News

Steven Jobs, Apple's chief executive, is widely expected to announce a new version of the company's popular iPhone at a conference here on Monday, but ardent Apple watchers think Jobs will also use the occasion to make other major announcements. Apple entered the smartphone market last June for the first time and has made the iPhone second only to Research in Motion's BlackBerry phones in the category. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, had shipped about 5.5 million phones by the end of March, the most recent figures it has released. The iPhone has settled down to a less-than-spectacular sales pace: roughly 600,000 units a month, according to the company.