindle electronic-book reader, will run on Google Inc.’s Android software, the Seattle-based company said.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is betting he can leverage Amazon’s dominance in e-commerce to pose a real challenge to Apple’s iPad, after tablets from rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Research In Motion Ltd. have fallen short.

Previous rumors had suggested that Amazon would price the Kindle Fire at $249, although sources had hedged in recent days that the device might come in at $299.

The Kindle Fire offers Wi-Fi connectivity and a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, the company's $79/year service that offers streaming video and free two-day shipping on most items purchased through Amazon. The tablet does not offer 3G connectivity, camera, or microphone.

In an extensive profile of Amazon, Bloomberg Businessweek notes that Amazon will be introducing a "crop" of new Kindle devices beginning at $79.

We'll update this post with more information from Amazon's media event.

Updates:

- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has shown off three new Kindle models, starting with a new touch-capable version known as the Kindle Touch and priced at $99. A 3G-capable version with lifetime 3G service in over 100 countries is priced at $149. Finally, Bezos has shown off the low-end $79 Kindle, which forgoes touch input and relies on physical buttons for input.

- Bezos introducing the Kindle Fire: 7-inch IPS display, dual-core processor, 14.6 ounces. Hub for integrating Amazon Kindle, Prime, Instant Video, MP3, Appstore, and Web Services offerings on a single platform. All content is backed up to the cloud...wireless and in the background. Whispersync now works for books, movies, and TV shows, allowing users to pick up where they left off when they switch devices.

- "Amazon Silk" web browser. Rendering performed in the cloud and delivered to Kindle Fire...greatly improves speed of mobile web browsing. "Dynamic Split Browsing" allows a device to render content locally or in the cloud, intelligently offloading tasks to the cloud to optimize performance.

- The Kindle Fire begins shipping on November 15th, with pre-orders starting today.

- Amazon's Kindle pages are now live, revealing that pricing for traditional Kindles is for ad-supported "Special Offers" models. Pricing without Special Offers is as follows: $109 for Kindle, $139 for Kindle Touch, and $189 for Kindle Touch 3G. The Kindle Fire is only offered at the $199 price, with no Special Offers discounted version available.

Just as Apple is apparently planning to bring the iTunes Music Store to ten more European countries, the company also seems to be rolling out access to iTunes movie sales and rentals in a number of European countries where it already offers music content.

Reports of the new movie offerings began coming in from MacRumors readers late yesterday, with Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden so far having been cited as adding the new movie content. Apple has not yet added a dedicated movie section to the iTunes Store in these new markets, but content is accessible through the store's search function.

The content expansions appear to be extending even beyond music and movies, with macprime.ch reporting [Google translation] that paid iBookstore content has just begun showing up in the Swiss store. The Swiss iBookstore had previously been limited to free content, primarily from Project Gutenberg.

Update: setteB.IT notes that paid iBookstore content is also showing up in Italy.

Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reports [Google translation] that Apple is set to launch the iTunes Music Store in ten new European Union (EU) countries. While the exact timing of the launch is unknown, sources have indicated that Apple could launch the services "at any time", possibly as soon as next month.

The report names Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as countries set to receive new iTunes Music Stores, but the additional seven countries are not specified. Of the 27 European Union member states, twelve currently do not offer iTunes Music Store services: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Speculation suggests that Cyprus and Malta could be the two EU countries left out of the launch, due in part to geographic isolation and their status as the two countries having the smallest populations among those currently without music stores.

The iTunes Music Store is currently available in nearly two dozen countries, making an increase of ten countries a substantial addition to Apple's offerings, although only Poland (38 million) and Romania (22 million) out of the candidate countries have populations substantially above 10 million. Apple's App Store is active in many dozens of countries around the world, including all 27 member states of the EU, but access to the music portion of the iTunes Store is considerably more limited at the present time due to the difficulties of licensing content in each market.

Update: Reports are now coming from at least the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, and Slovenia indicating that iTunes Store users in those countries are being presented with updated Terms and Conditions documents that refer to music, music video, movie, and TV show content.

TUAW claims that Apple may be planning on discontinuing the iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle devices this year.

It seems that the "product transition" Apple mentioned on the last earnings call could very well be within the iPod line. Specifically, if you want to buy an iPod shuffle or iPod classic from Apple, you should do it sooner rather than later. We've heard those two iPods are getting the axe this year.

They go on to say that they see "few changes" coming for the iPod touch, except for a white model. That portion of the report mirrors our own from last week, which detailed the introduction of a white iPod Touch model, but little else in the way of changes. The iPod nano appears to be safe for the time being and may see a minor improvement as well next week.

The iPod as a product line has been making up a smaller and smaller percentage of Apple's revenue over the past few years with the growth of the iPhone. Apple does not break out the iPod touch out of those sales, but the touch likely represents a large portion of the remaining iPod sales. The last official word about the iPod Classic came from Steve Jobs over a year ago, in which he said in an email that they had no plans on discontinuing the iPod Classic at that time. Now, a year later, it may be coming, if TUAW's source is to be believed.

With Sprint set to join AT&T and Verizon in offering the iPhone in the United States, T-Mobile appears to be the last of the four major carriers that will be without the device. While a few rumors had allowed those looking for an iPhone on T-Mobile to hold out hope, an internal news posting revealed that the carrier's Chief Marketing Office Cole Brodman had confirmed at a company town hall meeting that T-Mobile USA would not be offering the iPhone 5 this year.

Brodman has now followed up with an open letter to T-Mobile customers, thanking them for their loyalty and making clear that the carrier is interested in carrying the iPhone.

We’ve heard from many customers who love their T-Mobile service, but are disappointed that we don’t carry the iPhone. To these customers, first, thank you for your business. Please know that we think the iPhone is a great device and Apple knows that we’d like to add it to our line-up. Today, there are over a million T-Mobile customers using unlocked iPhones on our network. We are interested in offering all of our customers a no-compromise iPhone experience on our network.

Brodman offers no additional details on the state of negotiations between T-Mobile USA and Apple, instead promoting the company's latest Android handsets and positioning them as able to "rival or beat" any other smartphone on the market, "including the iPhone."

AT&T is in the process of trying to acquire T-Mobile USA, although it has run into opposition from the U.S. government and rival carriers. Regardless, AT&T has indicated that T-Mobile USA would be operated independently from AT&T for some time after the completion of the merger, so it is unclear how quickly T-Mobile might be able to gain the iPhone even under that scenario.

M.I.C gadget reports that it has heard from a small iPhone accessory shop in Shenzhen, China that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn had lost a prototype of Apple's redesigned iPhone 5 carrying the tapered teardrop form factor seen in a number of case designs over the past few months.

While the sourcing on the report is certainly questionable, the detailed account is an interesting read and it would not be the first time that a mobile phone accessory vendor has been involved in leaked iPhone prototypes.

The missing prototype is said to have been enclosed in a case to disguise it as a current-generation iPhone 4–which brings to mind the iPhone 4 prototype acquired by Gizmodo that was camouflaged as an iPhone 3GS. How Apple achieved that with the iPhone 5 supposedly wider and longer than the current iPhone 4 is a point to ponder.

It is said to be a test model with a finalized iPhone 5 chassis featuring the tear-drop design. However, the interesting thing about it is that it apparently houses what we assume to be slightly modified iPhone 4 electronics with components such as the A4 chip and even the same amount of memory.

The report goes on to note that an outside party had paid a Foxconn employee to deliver the prototype device, which was reportedly then sold to a case manufacturer for approximately $3,100.

It is unclear when the alleged loss of the prototype occurred, although reports of the tapered design extend back to least April and a design document showing the form factor appeared by late July. Since that time, numerous case manufacturers have released cases for the new form factor, but actual evidence of the device in the form of parts leaks has yet to surface.

Not all Apple prototypes make it into production, with the 2009 iPod touch with camera being a notable example of a design that made it quite far through the prototyping process before Apple decided to remove the camera. There has been considerable debate about whether Apple will be launching this redesigned teardrop form factor for the iPhone, as evidence from leaked parts has so far only shown an "iPhone 4S" design based on the iPhone 4.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber hints in his link to news of the media event invitations that there may in fact be only one new device introduced next week, which would presumably be the more conservative iPhone 4S design.

Something tells me there’s only one new iPhone.

The comment is far from confirmation, but Gruber has in the past offered accurate information on Apple's plans and has on occasion coyly hinted at such knowledge in his comments.

BGR reports that AT&T has issued a blackout on retail store employee vacations for the first two weeks of October, apparently in anticipation of the launch of the iPhone 4S and/or iPhone 5.

With reports circling that Apple’s next iPhone is due to launch on October 14th, BGR has received new information from a trusted AT&T source that seems to confirm a mid-October launch. AT&T has started to block all employee vacation requests for the first two weeks of October in order to have “all hands on deck.” Our source clarified that the dates are the first two works weeks starting on Monday, October 3rd and ending on Friday, October 14th.

The source notes that previous blackouts have sometimes been extended after their initial announcements, suggesting that AT&T could push the blackout into the following week to handle heavy traffic in the days after a potential October 14th debut.

Apple has reportedly blacked out vacations for its retail employees for October 9th through 12th and 14th through 15th. Sprint, which is expected to begin offering the iPhone for the first time, has also blacked out vacations for the first two weeks of October.

BGR's AT&T source also indicates that the carrier has added six new placeholder listings for "new products" in its internal database. The new listings are not specifically linked to Apple, but handsets from other manufacturers generally appear under their actual names. The six new listings could refer to black and white versions of three different iPhone handsets, potentially two different capacities of the iPhone 4S or 5 and a single, lower-capacity iPhone 4/4S. The listings may not, however, be based on direct information from Apple and may simply be a best-guess effort for placeholder purposes.

Confirming earlier reports, Apple today issued media invitations for a special iPhone event to be held next Tuesday, October 4th at the company's Town Hall auditorium at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.

As noted by The Loop, invitations for the event carry the tagline "Let's talk iPhone" and depict iOS icons for Calendar, Clock, Maps, and Phone.

Apple is of course widely expected to introduce its next-generation hardware (whether it be iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, or both) at the event, and is expected to also be including a minor update to its iPod line. iOS 5 and iCloud are also expected to be topics of discussion at the event, while other reports have indicated that Facebook may launch its iPad app at the event.

Japanese site Mac Otakara reports that Apple may be preparing to launch the iPhone 5 (or 4S or both) on October 14th in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.

The report cites earlier comments from France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard regarding an October 15th launch for the device on that carrier and reports of Apple retail store employee vacation blackouts for October 14th and 15th, but seems to have its own independent information regarding an October 14th launch.

Apple is reportedly holding a media event next Tuesday, October 4th to introduce the new iPhone, and an October 14th launch for the device would be in line with Apple's usual interval between announcement and availability and would line up most closely with previous rumors of a mid-October launch.

Mac Otakara has occasionally offered accurate information in the past, although several of its claims also failed to come true. Back in August, the site claimed that the iPhone 4S and iPad 3 would debut at a media event in early October with availability set for late October. iPad 3 rumors had been swirling at the time, but were later discounted as reported indicated that Apple will be pushing the iPad 3 with Retina display back to an early 2012 introduction.

Update: The Next Web is also hearing word of an October 14th launch date, with iOS 5 perhaps appearing for current hardware on October 12th. Previous reports have suggested that iOS 5 could debut on October 10th.

While Apple has received considerable publicity for its push to open dozens of new retail stores over the last three months, the company has also been renovating a number of its stores to bring them up to the latest designs. Most of these straightforward renovations result in the stores being closed for about a week, during which time they are boarded up with Apple's standard black construction barriers and posted with notices directing customers to either the closest alternative store location or to Apple's website for information on locations.

Among the locations currently under renovation in the lead-up to the iPhone launch:

- Chestnut Street (San Francisco, California): Closed September 26th through October 4th. 9to5Mac posted a photo yesterday showing the closed location with an AT&T worker and his van directly in front of the store.

- University Village (Seattle, Washington): Closed September 26th through October 6th. GeekWire posted the details on the renovation, which include new display counters, Genius Bar, and other fixtures. Planning documents show Apple moving from a layout three product display tables wide to one using four narrower tables across the width of the store. The report also notes that Microsoft will be opening its own retail store directly across a small parking lot from Apple's store on October 20th, giving Apple additional incentive to spruce up the location.

- Walnut Creek (Walnut Creek, California): Closed September 26th through October 3rd. The location opened in 2003, but was remodeled back in August 2009.

At least two other stores, Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona and Sagemore in Marlton, New Jersey, were closed for renovations last week and have since reopened for business.

Update: Apple's Legacy Place store in Dedham, Massachusetts is also closed September 26th through 30th.

Some readers have noted that all of the closures are for stores open to the street and not in enclosed malls and shopping centers. Consequently, the closures may be related to the installation of new security grating to help deter smash-and-grab robberies that have become increasingly common at Apple's street-facing stores. With the exception of the University Village store in Seattle, it is unclear if there are additional renovations being performed at the stores.