According to an article over on macworld, the Financial Accounting Standards Board have approved the recently proposes subscription accounting charge by a unanimous 5 to 0 vote. This charge affects Apple key Apple TV product and of course the Apple iPhone.
Before the new rule, Apple was required to recognise revenue from Apple TV and the iPhone over the length of their 2 year products lifetime as Apple had promised to roll out new features through software updates.
With the new rule, Apple can adjust the percentage realised at sale to a more accurate level, and could possibly mean an end to charges for iPod Touch updates, although Apple has not mentioned this yet.