New rule may help Apple, Palm

SEATTLE -- Regulators are changing accounting rules so technology companies can report sales for certain gadgets all at once.

Apple Inc., for one, has had to spread iPhone revenue out over two years. That makes quarterly results seem weaker than they actually were.

Apple must do that because the phone blends hardware and software, and Apple provides software updates beyond the initial sale date.

Now, Apple can "unbundle" iPhone hardware from its software and report the hardware sales up front, so investors can more easily tell how Apple did in the quarter. The company would still report software revenue separately, over several quarters.

The changes the Financial Accounting Standards Board approved Wednesday also covers other high-tech companies, including makers of other smart phones and telecommunications and semiconductor equipment.