Apple Inc

An upgraded iPod Nano -- with video camera, FM radio and other niceties -- in a slimmer, flashier package is the highlight of Apple's new product lineup.But the fact that it's an upgrade is telling -- Apple Inc. revealed no brand-new products at Wednesday's long-awaited unveiling. The rumored tablet-style computer that's supposedly in the works was not mentioned. "We didn't see anything bleeding edge or real 'out of the blue,' " said Gartner Inc. analyst Mike McGuire. "We saw logical extensions."

Apple Inc. has made significant upgrades to its venerable iMac computers and several other products. The announcement of the new wares came Tuesday, which is perhaps not coincidental. On Thursday, Microsoft Corp. is set to unveil its Windows 7 operating system, and concurrently reveal several new computers created with the system in mind. Here's a look at what Apple brought forth, and what's known about the Win7-friendly computers about to debut. Apple The new products, most made available upon the announcement, didn't mark a big-enough change to warrant one of the firm's Steve Jobs-hosted events.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone has been a ringing success wherever it has been launched. But in China few are picking up the buzz. Challenged by high pricing, missing features and stiff competition, iPhones have logged only 5,000 sales since the handset debuted Oct. 30 in the world's biggest cellphone market. By comparison, more than a million units were sold in the first three days when the latest iPhone was launched in North America and Europe in June. One major hang-up might be the price.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone will go on sale in China in the fourth quarter. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. will sell the iPhone 3G and the 3GS models. The deal isn't exclusive, Apple said, so other carriers will also be able to offer the iPhone in China. Apple will compete with Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and handsets powered by Google Inc.'s Android software in China.

Apple Inc. may unveil a version of the iPhone for Canada as early as today, but China Mobile said Monday that talks over the launch of iPhone handsets in China had been called off. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs may make the announcement about the iPhone for Canada during his speech at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. Apple probably will outline an agreement with Rogers Communications Inc.

Netflix, seeking not to be bypassed in the transition to digital distribution of movies, removed limits on how many films and TV shows subscribers can watch over the Internet. The move comes as Apple Inc. is set to unveil plans for users to rent major Hollywood movies online through its iTunes Store. Netflix, which pioneered the online movie rental business in 1997, had capped the number of hours available to its 7 million subscribers based on the price of their monthly plan.

Investors are spooked about consumer spending, and Tuesday they took it out on Apple Inc. The maker of the iPod and Macintosh computer saw its stock fall 3.5%, then plunge an additional 11% in extended trading, after its fiscal first-quarter earnings didn't beat Wall Street's expectations enough and its forecast for the current quarter fell short of estimates. "Investors are so trained right now to be fearful of the future," said Gene Munster, an analyst with investment bank Piper Jaffray.

Apple Inc. cut the price for its iPod Shuffle by 38% as demand for the music player slowed. The 1-gigabyte device, Apple's smallest model, will have a retail price of $49, the Cupertino, Calif., company said. The previous price was $79. Apple also introduced a version with double the storage for $69. The bigger Shuffle, which clips onto clothing, can hold about 500 songs.

. -- Apple Inc. has no plans to declare a dividend or buy back its stock, Chief Executive Steve Jobs told the company's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, adding that iPhone sales were on track. Jobs said he was confident Apple would hit its 2008 sales target of 10 million iPhones, a figure that some analysts have questioned, and executives said the iPhone would reach Asian markets this year.

When she whipped out her iPhone, Erica Sadum could feel her husband's eyes roll. But she had a point to prove. And in less than a minute, she was able to report to the skeptics around the dinner table that Menno Simons, whose followers are known as Mennonites, was in fact born in 1496. Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which went on sale nine months ago, isn't the only so-called smart phone that provides itinerant access to the Web.