Apple Inc., maker of Macintosh computers and the iPhone, reports fiscal second-quarter earnings Wednesday after the closing bell. The following is a summary of key developments related to that period.

OVERVIEW: In January, Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) founder Steve Jobs addressed the matter of his increasingly gaunt appearance - twice. He first said it was caused by an easily treatable hormone imbalance, and that he would remain at the helm. The next week, Jobs, a cancer survivor, revealed the problem was more complicated and said he would take a medical leave of absence until the end of June. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is running the company in his absence.

n March, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple updated its line of desktop Macintosh computers, called iMacs, and released an even tinier version of its tiniest music player, the iPod Shuffle. It also showed off upcoming changes to the iPhone software, including the ability to copy and paste text, which was missing from earlier versions.

While Windows PC makers slashed prices in the face of a worsening economic crisis, Apple held the line. Its quarterly U.S. computer shipments fell about 1 percent from a year ago, better than the 3 percent decline in the U.S. overall, according to research group IDC.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to earn $1.08 per share on $7.9 billion in sales.

ANALYST TAKE: Opinion varied as to the extent the downturn has affected Apple sales.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a research note Monday that sales of Macs seemed stronger than he had expected in the quarter, while iPod and iPhone sales met the high end of his estimates. Wu rates the stock a "Buy."

And Doug Reid, an analyst for Thomas Weisel, wrote in an April 17 note that Quanta Computer Inc., the Taiwan-based company that makes many of Apple's computers, said its average selling price rose 5 percent in February and March. That suggests brisker business selling Apple's higher-priced Macs in the quarter.

Mobile app analytics start-up Flurry is building a business helping iPhone developers get "discovered" in Apple's App Store. Its tips for developers range from promoting other apps within an app to getting as many users as possible to rate and review an app. (See "Making iPhone Apps Pay.")

If those tactics don't work, there are always other tricks. One involves inserting popular keywords into the product descriptions included in every App Store listing. A developer could write that Britney Spears was an inspiration for his app, for instance, or posit that his game is "just as fun" as top-selling game "Tap Tap Revenge." Think of it as search engine optimization for the App Store.

One example: a new game called Crazy Hotdogs that asks players to grill and sell hot dogs for a crowd of exacting, impatient customers. In the game's App Store product description, publisher Com2uS posits that fans of other time management and point-and-tap games such as Bejeweled, Diner Dash, Sally's Salon and Chocolate Shop Frenzy will like Crazy Hotdogs.

The upshot? When people search for Bejeweled or Diner Dash, both of which rank in the App Store's top 100 paid games and were created by other publishers, Crazy Hotdogs may pop up, too.

Peter Farago, Flurry's vice president of marketing, says the firm hasn't measured the strategy's success, but believes it's effective since most consumers rely on the App Store's search function to find apps. Farago adds, "By smartly picking keywords, a developer can get his product discovered more easily."

Will Apple's wonder gadget get more memory? Will it come in different colors? Who cares. A new processor is what it really needs.

Will the iPhone get more flash memory? Will it get new features, like a compass?

Who cares. What the iPhone really needs is a new processor. And there is no sign, yet, that it will get one.

Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) alluded to the problem in March, when it introduced new software for its smart phones. The reason it doesn't run more than one third-party application at a time, Scott Forstall, Apple's vice president for iPhone software development explained, is because such work will drain the battery too quickly.

It's more than just a power-management problem, however. "One of the drawbacks of the iPhone right now is it can only [run] one application at a time," says Will Strauss, president of wireless market research firm Forward Concepts. With a more powerful processor, he adds, the iPhone could run several applications concurrently.

Apple's rivals are already heading down that path. Palm is pushing out a new phone based around Texas Instrument's ( TXN - news - people ) OMAP3430 processor. One of the Pre's key features: the ability to show the user information from more than one application at a time. The software makes it slick, but TI's hardware makes that possible.

Apple, meanwhile, relies on an application processor from Samsung. There are two problems there. For starters, Samsung also sells smart phones, allowing it to give its phones the same capabilities, on paper, as Apple's iPhone. The bigger problem, however, is just about muscle. The relatively dinky processor can't match the TI model's power.

There are several possible solutions. Samsung could build a new processor around the same ARM Cortex-A8 architecture TI uses, or Apple could switch to TI, Strauss suggests. Alternatively, Apple could build a processor of its own, presumably one based on the ARM-architecture, with the chip designers it picked up last year with its acquisition of PA Semi (see "Apple Buys Chip Designer").

There are no signs that Apple is doing that--yet. Then again, if Apple were, it would likely keep such a move a very tightly guarded secret, because it would be the only information about its new phone that would really matter.

Apple's iTunes Store isn't the only one that has adjusted prices for its digital song downloads recently: Changes are showing up at Amazon's and Wal-Mart's online music stores, too.

Apple Inc. ( AAPL - news - people ), the dominant digital music retailer on the Internet, shifted Tuesday from selling all songs for 99 cents apiece to a tiered pricing model where songs cost 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29 each. Recording companies are choosing the prices.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple also eliminated the copy-protection technology that limited users' abilities to copy and play songs on devices other than Apple's own iPods.

On the same day Apple made its changes, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT - news - people )'s online music store began selling tunes for $1.24, 94 cents and 64 cents apiece. Previously, they cost 74 cents and 94 cents apiece.

In an e-mail, Walmart.com spokesman Ravi Jariwala said the pricing adjustments are "reflective of new costs set by the music industry."

Elsewhere on the Web, Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com Inc. ( AMZN - news - people ) is also selling individual song downloads for as much as $1.29. Most songs currently cost $1.29, 99 cents, 89 cents or 69 cents each. Amazon did not say when it began selling songs for $1.29; when the store first opened in September 2007, songs sold for 89 cents and 99 cents.

Wal-Mart and Amazon downloads had already been free of copy protection.

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Ahead of the Bell: Analysts cheer iPhone update

Apple Inc.'s new iPhone operating system should help the company win a larger share of customers buying smart phones, analysts said.

Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid said Apple's presentation on the new features Tuesday left him "more confident that (Apple) remains well positioned to gain share in the smart phone market."

In a client note Tuesday, he estimated the Cupertino, Calif. company will capture 11.8 percent of that market this year, up from 7.7 percent in 2008. He kept an "Overweight" rating on shares.

Apple's new software will allow users to cut and paste text for the first time and offers new tools to third-party software makers, including the ability to create applications that have items for sale within them and access to customers' iTunes library of songs.

Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf told clients in a note Wednesday that the new system shows "that Apple is not standing still but continues to build on its leadership in the smart phone operating system and application software market." He kept a "Strong Buy" rating on the shares.

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How iPhone 3.0 Will Feel Different

Apple says it is expanding iPhone features

Apple Inc. is broadening the ways that third-party software programmers can sell content on the iPhone.

Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) says software developers now will be able to create applications that have items for sale within them, such as electronic books or additional levels of a video game.

he company unveiled the new tools along with the third generation of software for its iPhone during an event for journalists at its headquarters in Cupertino.

Apple launched the most recent iPhone last summer. The company sold 13.7 million iPhones in 2008.

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iPhone OS Preview

Apple on Tuesday will discuss new features for its iPhone software.

iPhone OS Preview

Apple on Tuesday will discuss new features for its iPhone software.

Apple Inc. is launching a smaller version of the iPod shuffle. It has a new feature that speaks the names of artists and songs.

Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) touts the new $79 device, which stores 4 gigabytes - up to about 1,000 songs - as "significantly" smaller than a double-A battery. Mirroring design updates to the company's laptop computer line, the new Shuffle comes in a gray aluminum exterior.

Apple says the Shuffle's new VoiceOver feature comes in 14 languages.

Apple shares rose $3.16, 3.6 percent, to $91.79 in morning trading Wednesday.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed