The iPhone, which will start at $499 when it launches in June, is controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. Jobs said it will 'reinvent' wireless communications and 'leapfrog' past the current generation of smart phones.
He said the company's name change is meant to reflect Apple's transformation from a computer manufacturer to a full-fledged consumer electronics company.
During his speech, Jobs also unveiled a TV set-top box that allows people to send video from their computers and announced the number of songs sold on its iTunes Music Store has topped 2 billion.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- United Airlines on Tuesday won tentative approval from the federal government to operate the first-ever nonstop daily flight between Washington and China -- a route potentially worth $200 million a year.
The Department of Transportation's approval gives UAL Corp.'s United a critical head start over its competitors on the highly coveted, burgeoning market.
The Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline can begin nonstop service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing's China Peking Capital Airport on March 25 if the tentative decision becomes final, the government said.
United beat out AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, which sought to fly between Dallas/Fort Worth and Beijing; Continental Airlines Inc., which applied for service between Newark, N.J., and Shanghai; and Northwest Airlines Corp., which applied for Detroit-Shanghai service.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court made it easier Tuesday to challenge patents, bolstering arguments by some in business that they are too readily granted and can stymie new drugs and other innovations.
In an 8-1 decision, the court said that biotech firm MedImmune Inc. may pursue a court case in a patent dispute over its childhood respiratory drug Synagis.
MedImmune, based in Gaithersburg, Md., went to court to challenge a patent agreement with Genentech Inc. Genentech argued that the case should be dismissed because MedImmune had agreed to make royalty payments, although under protest.
The decision 'opens the courthouse door and lets people come in and possibly allows them to challenge, but it also leaves many questions unanswered,' said Washington attorney George C. Best. The outcome, he said, will depend on how lower courts interpret MedImmune's contract with Genentech.
DALLAS (AP) -- D.R. Horton Inc., one of the nation's largest homebuilders, said Tuesday its late-2006 sales orders fell 28 percent, dampening sentiment that the housing sector may be recovering from a slump.
The news was even worse from another builder, Meritage Homes Corp., which said net sales orders fell 42 percent and cancellations hit a record 48 percent.
Housing contracts and sales of new homes have been falling for about a year after the industry enjoyed an unprecedented five-year boom. Economists and analysts are split about whether the housing market has bottomed. Each camp can cite economic statistics to support its view.
Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton said it received orders for 8,771 homes worth $2.29 billion in the last three months of the year, compared with orders for 11,463 homes worth $3.17 billion a year earlier.
Meritage, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said net sales in the quarter were 1,201 homes totaling $356 million, down from a record 2,072 orders for $723 million a year earlier.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The world's third-largest tiremaker on Tuesday said the multimillion dollar cost of a three-month strike by union workers is well worth the long-term savings Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. expects to see from the new labor deal.
During a conference call with analysts, Goodyear chief financial officer Richard Kramer said the strike that began Oct. 5 and ended last week drained between $30 million and $35 million a week from the company.
At 12 weeks long, that means the work stoppage by the United Steelworkers union representing some 15,000 workers could cost Goodyear between $360 million and $420 million, most of it in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.
Kramer and Goodyear Chief Executive Robert Keegan cushioned the news by saying the company plans to save $610 million over three years because of the agreement reached with the union and annual savings of about $300 million after that.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Supervalu Inc., the nation's No. 3 supermarket chain, said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings jumped almost 51 percent because of its purchase of grocery chain Albertson's. But the results missed analysts' expectations, and its shares fell nearly 2 percent.
Supervalu said it earned $113 million, or 54 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 2, up from $75 million, or 53 cents per share, during the same period last year. Revenue more than doubled to $10.66 billion from $4.7 billion a year ago.
Supervalu's results included a nickel a share in transaction costs from the Albertson's purchase, a penny a share of expenses for stock options, and 2 cents a share for special hybrid securities issued by Supervalu.
On a comparable basis, analysts surveyed by Thomas Financial were expecting earnings of 56 cents per share for the quarter on revenue of $10.53 billion. Supervalu had predicted earnings of 52 cents to 56 cents per share.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Inc., issued a challenge Tuesday to the entire PC industry to adopt free recycling programs for customers as he announced that his company would offer to plant a tree for every PC sold.
The company has received high 'green' marks from some environmental groups, including Greenpeace.
In 2004, Dell began offering free recycling of any brand of computer or printer if consumers bought a new Dell system.
The policy was revised in June so that consumers can recycle all Dell-branded printers, personal computers or other electronics gear for free, no purchase of new Dell gear required.
For those not buying a new system or who don't have Dell equipment, the Round Rock, Texas, company will take back used electronics for $10 per box, as long as it weighs less than 50 lbs.
Dell, the company's founder, made his remarks during a keynote at the International Consumer Electronics Show.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The oil market pared its losses to settle above $55 Tuesday, after a volatile trading day that saw prices sink to 18-month lows on expectations for more mild weather and selling by large investment funds.
Crude prices have plummeted nearly 9 percent this year.
Drivers hoping for lower prices at the pump are starting to see gasoline prices fall as well -- but not by much. Retail gasoline prices have fallen 3.5 cents over two weeks to a national average of $2.306, according to a government report released Tuesday.
Winter in the Northeast has been warmer than normal, which has curbed demand for heating fuels in the world's largest heating oil market. As a result, market watchers expect to see larger U.S. petroleum inventories in this week's government report, due Wednesday.
By The Associated Press
The Dow industrial average fell 6.89, or 0.06 percent, to 12,416.60.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.73, or 0.05 percent, to 1,412.11, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.63, or 0.23
Light, sweet crude for February delivery shed 45 cents to settle at $55.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after plunging as low as $53.88 in earlier electronic trading.
Heating oil futures fell less than a cent to settle at $1.5565 a gallon on Tuesday while natural gas rose 2.53 cents to end at $6.631 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gasoline futures lost less than a cent to end at $1.4696 a gallon.
February Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 42 cents to settle at $55.18 a barrel.
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© 2007 AFX News
