Phone
Along with the new software, the company may introduce a phone that has fewer features and costs less than the $199 iPhone 3G, said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Kaufman Bros. in San Francisco. Apple may also add a handset with better battery life and more storage, he said.
“Apple is arguably still the leader without new iPhones, but having new iPhone hardware models would definitely help improve its competitiveness,” said Wu, who recommends buying Apple stock.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, who is on medical leave, has been actively involved in preparations for the June 8 event, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. The main address at the developer conference, which has featured Jobs each year since 1998, will be given by marketing chief Philip Schiller, Apple said last month.
Apple declined to comment on new iPhones or whether Jobs, 54, may make an appearance at next weeks event, said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based company. “We look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June,” he said.
Hormone Imbalance
Jobs announced Jan. 5 that a hormone imbalance was “robbing” him of the proteins he needed to stay healthy, causing him to lose weight throughout 2008. Nine days later, Jobs, who had successful surgery to remove an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor in 2004, said his medical problems were “more complex” than he originally thought. He announced his leave and handed over day-to-day duties to operating chief Tim Cook. Jobs said he would remain involved in major strategic decisions.
Apple rose $2.79 to $143.74 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have jumped 68 percent this year, spurred by demand for the iPhone and Mac personal computer. IPhone sales more than doubled to 3.79 million units in the second quarter.
If Apple doesnt release a new iPhone next week, the company may hold another event to introduce new models and mark Jobss return, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis. He expects Apple to add a phone, costing $99 to $149, that has less storage and fewer features than the current models. He also predicts Apple will introduce a more expensive version that has longer battery life, 32 gigabytes of storage and a video camera.
AT&T Plans
Jobs announced the iPhone in January 2007. He used the Apple developers conference in June that year to demonstrate the phones features, a few weeks before it went on sale. A year later, he unveiled a faster, thinner model called the iPhone 3G, which went on sale in July.
AT&T Inc., the exclusive provider of iPhone service in the U.S., could add lower-cost service plans for the new iPhones to appeal to more budget-conscious buyers. Today, customers in the U.S. typically sign up for a two-year wireless contract with Dallas-based AT&T. They start at $70 a month.
Apple has sold more than 21 million iPhones and sells the device in more than 80 countries. Its now the No. 2 smart phone among consumers in the U.S., after Research In Motion Ltd.s BlackBerry, according to NPD Group Inc. in Port Washington, New York. Smart phones are handsets that offer some computer functions, including the ability to surf the Web and check e- mail.
Palms Pre
New iPhones could also help Apple fend off competition from RIM and Palm Inc. This weekend, Sunnyvale, California-based Palm is set to start selling the Pre, a touch-screen phone that comes with a keyboard.
The development of the Pre was headed by Palm Chairman Jon Rubinstein, who led the iPod development team at Apple until 2006. Reviewers praised the Pre this week, with New York Timess David Poguecalling the Pres WebOS “attractive, fluid and exciting.”
Apple is working on a new operating system for the iPhone called OS 3.0, and said it will use the developers conference next week to give programmers a deeper look into the software. Apple says the program has more than 100 new features and will be released this summer.
The company will also use the event to show Snow Leopard, a new version of the Mac operating system due later this year. Snow Leopard will come out just as Microsoft Corp. readies a new version of its rival Windows operating system. Windows 7 will go on sale on Oct. 22, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said this week.