Apple might announce a white iPod Touch in the next couple of months, but the device will have few if any new features, AppleInsider is reporting.

According to the Apple-focused publication, Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said recent industry checks point to Apple unveiling a white iPod Touch in August or September, which is typically when the company shows off its new portable music players. However, the new device will have few if any feature changes from the current iPod Touch, Kuo said.

Apple's iPod Touch is currently available in black. The device comes with a Retina display, HD video recording, and FaceTime video chatting. Apple sells 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB models for $229, $299, and $399.

Apple launching a white version of the iPod Touch with little to no improvement isn't unprecedented. Earlier this year, after a long wait, Apple finally launched the white iPhone 4, which delivered the same functionality as the black version. That device currently retails for $199 and $299 for 16GB and 32GB versions, respectively.

Exactly why Apple apparently won't update its flagship iPod this year is unknown. However, Kuo told AppleInsider that it could have something to do with Apple's desire to focus its mobile efforts on the iPhone and iPad.

It might not be a bad idea. Apple's iPod business has been on the decline as of late as the company's other mobile products soar. During Apple's fiscal third quarter, the company sold 7.54 million iPod units, representing a 20 percent decline year over year, it announced earlier this week. Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones and 9.25 million iPads to tally year-over-year gains of 142 percent and 183 percent, respectively.

Incoming Verizon Communications Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said he expects the next iPhone to launch in the fall, although even he isn't sure.

"You will have to ask Apple that, but we expect that probably sometime in the fall, and I think you will see a significant jump there when we get to that point," McAdam said today during a conference call.

McAdam explained that Verizon's plans to push more customers into smartphones have lagged a bit because it previously thought a new iPhone would launch in the summer. With the next iPhone delayed, people have been holding off on upgrading to the Apple device. As a result, he said the company was a quarter behind on its targets.

At the beginning of the year, Verizon set a goal of getting half of its contract customer base on smartphones. In the second quarter, the company had hit 36 percent. AT&T, meanwhile, said half of its base use smartphones already.

Verizon earlier today reported swinging to a second-quarter profit thanks to the strength in its 4G LTE products, as well as the continued popularity of the iPhone.

Verizon also said McAdam would takeover as CEO on August 1. Outgoing CEO Ivan Seidenberg, who set the succession plan last year, will retain his role as chairman.

The Internet buzz generated by a blogger's revelation of several fake Apple Stores in China seems to have prompted Chinese government officials to look into the matter.

Citing China's Xinhua news agency, The Wall Street Journal reports that an investigation by authorities in Kunming, a city in the southwest of the country, will look into whether the stores in question have proper business licenses and branding permits, and from whom they're getting their goods. (Reuters had reported the investigation previously, also citing Xinhua.)

Earlier this week, a blogger with the handle BirdAbroad posted a story, with pictures, about several elaborate and detailed counterfeit Apple Stores in Kunming, where she says she's lived for a couple of years. The over-the-top knockoffs quickly captured the imagination of the digerati.

The Journal reports that there are thousands of unauthorized resellers of Apple products in China who buy their merchandise from authorized dealers and peddle them at a profit, and that it's not illegal to resell Apple merchandise.

The newspaper also said that the manager of the main store mentioned by BirdAbroad claims that the store has a business license, is operating legally, sells only genuine Apple products at Apple prices, and never claimed to be an authorized Apple dealer. "I am sure we will become their authorized reseller in the near future," the manager reportedly said. "After all, we invested a lot in this store."

Related links
• Welcome to the Apple store that isn't
• Iconic Apple stores around the world (photos)

It's not clear whether Apple, which has two legitimate Apple Stores in Beijing and two in Shanghai, had anything to do with the government's inquiry. The Journal said a company representative declined to comment.

It's also unclear whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs would appreciate the level of investment made by his hitherto unknown Kunming affiliates.

The results of the investigation will be made public soon, Reuters reported.