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The smartphone market is getting more and more competitive as new devices find their way into circulation but far and away the biggest star and most iconic device remains the iPhone.

Today, confirming early expectations, Apple kicked off its WWDC event with the debut of the groundbreaking phone’s fourth generation.

Lighter and more industrial than prior versions, the phone gleams from a thinner steel and glass case.

Smaller in footprint but bigger in battery life and brighter in display, the phone can deliver 40 hours of music, 10 hours of wireless net connectivity and over 300 hours of standby time.

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London, Paris, Tokyo.  Across the globe people lined up around street corners.  Some camped out. Some cheered.  Hungrily, they waited for the moment – it wasn’t for tickets to some rare concert ,not for a hugely anticipated movie premier – the moment they sought was a chance to grab a bit of tech history, Apple’s latest trophy device, the iPad.

Originally intended for an earlier global roll out, Apple had pushed back the delivery date to insure there was ample inventory to supply the domestic market.  The extended wait seemed to only fuel greater anticipation and more gadget lust.

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Apple has grabbed a solid piece of almost every digital media market its entered, every market but one.   Apple TV has never been much more than a sideshow.  In nearly three years on the market, the device aimed at bridging the digital divide of the living room – the elusive TV to Internet gap – hasn’t really lived up to its promise.

That may soon be changing.  It’s too soon to know but there’s an increased volume of chatter suggesting Apple will overhaul the device Steve Jobs has downplayed as “a hobby” sometime this year.

Expected changes include a shift to the iPhone/iPad operating system and a reduced price point.  One of the theories behind the concept is that the modification would allow user’s to run select “Apps” through their TV platform.

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It’s a story about great creativity, perseverance, forward thinking.  It’s  a story about vision, about leadership, about innovation.  Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better.  After a long exile, Steve Jobs returned to a then struggling Apple when it acquired his NeXT Computer company in 1996.  Apple at the time was little more than a boutique competing against the mass market Window’s  juggernaut.  It had passionate followers, a known brand, and solid product, but a relatively meager market share.   In the decade plus that’s  followed Job set out to rebuild and restore the company he first created.  It may be a foregone conclusion, but we can now send the Champagne to Cupertino.

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Apple is known to be a tough negotiator.  How tough, and whether some behaviors cross the line of appropriateness is a question regulators are apparently looking into.

New reports citing “people familiar” suggest the government anti-trust regulators are inquiring about whether Apple’s dealings with music labels have been inappropriate.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported one of the questions on investigators minds is whether Apple tried to keep the record labels from giving Amazon’s rival music download store exclusive access to some new releases.

Antitrust staff from the DOJ has reportedly contacted several music labels as well as some internet music startups.

The interviews are considered “preliminary” and at this time there is no formal investigation.   Still, regulators are clearing keeping a close watch on Apple; an apparent reaction to the dominance the company has established in many of its markets.

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In December, gas tanks of Apple watchers got a surprise dose of high octane when reports surfaced the company was buying online music service Lala. Some immediately speculated that Apple had plans to create a "cloud" friendly iTunes. Others chimed in on the possibility of Apple using Lala’s intellectual property and license relationships to offer an iTunes music subscription package.

Now, just a few months removed, rumor engines are spinning again on news Apple will shut down the public face of Lala’s services a week before the start of Apple’s World Wide Development Conference.

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There comes a point when calling each successive performance a record starts to get a little ridiculous.  Apple crossed that threshold a long time ago but the fiscal rocket ship flying out of Cupertino isn’t showing any signs of slowing down either.   Even in spite of lofty expectations and market acceptance of Apple’s generally conservative guidance, Apple yet again flew by the benchmarks laid down to measure its performance.

Monday,  Apple’s reported revenue for the September quarter up 25% year over year to $9.87b (the company’s second best total on record).  Profits surged 47%.

For the fourth quarter, Apple earned $1.67b, or $1.82 a share, compared to $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the same period a year ago. Click to Read More