WWDC

On June 7th, the curtain rises on Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. This annual event has taken on increased significance due to Apple’s departure from active involvement in IDG’s annual Macworld Conference and Expo.

Mac enthusiasts eagerly await news of a release date for the fourth-generation iPhone and indications from Apple about how many iPads have been sold. Registrations for this year’s conferences are already sold out.

Google v. Apple

At this year’s Google I/O developer event held in May, representatives of the search giant and maker of the Android and Chrome operating systems launched a series of verbal salvos at Apple, the iPhone OS, and Apple’s position in the smartphone market.

What had once been a warm relationship between Google and Apple has fast become a contentious one, as both companies position for long-term growth in the mobile digital device markets. Although Google and Apple are traveling different paths to establish leadership in these markets, the two companies are destined to be fierce competitors in the years ahead.

Apple v. Microsoft

At the close of the final trading day of May, Apple’s share price (Ticker Symbol: AAPL) rested at $256.88, giving the company a market capitalization of $233.74 billion. Microsoft’s market cap (or sum value of all shares outstanding) sat at $226.11 billion.

For those of us who have followed the often bitter rivalry between Apple and Microsoft, this juxtaposition in market value is worthy of note. As publicly traded American companies, only Exxon Mobil commands a higher market value than Apple at this time.

Under the leadership of CEO Steve Jobs, Apple’s success in the handheld digital device markets with the iPod, the iPhone, and now the iPad has erased the effects of Apple’s fall from prominence in the mid 1990s when a succession of CEOs failed to return the company to its former glory. Apple’s resurgence during the first decade of the new century and its continuing development of exciting new products is reflected in the company’s market value.

Microsoft v. Google

If there are enterprises inclined to be economic foes, they are Microsoft and Google. Both of these enterprises are creators of operating systems, both offer Web search services, and both are pushing hard and pushing at each other in the productivity solutions market.

Apple is ironically positioned between its old foe and its new one and is both partner and combatant with each party. Microsoft has stumbled in the iPhone era, and its response to the iPhone OS and Google’s Android OS will come to market this fall. Watch for Apple to move adroitly over the next few months as the natural rivalry between Microsoft and Google comes into view. Google is working to release the Chrome OS for netbooks, while Microsoft arms itself to compete with Google in Web search services.

The iPad

At press time, the iPad was making its debut in select international markets. The early success of Apple’s new digital device has pleasantly surprised even some of the the most optimistic Apple product enthusiasts. The iPad is accelerating the development of a new class of iPhone OS apps to take advantage of the device’s comparatively large screen real estate and to exploit the consumer migration to highly mobile digital devices.

The editors of ATPM are following the happenings in the fast-moving market for iPhone OS devices, apps, and even the new world of mobile device advertising. We are excited about the new technologies being developed and the new products that will continue to emerge. We thank you for joining us each month and look forward to bringing you our unique style of views, news, and reviews as we all begin our summertime adventures.

Our June issue includes:

MacMuser: Streaming Abdabs

“Yes, Apple products can be expensive and on the surface might seem lacking when compared with similar devices. On the other hand, they integrate together so easily and have a brand identity and appearance unmatched by others. But it is going to be the easy access to the iTunes Store that will be the most expensive part.”

MacMuser: Stuffed, Compacted, and Doubled

Mark Tennent ponders the art of file compression.

Segments: The iPad Goes to School

Sylvester Roque has an evil plan to create an army of iPad-carrying minions.

Segments: To iPad or Not to iPad?

Frank Wu is learning it takes discipline to leave his iPad alone.

Desktop Pictures: Space Shuttle Smoke

Lee Bennett shares several surreal-looking images of smoke left behind by the STS-131 Space Shuttle launch.

Out at Five

Matt Johnson’s new series, Out at Five, looks at the workplace and its boundaries from all angles, revolving around many of the same characters from his former series, Cortland.

Review: Window Mount for Apple iPhone 3G/3GS

Chris Turner has found a straightforward, no frills, no worry windshield suction cup mount for his iPhone.