Apple has been making last-minute changes to its App Store and iBookstore leading up to the April 3 launch of the iPad, according to a new report.

Citing data from San Francisco mobile media research firm Busted Loop, Forbes reported Thursday that Apple has designated 20 categories for books on its iBookstore, which will be available for download on the iPad. That number has been whittled down from about 35 categories that were listed in February. Read more…

A new corporate job listing implies Apple’s iPhone OS could become the interface for new hardware beyond the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the future.

Last week, Apple revealed it is looking to hire an engineering manager to work at its corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The full-time job would lead a team responsible for the architecture, firmware, core drivers and bring-up of new hardware based on the iPhone OS.

“The Core Platform team within Apple’s Core OS organization is looking for a talented and inspired manager to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS on new platforms,” the job listing reads.
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Apple’s retail “experts” — a new position that will serve as a roaming counterpart to existing “geniuses” at brick-and-mortar locations — are expected to debut in stores in a matter of weeks, people familiar with the matter have told AppleInsider.

Interviewing for the expert position is said to start this week at the company’s retail outlets, and Apple plans to debut the new personnel in about two weeks. Originally, the “expert” title was only available to current Apple Store employees who sought a promotion within the company.

Apple has referred to the experts as “Family Room expertise out in the Red Zone.” The “Family Room” at an Apple Store is known to customers as the Genius Bar. The “Red Zone” equates to the sales floor.
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As Apple and Verizon are rumored to be in negotiations for a summer 2010 CDMA iPhone launch, the nation’s largest wireless carrier and the handset maker are believed to be at odds over pricing.

In a new note to investors Tuesday morning, Maynard J. Um of UBS Investment Research said that a new iPhone is expected to launch in mid-2010. Whether that phone would be available for Verizon’s CDMA network remains to be seen.

“We believe a CDMA-iPhone is also in the works,” Um wrote, “though believe Verizon Wireless and Apple may currently be apart on pricing.”
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Apple plans to release a new “Concierge” application for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow customers to schedule appointments at retail stores, AppleInsider has been told.

According to a source that has proven reliable in the past, the App Store software will allow anyone to view memberships and make appointments for services at retail stores, like the Genius Bar or One to One. No release date or the alleged application was provided.

The information on the potential new iPhone application was corroborated Monday in a separate report from MacRumors.
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OnLive, the Internet-based interactive streaming service hyped as “the future of video games,” is also capable of running on mobile devices such as Apple’s iPhone, the company has claimed.

At the Wedbush financial conference in New York, OnLive CEO Steve Perlman demonstrated his company’s game streaming service simultaneously on two iPhones. Perlman detailed the event on his company’s official blog.
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Apple is looking to hire a game and media software engineer for its iPhone and iPod touch team, perhaps signaling that the company intends to expand its first-party software offerings.

The listing posted this week is noteworthy because Apple has only released four applications on its iPhone App Store since it first launched, and only one of them — Texas Hold’em — is a game. The $4.99 virtual card game was released in 2008.

The advertisement seeks a full-time employee to work at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Apple is looking for a “passionate gamer” with 3 to 4 years of video game development experience. The person would help design and implement “interactive multimedia experiences” on the iPhone and iPod touch. Only candidates who have shipped “at least one AAA title” are asked to apply.
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Any lingering hopes of new last-minute holiday hardware from Apple have been cast in doubt, as the Mac maker has reportedly confirmed that its holiday 2009 lineup is “set.”

In a recent conversation with Gizmodo, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, reportedly said that Apple will not introduce any more new products this year. The report was issued to quash recent rumors of even more hardware updates portrayed as potentially imminent.

After the story initially ran, Apple’s public relations contacted to clarify with an official statement: “The holiday lineup is set.” No further explanation was given. Read more…

Extra-hot venti with whip white chocolate mocha?

Yeah, there’s an app for that.

Starbucks has introduced two new applications for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow users to order and pay for coffee beverages directly from the device.

The myStarbucks application allows you to customize your favorite drink, remember friends’ or coworkers’ preferred drinks and locate nearby Starbucks stores to order them. The app allows you to share your concoction with others (hey, intern!).

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Hours after Google’s letter to the FCC was published in its entirety, Apple has directly responded to the claim that it has formally rejected the Google Voice application from the iPhone App Store.

In a note to Silicon Valley Insider, an Apple representative Friday reiterated what the company said in its own letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in August: That it has not rejected the application, but it has not accepted it either.

“We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter,” the Apple rep reportedly said. “Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application Read more…