Apple Set to Unveil iPod Cell Phone

Apple Computer Inc. is set to announce at San Francisco’s Macworld Expo the development of a device that combines its iPod with a cell phone.

Cingular Wireless would provide the phone’s cell phone service, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The product would give Apple access to the wireless market, which accounts for nearly 1 billion handsets a year, the newspaper said. By contrast, Apple has sold nearly 70 million iPod portable media players since 2002.

IPod market growth is slowing, the Journal said. Apple sold 39.4 million iPods for $7.68 billion in its most recent fiscal year ended Sept. 30. This is up 75 percent from the previous fiscal year but down from the 409 percent growth the year before.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who has kept a low profile over his role in a scandal involving improper backdating of stock options, may announce the iPod cell phone when he addresses Macworld, the Journal said.