Apple (AAPL) still hasn't announced any plans to sell its iPhones at Walmart (WMT) stores this month, as mobile blog Boy Genius Report suggested in November. And Apple definitely hasn't announced any plans to sell a $99 iPhone at Walmart, as a Boy Genius Report source suggests it will today. But we don't think it's a stupid idea.

Apple is in the first stage of a smartphone platform land-grab against companies like Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM). So far, none of these companies have made a phone as good as the iPhone. But they're getting closer.

By the end of next year, there could easily be a smartphone running Google's Android software that's good enough for most people -- and priced at $99 or less.

So Apple wouldn't be foolish to lock up as many customers as it can now by making its market-leading gadget even more affordable.

In October, we made the case for a $99 iPhone by the middle of next year -- a simple $100 cut from today's models. But that was before the economy really went sour. So if Apple could cut costs a bit and offer a 4 GB iPhone for $99 sooner than next summer, as Boy Genius Report suggests, we think they should. (But not just at Walmart -- everywhere.)

Late last month, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated that Apple could lower the iPhone's price by $150 in the next six months and keep its margins the same, due to cheaper component pricing. If Apple could lower the price by $100 in the next three months to boost market share in a platform race where market share matters, we think it's a smart move.

As Apple CEO Steve Jobs said on the company's last earnings call, "...I think we have to be the best and I think we have to not leave a price umbrella underneath us."

See Also:
Will Apple Sell A $99 iPhone Next Year? Yes
Should Apple Make More iPhone Games?
Another Apple iPhone Advantage: Mac Software Companies

Another threat to Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows and Office crown jewels? The company is already dealing with the rising popularity of Apple's (AAPL) Macs, and the slow evolution of free Office suite alternatives like Google (GOOG) Apps. Now IBM (IBM) is aiming for its own piece of Microsoft's pie -- IBM today says it will be pitching its corporate customers Linux-based terminals without hard drives that are "Microsoft-free."

WSJ: The software package, available immediately, uses the Linux operating system and a set of IBM office applications that can be displayed on so-called thin clients, which don't have processing units or hard drives.

IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., says pricing for the Virtual Linux Desktop would range from $59 to $289 per user, depending on what software and service level the customer chose.

IBM estimates that a corporate customer licensing the software would save $500 to $800 a year per user, compared with buying a license for Microsoft's Vista operating system, Office suite and collaboration tools.

Will it work? Not soon. Companies including IBM, Oracle (ORCL), and Sun (JAVA) have had a very tough time convincing companies so far that thin clients are worth the few extra dollars in savings. Because usually they're not.

Why? Because in reality, desktop PCs are very, very cheap -- and worth their price. Even if you don't require Windows or Office all the time, there's still a good chance that most people will need to run some software that runs on a major (Windows or Mac) operating system fairly regularly, and with some actual processing power behind it.

And further, most Linux operating systems and the software that runs on top of it offer a terrible user experience. There's a good reason people are still paying extra to run Windows on new, Internet-centric "netbook" computers -- because for normal people, it's better than Linux.

See Also:
Microsoft's Real Problem: The Second Coming of Apple
Ballmer: Google Apps Blow, No One Actually Uses Them

Yahoo (YHOO) chairman Roy Bostock says the company will have a new CEO before the end of the year, sources tell Kara Swisher. Perhaps someone should remind Roy that's only four weeks away and that he better get cracking.

A good first step, which Kara says hasn't happened yet, would be organizing a search committee to find this company savior. So far its just Roy and fellow board member Gary Wilson going over names headhunter firm Heidrick & Struggles comes up with.

Kara says Roy and Gary have come up with six criteria for the incoming CEO, however:

The first is that the candidate have 'extensive' experience as the CEO of a public company. Another calls for media and advertising expertise. And mergers and acquisitions experience. Also strategic skills.

"Tall order," as Kara notes and indeed. But have we mentioned we (and our polled readers) like former DoubleClick CEO and current Google (GOOG) exec David Rosenblatt for the job?

By the criteria, he only fails in that DoubleClick was a private concern when he ran it. But the media and advertising company was the size of a public company, and Rosenblatt wielded plentyof strategic skills turning it around and getting it acquired by Google for $3.1 billion.

See Also:
Yahoo CEO Update: Rosensweig Conspiracy Edition (YHOO)

Metropix, a 3D floor planning service, is being acquired by one of Daily Mail (LSE: DMGT) & General Trust’s B2B divisions, Landmark Information. Founded four years ago, Metropix generates 3D floorplans and building walkthroughs from 2D drawings. It also produces Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Earth models, interactive floorplans and online maps, and its most popular service is online floor-drawing tool AutoDraw; its core clients are estate agents. DMGT’s B2B unit DMG Information, which has several geospatial information subsidiaries, is the Daily Mail owner’s cash cow at the moment, while news publishing income tails off. Metropix had several bidders since April. As the company’s blog says, it will now sit alongside DMGT’s Primelocation and Findaproperty home search sites. Co-founders Max Christian and Brian Farrell will stay with the company.

Looks like Jerry Yang and the rest of the Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) gang weren’t the only ones sad to see the search outsourcing deal with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) die. Sanford Litvack, a lawyer the Department of Justice hired specifically to examine the deal, was hungry for the chance to take the two giants on in court. “Of course I was looking forward to it. We felt pretty good about it, we felt pretty confident,” Litvack said, in an interview with The Am Law Daily. He revealed that the companies abandoned the pact just three hours before the DOJ was set to file a laundry list of complaints. —Complaint specifics: Litvack said the DOJ would have alleged that “Google had a monopoly” in search and that the deal would have extended it. The charges would have been that the deal violated two parts of the Sherman Act: Section 1, which bans agreements that restrain trade unreasonably, and Section 2, which says its against the law for a company to monopolize or attempt to monopolize trade. —Microsoft’s lobbying wasn’t a factor: Though MSFT sustained aggressive lobbying efforts, Litvack said that the company’s offensive didn’t sway him (or the DOJ) in either direction. —Google’s still in the DOJ’s crosshairs:  Meanwhile, the DOJ publicly outed Google’s pre-deal search market share numbers—which Litvack said “may or may not” have been a warning about future antitrust actions. Still it’s definitely a hint that The Department is keeping a close eye on Google’s search-related moves. The companies had even tried to tweak the deal in the hopes of garnering the DOJ’s approval, but the increased scrutiny may have been what drove Google to back away from it first. 

The market decided to slap bears around today and I got caught on the wrong side - 6% hit. I also took my losses in all the ETFs I mentioned earlier today about 6% as well there. I made 7.6% on TNA early this morning. —- Levels I’m looking for tomorrow. A trade of SPX above 873.29 and [...]

A neat look at how the market has performed (and evolved) relative to the 50 and 200 day moving averages.  (Quantifiable Edges also Daily Options Report) Momentum investing worked…even in the Victorian age.  (SSRN.com) A longer term look at the Arms Index.  (VIX and More) Taking tax losses can force you to look at your portfolio with fresh [...]

Here is a chart I posted on September 10th. Did I know RIMM was going to go down? Yes. Did I personally benefit from what I derived from the technical picture? No. Did you? RIMM’s massive monthly support appears to be 34.21. There might be a bounce there. If there is no bounce on RIMM at [...]

Tuesday was a day loaded with volatility.  Markets made a nice move higher only to be followed by two violent pullbacks.  When Google (GOOG) got down to 265, I went long @ 268.77 and trailed a stop up to 271 or so.  I got stopped out on one of the really strong ...

Waking up to the markets could make some feel as if the sky falling and the world around them is plummeting into a deep abyss with no promise of return. Although the immediate future looks glum, there is no need to mope around, chum. Even bear markets such as this one present investors ...

76% of T-Mobile stores we surveyed recently have the Google Android based G1 (manufactured by HTC). 24% do not have the phone yet, but almost half of these respondents were expecting shipments to arrive before Thanksgiving. 4% reported being stocked our of the G1, but this type of report was not widespread. T-Mobile is offering a $220 instant rebate with the G1 for a two year contract. It is not clear who picks up the tab for the rebate - T-Mobile or Google. 92% of T-Mobile representatives claim the G1 is the best phone they carry today and 80% claim the G1 is superior to Palm or Blackberry devices. Review from T-Mobile representatives are very strong, but demand does not appear to be keeping pace as stock-outs are few during the initial launch when demand should be the strongest for the G1.

Schaeffer's Andrea Kramer takes a look at unusual option activity on the Street

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look back at the major news of the day on Wall Street.

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look back at the major news of the day on Wall Street.

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at news on the Street before the market open.