Apple Races to Keep Ahead of Rivals
SAN FRANCISCO — With its coveted gadgets and resurgent stock price, Apple has cast something of a spell on both consumers and investors.At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins here on Monday, Apple executives will try to sustain that magic, using what has become one of their highest-profile events of the year.
It will not be easy. While he is fond of surprises, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, whose personal star power has been known to amplify the company’s message, is not likely to be there. The company says it continues to expect his return from medical leave at the end of the month.
Apple must also meet sky-high and perhaps unrealistic expectations from enthusiasts and analysts, and it is just as likely to draw attention for what it does not unveil as for what it does. That challenge is partly one of its own making. Apple’s strategy — particularly with the iPhone — has come to depend on a steady stream of hit devices that are viewed by consumers as being so far ahead of the competition that they are worth paying extra money.
But the competition is now catching up. Palm, Google, Microsoft, Nokia and Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, are all at varying stages of developing and introducing their own iPhone-like devices and software, along with easily accessible stores for the small programs known as applications, or apps, that run on those devices. In some cases, those companies are releasing a greater variety of phones, on more wireless carriers around the world, than Apple.
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