It's bound to happen: iTunes is now the largest music retailer in the US, knocking Wal-Mart off from the coveted pedestal. Coupled with the immense popularity of Apple's iPod portable digital music and even the iPhone, you can bet that we'll see more of iTunes for more years to come.

With the popularity of Apple's iPod product line, it's no wonder that the online music and video store, iTunes, would rank as the second largest music retailer, next only to Wal-mart. The sales count provided by the NPD Group also revealed another interesting fact: about a million music consumers in the U.S. stopped buying audio CDs. This and more in the full article.

Rumors sparked a couple of days ago that Apple might be releasing the next-generation of iPods that will sport a new split-screen interface and other new features. Apple is currently not denying nor confirming anything but this latest development might be telling all of us something.

Reportedly, various online retail chains have slashed more than US$ 20 off on 30GB or 80GB iPods (the ones with video). These stores include Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, and J&R online stores. Target and Wal-Mart, on the other hand, are not part of this surprise price cut.

This, when you really think about it, could imply that Apple is already on its way to clearing away excess stocks to make way for the new ones. It is also possible that it's just what it is - a price cut - and nothing more. We guess we all just have to wait for August 7 as nameless sources have claimed that an announcement will be made by then.

A report from AppleInsider indicates that Target, another major retail chain aside from Wal-Mart and Circuit City, is expected to pick up their own stock of the Apple's new entertainment showcase product, the Apple TV.

Best Buy finalized a deal with Apple to shelf the Apple TV in their stores last month, and Target will now become the next retail to have Apple TV on sale and on display.

Of course, the new stock is not yet expected to fill Target retail warehouses. Reports have come in stating that Target should be allowed one month in order to carry a full stock quota of the product in selected retail outlets nationwide. They are also planning on setting up eye-catching demonstration booths in some select outlets in order to introduce the new product to the public.

A representative from Target declined to comment on this report, after conferring with Target's "internal partners." The TiVo contender is a current top seller at all Apple chains nationwide, but is still up against a lot of competition from Microsoft and TiVo. It's ability to be modded for gaming and mobile use is an added edge for the product, however.

More studios have lined up behind Disney, Lionsgate, and Paramount Pictures to support the continuously growing library of downloadable content on the iTunes Store. If you go online now and check what's new, you'll find a list of movies from both MGM Studios and United Artists.

It turns out that both studios have now also signed a deal with Apple, and while United Artist only has one movie available for now ("Ronin"), MGM has quite a bulky selection:

• Mad Max
• Rocky
• Dances with Wolves
• Robocop
• The Thomas Crown Affair
• Bulletproof Monk
• Pieces of April

Isn't it strange that these movies seem to be remnants of an era long gone some 20 years now? Well, maybe this is the trend that some movie studios would take, especially since establishments like Wal-mart seem to feel threatened by the downloadable movie market. So, instead of releasing new movies that retailers sell regularly, MGM's got their list of movies that don't quite sell as hot anymore but are still deemed as classics.

We all know by now that Cingular would be the exclusive iPhone distributor in the U.S.A. What we didn't know is that Verizon could have secured the sweet deal if certain kinks were ironed out. USA Today reported that the number two U.S. cellphone carrier passed up on the chance to be the exclusive iPhone distributor roughly two years ago.

The reason for it? It's not because they think the iPhone is ugly, its just that Apple's financial terms and demands didn't sit well with the Verizon folks.

Apparently, Apple wanted to rake in a percentage of the monthly iPhone fees. They also wanted to have a hand on how and where the priced thingamajig would be sold, also they would want control of the relationship with iPhone customers. Verizon's VP, Jim Gerace had this to say about that:

We said no. We have nothing bad to say about the Apple iPhone. We just couldn't reach a deal that was mutually beneficial.

What would happen is that Apple and Verizon stores would sell the iPhone but other Verizon distributors like Wal-Mart and Best Buy would have been left out to witter in the cold.

So when Verizon said no, Cingular was there to accept the deal with open arms. So far, the only thing that Cingular said about this scenario was that it's a win-win situation for both parties concern. However, Cingular wouldn't say if their distributors (RadioShack and Wal-Mart) would also be able to sell the iPhone come its launch in June and they also wouldn't divulge anything about their customer care plans.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The action in this context would be the launch of the iTunes Movies, while the opposite reaction would be the retail stores' rejection of this concept.

Wal-Mart and Target have been crying foul over movie downloads appearing in the iTunes online store. According to them, this will open a whole new can of worms to the movie industry, especially if other studios join Disney in offering their movie downloads through iTunes.

Michael, over at Apple Gazette, thinks that it's not really the plight of the movie industry these retail stores are worried about, but more of their own. Apparently, they find this downloading technology to be a threat to their business. And why not? The iPod industry most certainly is a force to be reckoned with, given its broad market.

But is the iTunes Movies really a threat on Retail DVDs? Michael weighs the pros and cons.

Comparing the features of iTunes Movie and Retail DVD, it shows that the Retail DVD still has a much bigger edge than the downloadable counterpart. It has a higher video resolution, is compatible with widescreen presentation, and can be played in any DVD player in your home or car or DVD drive. Plus, there are special features included on most titles, while the iTunes Movie doesn't.

Apart from the accessibility of the products, where the iTunes Movie surges ahead since you can download and watch it almost instantly on your gadget without having to drive to the store and purchase, the only other thing that makes the downloadable movies a prettier option is the price. For US$ 12.95 to US$ 14.95, you can already download new releases. For the retail DVD, you'd need almost US$ 20 just so you can enjoy most new releases. But other than that, there certainly are no tell-tale signs as of yet of the retail DVD's apocalypse.

But beyond these considerations, really now, exactly how enjoyable would it be to watch a full-length movie on a 3-inch screen? Not so much, especially when you know you can watch the same thing, with much better quality, on your widescreen. So basically, for now, while the thought of being able to access movies on your iPod gives you that pizazz, it just doesn't seem attractively practical.

So, at the end of the day, should the retail DVD be threatened by iTunes Movies? The concern is understandable, but with all the foregoing analysis, the answer would have to be a no. Unless, of course, you think otherwise.

Wal-Mart says it wants to play nice with others. According to the New York Post, Wal-Mart warned Hollywood movie studios that it would fight against distribution of movies on iTunes, worried that Wal-Mart DVD sales would decline as a result. Earlier this year, an insider suggested that many of the "big box" stores, including Wal-Mart, had expressed deep concern when Disney started selling TV shows on iTunes.

Wal-Mart, however, says otherwise. They submitted a recent report saying that they were not trying to stop movie studios from using other forms of distribution, such as Apple iTunes. According to an insider who wished not to be identified, Wal-Mart has discovered that the demographics differ on consumers who download movies--typically single young males--versus buyers of DVDs, and as a result now see no threat to their in-store DVD sales.

Downloads of movies from iTunes has produced $1 million in revenue in their first week of sales, according to Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger. iTunes, according to Iger, has not lowered TV viewership or DVD retail sales.

If iTunes has the potential to kill off Blu-Ray and HD-DVD - and even DVD as well, then it probably explains why Wal-Mart is worried. Worried enough to - according to some sources - threaten any Hollywood player that decides iTunes is the wave of the future.

Well, the story that appeared in the New York Post says that Wal-Mart CD/DVD sales executive David Porter toured Hollywood studios to deliver the message: join iTunes, Wal-Mart buys less of your movies. It wasn't exactly an offer they couldn't refuse - one high-level studio executive says that they "all want to be in the Apple business" - but then Steve Jobs reportedly called Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to ask him to moderate his stance.

Wal-Mart is a power player in Hollywood: it accounts for five billion dollars in Hollywood's DVD revenue. That's a lot of revenue. But then, so's Apple, if Steve Jobs' in the Disney board, and it continues to sell iPods like hotcakes (with iTV to follow).

Clash of the titans? A Wal-Mart spokeswoman announced, "We intend to meet our customer needs whether they choose to purchase movies online or in the store and will continue to work hard with all our partners to do that." They're hedging their bets?

(True to journalistic form, all the sources for the New York Post's article remain unidentified).

It's old news that the people at iTunes have been thinking about making movies into another staple of iTunes goodness. We even mentioned a rumor about the iTunes selling movies to the public.

Well, let's make it official then. According to Business Week, Apple and iTunes are coming out with a movie-selling service, with an official announcement halfway through this month.

Their prices are supposed to be slated at $14.99 for new movies, and $9.99 for older ones. They might even make a new iPod to make the feature even more enticing to consumers, so it sounds like a good sell.

There's only one problem. Wal-Mart is not happy with these developments. As one of the largest sellers of DVDs in America, they stand to take a significant hit in revenue if this spreads, so there seems to be a tug-of-war going on right now to keep Wal-Mart pleased and selling Apple goods while getting iTunes out with a movie-selling function.

Keep checking QJ for more info as we have them.