Apple has generated a wave of change across the mobile industry – and that change is helping games developers stake space in the wider mobile market.

Diner Dash publisher PlayFirst says the market is finally moving to favour games developers – and says its Apple and the iPhone App Store that has generated the sea change in attitude.

Speaking on the release of Diner Dash for the iPhone, PlayFirst co-founder and CEO, John Welch, said: "Apple has effected profound market change with the App Store, enabling developers to unleash their creativity directly to a global market for the first time without ‘permission’ from the mobile carriers."

Describing the moment as the opportunity all mobile application developers have been hoping for, Welch promised to deliver more titles to the Apple platform. Company co-founder, Brad Edelman, remarked, "The iPhone and iPod touch are breakthrough devices with advanced capabilities that enable us to create truly compelling gaming experiences."

Apple’s iPhone as a gaming platform seems to be a fait accompli now, with games developers across the board moving to embrace the Apple platform (which also includes the iPod touch)… Microsoft yesterday confirmed it had some interest in developing for the platform, while the Chinese developers  of MMORPG game, Anrufen Online, have also confirmed themselves to be developing for the device.

There’s a lot to struggle for – as we reported early last month, there’s a good income to be had from iPhone application development. We reported on one part time developer who – at peak moments following launch of their application – saw downloads generating almost $2,000 per day…gold rush territory, we think.

What is "FM"?  All kidding aside – well most anyway…Microsoft preempted Apple’s Tuesday iPod launch with a little launch of their own.  The new Zunes are officially announced with some interesting new features.

First up is wireless syncing over WiFi.  Not a bad trick actually.  This is an area Apple could take from Microsoft (and they might already have by later Tuesday).  We’ve yet to see it work properly so we’ll reserve judgment for a bit later.  Zune owners can currently buy tunes one at a time, or pay $15 per month for a Zune Pass subscription, which gives access to every song in the catalog – something that Apple is also rumored to be exploring. With the new wireless features, Zune Pass holders will also be able to stream songs to their devices.

The second big feature is the ability to buy tracks directly from FM radio stations.  Another good concept, at least on the surface…   the only problem is that only 450 radio stations in the US are currently participating.   Again, implementation and execution seem like a stretch.

They are both ready for delivery soon…

Starting Sept. 16, Microsoft says, the new Zunes will be available in configurations and prices ranging from $249.99 for a 120-gigabyte model to $129.99 for a 4-gigabyte version.  You would know that if you had seen one accidentally on put on sale at Fry’s over the weekend.

The Zune is still a small fry.   Since its launch two years ago, Microsoft has sold 2.5 million units of the device.
Apple, meanwhile, sold 11 million iPods in its fiscal third quarter and many more built into its wildly popular iPhone.

After a week of being central to the Apple rumour machine, Digg founder Kevin Rose has published a wrap-up of his predictions in advance of the ‘Let’s Rock’ event tomorrow.

There’s little new information in his latest post, other than he has now published an image which explains how iTunes 8 will look, and how the new Genius recommendation features shall be used.

Among other tweaks, iTunes 8 will (apparently) make albums playable simply by hovering the mouse above them. iTunes 8 will also feature a Genius Sidebar, an on/off button for the feature, and will display Genius-recommended playlists in the left-hand menu.

Otherwise Rose repeated his previous claims:

– New design for iPod nano

– iPod price reducitons

– Software 2.1 on the iPod touch

– New Magnetosphere visualiser in iTunes

– iTunes 8.0

We’d like to observe that with so many commentators hyping up tomorrow’s event, some in the media will already be preparing to invective should the launch disappoint. Yet recent activity on the part of Apple PR leads many to hope for the classic Jobs statement on such matters, ‘one more thing’.

Will there be one more thing? Speculate in comments, or go play keynote bingo over at Cult of Mac.

Shaw Wu of American Technology Research has chimed in with his predictions for next week’s special Apple event on September 9 – warning it could be "underwhelming". 

"We continue to believe that MacBook Pro and MacBook are due for refreshes with more radical redesigns, but won’t likely be unveiled at this event as the focus appears to be on its non-Mac businesses," he also observed.

 Not so underwhelming to matter a great deal – at least, not to Wu, who chose to maintain his Buy rating and 6-12 month price target of $220. We considered rewriting this release with our own special slant, but figured you may want it straight – here’s what Wu writes…

Low Expectations for a Break-Through Announcement: 

While there is always room for surprise, it seems this event may be somewhat underwhelming vs. previous expectations and events. Over the past several days, AAPL shares have pulled back as expectations have likely come down.

Likely iPod Centric: 

The “Let’s Rock” invitation and our recent supply chain checks suggest this will likely be an iPod-centric event. This may be viewed as disappointing as some were hoping to see new Macs. We think radical changes in the iPod portfolio are less likely given the great success and extensive refinement iPod has already undergone. We anticipate a modestly redesigned 4th generation iPod nano and slimmer 2nd generation iPod touch with lower price points and higher storage capacities. The future of the 6th generation iPod classic is unclear as our checks indicate build plans have been more modest as it has become more a niche product.

New Macs Not Likely At This Event: 

We continue to believe that MacBook Pro and MacBook are due for refreshes with more radical redesigns, but won’t likely be unveiled at this event. We are picking up that MacBook Air could see a minor refresh and potential price cut to increase its value proposition. Checks indicate that build plans have slowed somewhat from earlier robust levels with customers opting for MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Potential Wildcards: 

We believe wildcards on new products are:

 1) an advanced AppleTV with DVR and TV tuner capabilities and/or 

2) new touch form factors (iPod-Mac hybrid) with larger screens.

Conclusion:

 While AAPL shares will likely remain volatile given market sentiment, we view current levels as a buying opportunity for longer-term investors. AAPL remains one of the best positioned large-cap technology companies. We see upside to $220 based on 32.5x our CY09 EPS of $6.73.

Event Likely Less Surprising But There Is Always Room for the Unexpected: 

Heading into this event, our concern is that it could end up being one of the less surprising ones simply because AAPL product expectations are always high (given its strong track record and world-class R&D) and radical changes in its iPod business are likely more difficult to achieve given the great success and extensive refinement it already has. Nonetheless, there is always the likelihood for the unexpected and we think there are two potential wildcards including an advanced AppleTV with DVR and TV tuner capabilities and new touch form factors with larger screen (iPod-Mac hybrid).

New iPods Most Likely: 

Our recent supply chain checks indicate that this event will most likely usher in new iPods, including a modestly redesigned 4th generation iPod nano and slimmer 2nd generation iPod touch with lower price points and higher storage capacities. The fate of its 6th generation iPod Classic is unclear as build plans have been more modest. We think this product remains attractive to those users who value high-capacity storage (80 and 160 GB), but the “old” design and cannibalization by iPod touch limit its appeal.

New Macs Not Likely At This Event: 

We continue to believe that MacBook Pro and MacBook are due for refreshes with more radical redesigns, but won’t likely be unveiled at this event as the focus appears to be on its non-Mac businesses. In addition, we are picking up that MacBook Air could see a minor refresh and potential price cut to increase its value proposition as build plans have slowed from earlier robust levels as customers have opted for MacBook or MacBook Pro instead.

Lower iPod Price Points Make A Lot of Sense.

 In this tough macroeconomic environment, we believe price cuts make a lot of sense to re-accelerate iPod sales, particularly iPod touch, which is somewhat mispriced (outside of its recent back-to-school promotion) at $299 (8 GB), $399 (16 GB), and $499 (32 GB) price points given the lower $199 (8 GB) and $299 (16 GB) price points of the 3G iPhone with 2-year service plans. We believe AAPL should be able to absorb lower price points without impacting its margins materially given very favorable component pricing trends.

Competitive Advantages Intact: 

We believe AAPL’s key competitive advantages remain its 1) strong brand loyal customer base; 2) vertically and horizontally integrated hardware, software and service model (iPod + iTunes, Mac, Apple TV, and iPhone); 3) proprietary interface technologies (clickwheel and multi-touch); and 4) unique and pleasant customer experience with its Apple stores.

Macro headwinds are becoming more apparent: 

We continue to see AAPL as the best play on digital media in the home and a large beneficiary of the shift to mobile computing. In two of its three big franchises, Mac and iPhone, penetration is very low and starting in the higher-income demographics. The disturbance in the macroeconomic environment is within lower-income demographics and financial institutions with exposure and impact to overall liquidity. This could certainly spread, but we believe AAPL’s business will remain strong in the near- to medium-term. Enough high-end consumers are still buying tech, though commodities inflation could pressure future margins.

Comments?

There’s a point where Microsoft goes from annoyingly copying Apple’s best stuff well enough to grab marketshare, to today’s news where you almost have to pity the lack of any type of real innovation happening there.   The Seinfeld commercial is pretty sad.  While it borrows heavily from the light hearted interaction of the recent Apple commercials, it really doesn’t make us want to see any more….ever.   And this is from some Seinfeld junkies.

Microsoft tried to quell the fear/embarrassment from its own internal employees by sending out this email:

This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context. Later this month, as the campaign moves into its next phase, we’ll go much deeper in telling the Windows story and celebrating what it can do for consumers at work, at play and on-the-go. At that time, I’ll be back to share more information about our plans to further strengthen the bond between consumers and Windows–one of the most amazing products, businesses and brands of all time, and, with the right tenacity, passion and agility from all of us, a story that has many great chapters to come.

But it gets much worse.  That wasn’t even today’s most embarassing moment for Microsoft.

Case in point:  Microsoft Gurus…

Microsoft is paying people to hang out at Best Buy and Circuit City (and WalMart?) to try to help people navigate through the quagmire that is Windows Vista.  They of course won’t be able to fix any hardware issues…or do much on the software side….but will otherwise be useful. 

We can actually see one really helpful area which they can provide assistance.   They will be able to help choose which brand of Windows to buy – there are 6 to choose from!

Oh, in case you aren’t shockingly embarrassed for Microsoft yet, does Guru sound like anything you ever heard of from any of Micorosoft’s consumer competitors?  Ugh, it is hard to watch.

Why not spend some of that time/$/energy bringing that Photosynth software to the Mac?

Whatever.  We don’t buy into these things that much.  Especially Vanity Fair.  However, it is  a nice push for the Apple founder to be thrown in mainstream publication – one not about computers.  I guess tech may finally matter?  The Google founders made #3 while Vladimir Putin and Rupert Murdoch made the #1 and 2.  Great company to be in.  

Oh, in case you are worried, Bradjolina made number 9.  Whew! 

Anyway, here’s their take:

Steve Jobs  2008: 004

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: After changing the computer business with his Mac line and the music business with iPod, Jobs has completely upended the mobile business with iPhone. Rivals are scrambling to create products that stack up against Jobs’s mini-computers that also happen to make phone calls. And consumers who used to spend nothing for their cell phones are now willing to drop hundreds on Apple handsets.

CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY: Jobs’s skin-and-bones appearance at the June unveiling of the new iPhone touched off several days of frenzied speculation about his health, prompting the tight-lipped Apple P.R. department to tell reporters that he was fine. Given that Jobs, 53, had previously lived with pancreatic cancer for nine months without disclosing it, it seems likely that his health will remain under scrutiny.

CAN BE PROUD OF: Pixar, his animated-film powerhouse. Its ninth animated feature, wall-e, won huge critical acclaim.

RARE EVIDENCE OF FALLIBILITY: Last year Apple began selling the eight-gigabyte iPhone for $599, then quickly cut the price by $200. When early buyers said they’d been ripped off, Jobs dismissed their complaint. A day later he offered them an apology and a $100 credit.

WOULD-BE DOPPELGÄNGER: Mark Zuckerberg, the precocious Facebook founder whose public presentations seem to be clearly modeled after Jobs’s renowned product introductions.

ON THE RECORD: When New York Times columnist Joe Nocera asked Apple about Jobs’s health, the Apple chief phoned him, snapping, “You think I’m an arrogant [expletive] who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”

 Is this the face of the new visualiser inside iTunes 8?

Enjoy the clip, more after the break…

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=169308&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Magnetosphere revisited (audio by Tosca) from flight404 on Vimeo.

So – rumours emerging from the excellent Create Digital Music website suggest that the new visualiser inside of iTunes 8 may be based on the Magnetosphere visualiser until recently made available as an iTunes plug-in.

As reported by video producer and designer Allan White, Magnetosphere has recently been sold to a third party, and the nature of the visualiser closely matches the description of the feature given by Digg founder Kevin Rose earlier this week.

"[Robert] Hodgins built a wonderful iTunes visualizer called Magnetosphere a while back – which mysteriously disappeared from his site a few months back. I wrote him, and he said that it had been sold to a third party. There’s strong evidence that this third party is in fact Apple, and that it may ship with iTunes 8, which could be shown as soon as next week at an iPod Event," White reports.

Via: TUAW

Seriously. We just don’t get it.

It kind of reminds us of this one:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrwnJDQy0ic&hl=en&fs=1]

Apple chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, fielded the usual future product questions when he spoke at Citigroup’s 15th Annual Global Technology Conference yesterday. His media trainers should be proud – he successfully managed to keep analysts interested while saying as little as possible. Here’s some highlights from the chat.

CFO Oppenheimer confirmed Apple wants to introduce the iPhone into China, but offered no time scale, ad he reiterated company management’s regret Apple didn’t delay the launch of MobileMe.

"I don’t have any announcements today regarding China," Oppenheimer said, "but for those who haven’t seen it, we’ve had three in Russia in the last 24 hours. Couldn’t be happier with where we are with iPhone distribution.

Oppenheimer’s most critical statements – particularly as economists continue to warn of recession – stress the company’s move to lower product prices…"We plan to keep offering products at a reasonable margin, but not so high to benefit our competitors," he said, advising that Apple has outgrown maret averages for the last 14-15 quarters, and confirming Apple’s 80% market share of consumer notebooks priced above $1,000.

Oppenheimer refused to be drawn on any new product launches, beyond saying Apple has 4,000 talented engineers who continue to develop new things, and promising "we’re going to rock" at next week’s Apple event.

Asked about Apple’s interest in netbooks, he once again refused to be drawn, saying, "but now, we have lots of great notebooks".

He also pointed out that a low dollar exchange rate is advantageous to Apple..

The CFO also noted the continued price fluctuation on SSD, saying "We’ll see how competition between solid state and hard drives work out; think it’ll be good for us and our customers in the end."

iPhone sales are pleasing: "We expect to sell more iPhones in the September quarter than in any prior quarter, " he said. "We’re very focused on coming out with state of the art products for customers," he added.

Oh – and a message from Apple management to iPhone users…on the device’s lack of voice dialling, he remarked: "That’s the beauty of our software model. We have a team of people who are working on new innovations; can make them come out for current and new customers. Wouldn’t rule anything out…."

That’s the thing with Apple – you must expect the unexpected… now it looks like new iMacs may be in the frame, boosting higher speeds at much lower prices…

According to (fake) tech site jon4lakers.com, the iMac is set for a price cut along with an increase in installed memory at the high-end.

From the site: "What you are looking at is a screen capture of an internal intranet of an anonymous apple employee.  According to our source, and the image, Apple is set to drastically drop the price of their consumer desktop iMacs within the next 3-5 weeks."

Fact or Photoshop? 

Update: oops…looks like our Photoshopper forgot to change the monthly payments – see here on the enterprise plan, when the price drops slightly, so do the monthly payments:

If that weren’t enough (and it is) the 20 inch at $990?  Apple prices on the 9’s – $999

Yeah, we know, nothing new here…but maybe you forgot?

http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/452319854

Digg founder Kevin Rose is at it once again, following his accurate prediction Apple would reveal the next steps in its digital music strategy at a special event on September 9.

Rose reckons Apple will introduce iTunes 8 and newly designed iPod touch and nano ranges at lower prices – and has now revealed a host of new information concerning iTunes 8.

"iTunes 8 includes Genius," Rose writes on his blog, "which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don’t already have.

"With iTunes 8, browse your artists and albums visually with the new Grid view; download your favorite TV shows in HD quality from the iTunes Store; sync your media with iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (2nd generation), and iPod touch (2nd generation); and enjoy a stunning new music visualizer."

Rose also adds, "the new iTunes 8.0 visualizations are really trippy – there is one with planet like objects wrapping around each other w/stars/light streams."

The news comes as some reports claim Apple will NOT announce its iTunes Unlimited music subscription service next week.

Via: Distorted

 Google’s new Chrome browser has taken 1% of the global browser market within a day of launch according to analysis conducted by web traffic analysis company, StatCounter. 

“This is a phenomenal performance,” commented Aodhan Cullen of StatCounter which is a rival to Google on website analytics. “This is war on Microsoft but the big loser could be Firefox.”

StatCounter analysis conducted today (Wednesday, 03 September 2008) finds that Internet Explorer holds 70% of the global browser market followed by Firefox with 22%. The information is based on a sample of 18.5 million page views globally on Wednesday, 3rd September.

Based on WebKit (just like Safari), Google created a shock wave with news of its browser this week. The browser offers tabs, an OPera-like speed dial facility and a "super-fast JavaScript engine called V8". In a nice touch, browser tabs are all separate processes, so it one crashes it doesn’t bring the rest of the browser down. Google has also incorporated its Gears toolkit into Chrome  and hopes that the non-crashy, better Java and native Gears support will make the browser the application of choice for Windows users hoping to run applications using their browser. (Versions for Mac and Linux are also in the frame).

Also note that it is a tad bit faster than other browsers at Javascript – thanks to C|Net for testing.

Um can I has the Mac version now?

Apple’s iPhone sales are breaking expectations, with the latest guess-timates indicating eight million sales of the iPhone this year alone – meaning the company’s well on course to achieve its stated ten million sales target.

Fortune reports the claims, which emanate from a group of Apple investors (the Mac Observer Apple Finance Board) who have extrapolated iPhone sales this year from information concerning their IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers. The investors requested IMEI info from iPhone buyers, analysis of those they did receive suggests eight million iPhone sales this year – 5.6 million of these of the iPhone 3G, the remaining 2.4 million being sales of the original iPhone. Apple’s manufacturing partners are building iPhone’s at 800,000 units every week.

Winners and losers

Apple’s success is not a victimless crime – iPhone 3G sales apparently "siphoned off sales from other smartphone vendors" in July, Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt wrote in a note to investors Tuesday – outselling the once most popular BlackBerry Curve smartphone.

McCourt believes Apple will sell 6.1 million iPhone 3Gs in the September quarter, half through AT&T stores and the other half sold internationally.

iCannibal?

All the focus on the iPhone comes as Apple’s expected next week to unleash a new range of iPods, prompting Needham & Co analyst, Charles Wolf to note: "It’s got to be new iPods. That’s 100 percent certain. The only question I cannot answer is whether they will also do new MacBooks."

American Technology Research analyst, Shaw Wu, expects Apple will reduce prices on its range in order to make it more competitive with the iPhone, and in response to economic imperatives. "Pricing needs to be adjusted downward toward market conditions," he told the IHT. "We are in a tougher economy. That’s what makes most sense."

Price cuts may not be enough. Analyst Douglas A McIntyre warns in an item this morning: "With over 150 million units already sold, the iPod is reaching a point of saturation…The iPod’s best years are behind it."

A lot of people had a question about why Google would want to create their own browser. We think it really revolves around bringing Google applications to the desktop with Google gears…and taking on Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Air.  But see what they have to say – with a little PR speak mixed in…

Oh, and there is this new thing called Android?

The iPhone’s growing presence on the Web, having leveled off before the introduction of the iPhone 3G, surged in the month and a half since, according to Net Applications," reports CNN Money.

iPhone web use reached a record high 0.48% in late August, double its previous 0.2% record in June, the report claims.

NetApplications attributes the usage jump to the huge tranche of iPhone 3G sales since the device launched, writing: "The release of the iPhone 3G has brought large gains in web browsing share. Prior to the launch iPhone usage share had leveled off, but has since resumed its upward trend."

The iPhone’s share of global Web usage increased 58% in the course of the month – meaning "one out of every 333 Web hits in August came from an iPhone," the report explains.

The report also reveals Mac OS X’s marketshare maintains steady growth, this now stands at 7.84 per cent, with the iPhone now in fourth place, the statistics reveal.

It is also interesting to note that iPhone usage skyrockets on the weekends (as you can see in the chart). 

 The battle between Apple and Dell continues apace, and it’s not the low-cost computer company that’s winning the war as the world jitters on the edge of recession.

Apple isn’t just beating the computer industry in terms of growth and profitability (anyone mention that to Michael Dell last night?), but also seems set to kick against the prevailing economic climate, at least for now – and has grabbed now nearly half of the lucrative US student market.

A recent survey by Student Monitor found that 13% of all undergraduates expect to buy a new notebook this fall. "Of those, 43% say they plan to get a MacBook or MacBook Pro, nearly double those who said they expected to get a Dell notebook, and seven times as many as those who plan to buy from HP," Business Week reports.

One flaw – students prefer Dell’s (low cost) desktops – though even that’s a slim advantage as students prefer notebooks by a factor near five to one, the report informs.

With all the survey results indicating Apple’s in the ascendancy, the company seems set to deliver a record three million Mac sales in the quarter which ends next month – a new record for Cupertino and 800,000 more Mac sales than achieved in the previous same quarter one year ago. And with Piper Jaffray estimating iPod sales of eleven million and four million (we think more) iPhone sales in the quarter, Apple continues to make waves.

The good news doesn’t end there. Apple now holds 8.5 per cent of the US computer market, putting the firm in third place behind Dell and HP. "In the second quarter, it saw its year-on-year growth rate in unit shipments hit 38%. That’s three times the rate of growth at Dell, seven times faster than HP, and nine times faster than the PC industry as a whole," BusinessWeek continues.

"Students want to buy products that are cool, and the perception about Windows at the moment is anything but. The iPod tends to entice people from Windows over to the Mac, and the iPhone will only add to that trend," the report added.

Enterprise results seem promising, too, with Benjamin Gray of Forrester Research recently reporting that Mac adoption among business users has QUADRUPLED since 2006.

A separate survey released today reveals 32 per cent of US consumers planning to buy a computer plan to buy a Mac. "Apple’s reached the tipping point," said Paul Carton, ChangeWave’s research director. "Where the early adopters and the discretionary spenders were leading the charge, now as we go into the 30 per cent range [for planned purchases], the change to Apple looks permanent. What we have in the end, actually we’re sort of there now, is that buying an Apple is as normal as buying a Dell or an HP [computer] in America."

Dell, meanwhile, appears wounded, revealing it pulled in $16 billion in revenue in the last quarter for just $616 million profit. Apple in its last quarter saw profit of $1.07 billion on revenue less than half that of Dell’s, $7.46 billion.

With the company expected to release all-new iPods, including a lower-cost iPod touch next month, alongside MacBooks, MacBook Pros a much improved iTunes 8 (now with music subscription?) and – some claim – iMacs (we think Apple may have enough on its plate without that last upgrade) we’re pretty certain as we head into the closing months of 2008, and Apple’s first FY2009 financial quarter, we’re looking at more growth ahead in Cupertino – though recent failings in the iPhone 3G and MobileMe launch suggest the company may need to reinvigorate and motivate its tired, but hard-working staff.

Google today announced plans to introduce an App Store for its forthcoming mobile platform, Android.

"The Android Market will allow developers to offer both free and for-purchase applications to people with Android based smartphones. Built-in support for the Android Market will be included in the Android OS," says Android Authority.

The store will be hosted by Google, which says the store will offer search, download and install facilities, and will also offer a feedback loop so users can tell developers about their experience with applications they download and use. Kind of like App Store app reviews in iTunes.

"Initial Android based devices will run a beta version of the Android Market that will only support free apps and will not provide full analytic data to developers," the report claims.

The Apple App Store has beeen a big hit so far even though it may be partially responsibe for some of the issues with the 3G 2.0.x software.   Google would be smart to follow Apple’s lead.

 Eagle-eyed Apple watchers may have grown a little misty-eyed this morning when they potentially came across an obituary of CEO Steve Jobs, published by Bloomberg – but don’t fret – news of the death of Jobs has been grossly over-exaggerated.

What actually took place was a simple error, as Cult of Mac reports, Bloomberg updated its obituary for Jobs yesterday, only to accidentally send the story to all the organisation’s subscribers.

"An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today. The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted," Bloomberg quickly warned.

That the obit was updated is also no cause for alarm – most major media outlets hold the obituaries for notable celebrities on file, presumably so they can all scramble to publish these faster than their competitors in order to secure web traffic – but these obits aren’t usually published until someone, erm, well until someone dies, basically.

And while Jobs’ known brush with cancer, combined with a recent illness got the gossip-mongers (including us) all in a tizzy in recent weeks, the publication of the obit does not in any way imply that there’s a senior job going in Cupertino. (Though given recent iPhone and Mobile Me cafuffles there may well be a less senior job going for the right person…)

Returning to the obit, Steve’s going to be fairly pleased, we guess. The Bloomberg write-up extends across 17-pages (not at all bad for such an incredibly private person). Oh and there’s lots and lots of gushing praise for the man in the report, here’s a two highlights, but you can read the whole thing here:

– "In terms of an inspirational leader, Steve Jobs is really the best I’ve ever met," Bill Gates.

– "Steve had these dreams of being one of the great people that has companies and makes products that change the world." Steve Wozniak.

And now we have you all thinking about Jobs, we though we may as well offer another re-run of his Stanford Commencement address. Enjoy:

As widely-expected, Vimpelcom, Russia’s second-largest mobile phone operator will join the largest carrier, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) in offering the iPhone in Russia.

The smaller company confirmed the news this morning, saying, "Vimpelcom announced today it has signed an agreement with Apple to bring iPhone 3G to Russia, expected later this year.

With the Russian population pegged at 140,702,094, release of the device in the huge country is likely to be a major bonus for Apple. Company CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly suggested the company hopes to have deals in place for launching the iPhone in Russia and China before the end of the year. Russian’s have an average per person GDP of c. $14,700 (CIA World FactBook), but much wealth is concentrated in the hands of the emerging middle classes, who are already purchasing iPhones on the grey market in their thousands.

While mobile networks are patchy in some parts of the country – though not within the all important metropolitan areas, the demand for the iPhone in Russia is expected to be very high. Russia already has 600,000 iPhone users, who acquired the device on the grey market 

Reuters has previously suggested the iPhone 3G will launch in Russia in October, possibly amid another next round of country additions, like the ones due today. Apple expects to sell 3.5 million iPhones in Russia in the next two years, according to Reuter’s sources have also claimed. Analyst Eldar Murtazin  told Reuters: "Total sales by the Big Three carriers will amount to 3.5 million iPhones within the next two years."

Its thought Apple will introduce the device in Russia at a high price – c.$900,

We’re not completely convinced, but local reports claim Apple’s preparing to open up its iTunes Store in India – and suggest the company may have booked initial sales of up to 400,000 iPhone 3Gs…

The report could be based on crossed messages – Apple’s iPhone 3G launched in India last week, so in support of the new device a new iTunes Store for India has already been opened up – but this only offers iPhone applications at this time.

Indian newspaper the Business Standard expects the company to extend what’s on offer through the store, introducing music downloads, podcasts, and eventually film and TV shows. Apple sources dismissed the notion as "rumour and speculation", the report points out.

The iPhone 3G also seems off to a strong start in India, the report indicates, informing that 400,000 people registered for the device with Apple’s two carrier partners in India, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Essar.

“We have received applications from 200,000 prospective customers who have registered through SMS and on our website. We have begun issuing the handsets through 400 Airtel outlets and 19 Apple resellers across 65 locations in India,” Bharti Airtel’s CEO (Maharashtra & Goa), Manu Talwar, said.

While initial interest is very high, the newspaper notes that this is likely to wane after the rush, because the iPhone 3G costs much more in India than it does in most other countries – 31,000 Rupees (£386, $708) for the 8GB version, and 36,000 Rupees (£448, $823) for the 16GB model of iPhone. These prices are the unit prices, with carrier subscriptions extra.