Apple to Preview New iPhone Software

Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visitwww.djreprints.com

See a sample reprint in PDF format.Order a reprint of this article now

MARCH 12, 2009, 11:21 P.M. ET

Apple to Give Glimpse of New iPhone Software

Article

Comments

more in Personal Technology »

By YUKARI IWATANI KANE

Apple Inc. plans to preview a new version of its software for the iPhone next week, amid widespread speculation that the company is also preparing to launch a new model of the cellphone later this year.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said in an email invitation Thursday that it would provide a "sneak peek" of a new operating system for the iPhone at a media event on March 17. It also said it would show a new software kit that developers can use to make programs to distribute through the company's App Store.

Apple's event, its first since an appearance at the Macworld trade show in January, comes as speculation had been mounting about what new products the company was planning for this year. Analysts believe the software Apple will be showing is for a new iPhone that could be launched this summer.

"All of this could be the prelude before a new iPhone," said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the speculation.

The iPhone is considered one of Apple's key drivers of growth. The business has taken off rapidly since Apple introduced a model last July with higher-speed Internet access and the introduction of the App Store, which gives users access to thousands of games, entertainment software and other applications.

Apple has sold more than 17 million iPhones, and users have downloaded more than 500 million applications in the last eight months. Revenue from the iPhone business increased by more than five times to $1.2 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 27 from $241 million a year earlier.

Still, analysts have been concerned about how Apple could be affected by slowing sales of smart phones overall in the worsening economic environment. The market researcher IDC Thursday lowered its forecast for global smart-phone sales in 2009, predicting 3.4% growth down from 8.7%.

As popular as the iPhone has been, users have pointed to obvious improvements that Apple could make to the iPhone software such as including the ability to cut and paste and conduct videoconferences, and an advanced search technology to more easily find information stored on the device.

Software developers in the meantime are hoping Apple will start allowing applications, like instant messaging, that are always running in the background even when the phone is in sleep mode or being used for something else.

—John Kell contributed to this article.

Write to Yukari Iwatani Kane at yukari.iwatani@wsj.com