Steve Jobs will mount a stage at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco this morning, and he will likely be wearing a black turtleneck and blue jeans. Oh, and he’ll talk about the latest version of the iPhone.
The occasion is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, and the blogosphere is overheating on what will be revealed about the new iPhone and other products. It is widely expected that Jobs will demonstrate a 3G version of the iPhone — that is, a product with third-generation wireless data and voice communications capabilities. The new iPhone will operate faster than its predecessor, do more things, and reportedly will be cheaper than last year’s model. It will be interesting to see if all of those rumors come true.
The iPhone is out of stock at Apple stores and online in the UK and the US, fueling speculation that Apple let the supply chain empty out before shipping the new models this summer. IDC Research reported last week that Palm and Research In Motion gained share in the US smart phone market at Apple’s expense during Q1. RIM’s BlackBerry held more than 44% of the market during the quarter, while the iPhone slumped to 19% and Palm’s Centro and Treo products surged to 13%, according to IDC.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission last week issued a subpoena to Intel regarding practices in the microprocessor market. The FTC last year resisted opening a formal investigation into the competitive battle between AMD and Intel. The commission has a new chairman this year, however, and that seems to be the impetus for the turnabout in policy. And it’s an election year, of course.
In a statement, Intel said it would cooperate with the FTC’s antitrust inquiry, noting that it’s been working with the commission since 2006 on an informal inquiry into the processor market. The giant chip maker also faces antitrust investigations by the attorney general of New York State and by the European Commission. The Korea Fair Trade Commission last week ordered Intel to pay more than $25 million for alleged violations of South Korea’s antitrust laws. The world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer indicated that it would likely appeal the Korean ruling and fine.
Word also came that the civil case AMD brought against Intel in 2005 for alleged anti-competitive practices won’t go to trial until early 2010.
Lastly, the long-awaited criminal indictments in the Broadcom stock-option backdating case were unsealed last week. The conspiracy and securities fraud charges brought against former CEO Henry T. Nicholas III and former CFO William Ruehle were almost a legal footnote, however, to the drug charges handed up against Nicholas, who has already lawyered up in a big way.
Comments
Leave a Comment