Apple to Launch Wi-Fi iPad in China on September 17th

Apple today announced that it will begin selling Wi-Fi iPad models in China as of this Friday, September 17th.

Apple today announced that the Wi-Fi models of its magical iPad will be available to customers in China from Apple Retail Stores, and select Apple Authorized Resellers, on Friday, September 17 starting at 10:00 a.m.

Pricing comes in at CNY3988 ($590) for the 16 GB model, CNY4788 ($708) for the 32 GB model and CNY5588 ($827) for the 64 GB model.

There is no word on 3G-capable iPad models, with the delay presumably due to regulatory issues. Current iPhone carrier China Unicom had previously announced that it would offer the iPad, with the assumption being that it was referring to 3G models planned to run on its network.

Supply constraints for the iPad have begun to ease in recent weeks as Apple's efforts to boost production have allowed the company to drop shipping estimates to "within 24 hours" in its current markets for the device. Similar signs of the easing supply crunch can be read in the apparent expansion of retail store sales to include Target early next month. Wal-Mart has also announced that it plans to carry the iPad "later this year", and so it too may be set to come onboard alongside Target.

Update: According to Apple's Latin American site for the iPad, the device will also be launching this Friday in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Apple's Free iPhone 4 Case Program to End September 30th

Apple today announced on its iPhone 4 Case Program page (via The Loop) that it will be discontinuing the program as of the previously-stated September 30th end date. The company is also ending its no-restocking-fee, 30-day return policy for the iPhone 4, returning to its standard return policy that requires a 10% restocking fee on opened merchandise and returns within 14 days of purchase.

Apple is, however, leaving open the possibility of providing cases to customers who demonstrate a distinct problem with antenna issues on their devices. At the company's July press conference to address the issue, Steve Jobs had stated that Apple would re-evaluate the program as the September 30th deadline approached.

We now know that the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought. A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case, and we want to continue providing them a Bumper case for free. For everyone else, we are discontinuing the free case program on all iPhone 4s sold after September 30, 2010. We are also returning to our normal returns policy for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30. Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case.

An executive with Mexican iPhone carrier Telcel late last month claimed that Apple would be introducing revised iPhone 4 hardware by the end of September to address the antenna issue, but Apple has made no announcements regarding changes to its hardware or manufacturing process.

MacUpdate Fall Bundle: 12 Mac Apps for $49.99

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote their Mac application bundle deal. Their latest bundle delivers at least 12 Mac applications for $49.99 (a $443 value if all purchased separately) including:

Toast 10 Titanium ($99.99) - popular disc burning utility and media to iOS-friendly conversion
Live Interior 3D Standard ($49.95) - powerful interior design app
My Living Desktop ($34.95) - add a video desktop and screensaver to your Mac
Espionage 2 ($34.95) - encrypt and password protect individual folders, and interact with them straight from the Finder
ShareTool 2 ($25) - ShareTool enables Macs on different networks connect with each other as if they were on the same network, even if they're on different continents.
Get Backup Pro ($39.95) - backup and disk cloning utility with a file/folder synchronization capability
Cashculator ($29.95) - personal finance application that focuses on future by forecasting your financial situation.
MindNode Pro ($24.95) - a mind-mapping application that helps to visually collect, classify and structure ideas
Concentrate ($29.00) - eliminate distractions by launching the apps you need to accomplish a task, quit the ones you don't, block you from visiting distracting sites like YouTube or social networking
Voila 3 ($29.95) - a professional/creativity tool that lets you record or capture your screen, then annotate, organize and share those videos and images.

As an early adopter incentive, MacUpdate is offering two additional applications (Compartments, Vitamin-R) for the first 20,000 bundle purchases.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.