Apple shares take a tumble

While Apple chief executive Steve Jobs ushered in an array of new software, hardware and upgrades during the MacWorld conference in New York, the company's shares tumbled.

Among the newcomers, Apple debuted a high-end iMac that comes with a 17in screen, an 800MHz PowerPC G4 processor, a CD burner and an 80GB hard drive.

A Windows-compatible version of Apple's iPod digital audio player, which will be available in late August, was also showcased.

Jobs offered a brief preview of 'Jaguar', Apple's flagship OSX software, version 10.2. It includes 150 new features and enhancements, such as a new email program with an enhanced address book and a built-in spam filter. The latest version will be available on 24 August.

"We are early, which is a rare thing in software," said Jobs.

Apple also said that Epson, Hewlett Packard and Lexmark plan to include Rendezvous, a feature for discovering IP machine addresses on any network, in their printers.

QuickTime 6, the multimedia player released earlier in the week and which Apple said has already been downloaded one million times, was also demonstrated during the keynote.

But the company's shares fell on Wednesday after Salomon Smith Barney downgraded stock over concerns about how Apple's channel inventories and tax rates would affect its third-quarter profits.

Salomon lowered its rating on Apple's stock from 'buy' to 'neutral'.

The fall in Apple's stock came after chief financial officer Fred Andersen said the company "expects a slight profit" and flat revenue in its fourth quarter.

Apple earned $32m, or 9 cents per share, on revenue of $1.43bn for the quarter ended 29 June. In the same quarter a year ago, the company earned $61m, or 17 cents per share, on revenue of $1.48bn.

The company warned last month that sales would be in the range of $1.4bn to $1.45bn, down from an earlier estimate of $1.6bn.