Apple’s iPhone made its long-awaited formal debut in the world’s most populous mobile phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black market models.

An aggressive TV ad campaign from Verizon Wireless is adding to the support building for a software package from Google Inc. that is shaping up to be the most formidable challenge yet to Apple Inc.‘s iPhone. The commercials for the Droid phone, being made by Motorola Inc., list features that the iPhone lacks, such as a physical keyboard and the ability to run applications simultaneously. It ends with the tag line “Everything iDon’t. Droid does.“

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs returned yesterday to the showman role that has helped define his company leadership, taking the stage for the first time since his medical leave to announce such new products as an iPod Nano that records video. Jobs, who had a liver transplant this spring from a young adult who died in a car crash, got a vigorous standing ovation from many in the audience.

China Unicom Ltd. said Friday it will sell Apple Inc.‘s iPhone in China this year, ending months of rumor about when the hit phone would make its long-delayed debut in the world’s most populous mobile market.

Apple Inc.‘s CEO said Schmidt would have had to recuse himself from large portions of the company’s board meetings because Google Inc. is entering more of Apple’s core businesses.

An employee at a factory that makes iPhones in China killed himself after a prototype went missing, and Apple Inc. responded Wednesday by saying its suppliers are required to treat workers with dignity and respect.

Apple Inc. sold more than a million units of its latest iPhone model in the first three days, making it the most successful model yet.

Kathy Truesdale of Henrico County says her iPhone, purchased only a couple of weeks ago, is an obsession. “It’s on my nightstand and the first thing I look at in the morning,“ she said. “It’s changed my life.“ Truesdale and thousands of other iPhone devotees were able to feed their obsessions yesterday as Apple rolled out it newest version of the popular smartphone.

The dominant seller of music on the Internet has a new look: Pricing changes to Apple Inc.‘s iTunes Store have gone into effect, with some popular songs now $1.29 apiece.