iPhone

For years, the rumor mill has expected Apple to release a mobile phone, with the name assumed to be "iPhone," to be consistent with the iMac and iPod.

Cisco owns a federally registered trademark for iPhone and introduced new VoIP phones in the iPhone brand at the end of last year: Cisco -- not apple -- announces iPhone branded VoIP phones.

Today, Apple introduced its iPhone device, which is a mobile communicator and media player that also happens to run a version of OS X.

I'm ready to line up to buy one.

Not surprisingly, Reuters reports that Apple and Cisco are preparing to enter a licensing agreement over the mark: Cisco expects Apple agreement on iPhone trademark: "Cisco spokeswoman Penny Bruce said the two companies had been in discussions, and it believed that Apple intends to agree to a final document and public statement concerning the trademark."

In addition, the company is now known as Apple, Inc and no longer as Apple Computer, Inc., reflecting the move beyond the computer into consumer electronics.