Summary
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics computer software, and personal computers The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity software, Aperture, a professional photography package, Final Cut Studio , a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products, Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; the Safari internet browser; and iOS, a mobile operating system. As of August 2010the company operates 301 rental stores in ten countries, and an online store where hardware and software products are sold. As of May 2010, Apple is one of the largest companies in the world and the most valuable technology company in the world, having surpassed Microsoft.
Established on April 1, 1976 in Cuperito, California and incorporated January 3, 1977, the company was previously named Apple Computer, Inc., for its first 30 years, but removed the word "Computer" on January 9, 2007, to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. As of September 2010, Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of $65.23 billion.
For reasons as various as its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaign. Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The company has also received widespread criticism for its contractors' labor, environmental, and business practices.
Apple 1 (first product), sold at US 666.66 in 1976 = 2,572 in 2011 (inflation)
Apple Portable, released in 1989
Apple's first Macintosh, in 1984
Newton PDA with MAC OS
First Apple laptop was the MacBook Pro in January 2006
Mobile electronics is the new direction for present Apple Inc.
Products
Mac and accessories
Mac mini: consumer sub-desktop computer and server introduced in 2005
iMac: consumer all-in-one desktop computer introduced in 1998
Mac Pro: workstation-class desktop computer introduced in 2006, replacing the Power Macintosh
MacBook: consumer notebook introduced in 2006, replacing the iBook
MacBook Air: ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook introduced in 2008
MacBookPro: professional notebook introduced in 2006, replacing the PowerBook
Xserve: rack mounted server
The All New MacBook Pro
iPad
On January 27, 2010, Apple introduced their much-anticipated media tablet, th iPad running a modified version of iOS. It offers multi-touch interaction with multimedia formats including newspapers, magazines, ebooks, textbooks, photos, movies, TV shows videos, music, word processing documents, spreadsheets, video games, and most existing iPhone apps. It also includes a mobile version of Safari for internet browsing, as well as access to the App Store, iTunes Library, iBooks Store, contacts, and notepad. Content is downloadable via Wi-Fi and optional 3G service or synced through the user's computer. AT&T is currently the sole US provider of 3G wireless access for the iPad.
Ipad being introduced by Steve Jobs
iPod
On October 23, 2001, Apple introduced the iPod digital music player. It has evolved to include various models targeting the wants of different users. The iPod is the market leader in portable music players by a significant margin, with more than 220 million units shipped as of September 2009Apple has partnered with Nike to offer the Nike+iPod Sports Kit enabling runners to synchronize and monitor their runs with iTunes and the Nike+ website. Apple currently sells four variants of the iPod.
The iPod Shuffle, Nano, Classic, and Touch
iPhone
At the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2007, Steve Jobs revealed the long anticipated iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod.
The iPhone first became available on June 29, 2007 for $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB) with an AT&T contract. On February 5, 2008, Apple updated the original iPhone to have 16 GB of memory, in addition to the 8 GB and 4 GB models. On June 9, 2008, at WWDC 2008, Steve Jobs announced that the iPhone 3G would be available on July 11, 2008.
On June 8, 2009, at Apple's annual worldwide developers conference, the iPhone3GS was announced, providing an incremental update to the device including faster internal components, support for faster 3G speeds, video recording capability, and voice control.
On June 7, 2010, at WWDC 2010, the iPhone 4 was announced, which Apple says is its "'biggest leap we've taken" since the original iPhone. The phone includes an all-new design, 960x640 display, Apple's A4 processor used in the iPad, a gyroscope for enhanced gaming, 5MP camera with LED flash, front-facing VGA camera and Face Time video calling. Shortly after the release of the iPhone 4, it was realized by consumers that the new iPhone had reception issues. This is due to the stainless steel band around the edge of the device, which also serves as the phones cellular signal and Wi-Fi antenna. The current fix for this issue is a “Bumper Case” " for the phone distributed for free to all iPhone 4 owners, subject to terms.
iPhone 4
Apple TV
At the 2007 Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV (previously known as the iTV), a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with high-definition televisions. The device links up to a user's TV and syncs, either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and streams from an additional four. The Apple TV originally incorporated a 40 GB hard drive for storage, includes outputs for HDMI and component video, and plays video at a maximum resolution of 720p.
Software
Apple develops its own operating system to run on Macs, Mac OS X, the latest version being Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard. Apple also independently develops computer software titles for its Mac OS X operating system. Much of the software Apple develops is bundled with its computers. An example of this is the consumer-oriented iLife software package that bundles iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, GarageBand, and iWeb. For presentation, page layout and word processing, iWork is available, which includes Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. iTunes, QuickTime media player, Safari web browser, and Software Update are available as free downloads for both Mac OS X and Windows.
Timeline of Apple Products
Corporate affairs
Ever since the first Apple Store opened, Apple has sold third party accessories. This allows, for instance, Nikon and Canon to sell their Mac-compatible digital cameras and camcorders inside the store. Adobe, one of Apple's oldest software partners, also sells its Mac-compatible software, as does Microsoft, who sells Microsoft Office for the Mac. Books from John Wiley & Sons, who publishes the For Dummies series of instructional books, are a notable exception, however. The publisher's line of books were banned from Apple Stores in 2005 because Steve Jobs disagreed with their decision to publish an unauthorized Jobs biography
Headquarters
Apple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at 1 Infinite Loop, Cuperito, California. This Apple campus has six buildings that total 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2) and was built in 1993 by Sobrato Development Cos.
In 2006, Apple announced its intention to build a second campus on 50 acres (200,000 m2) assembled from various contiguous plots. The new campus, also in Cupertino, will be about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the current campus.
Logos
The original logo with Isaac Newton under an apple tree
The rainbow "bitten" logo, used from late 1976 to 1998
The monochrome logo, used since 1998
Labor practices
In 2006, the Mail on Sunday reported that sweatshop conditions existed in some factories in China, where the contract manufacturers, Foxconn and Inventec, operate the factories that produce the iPod. The article stated that one complex of factories that assemble the iPod, among other items, for instance, had over 200,000 workers that lived and worked in the factory, with workers regularly doing more than 60 hours of labor per week. The article also reported that workers made around $100 per month were required to live on the premises and pay for rent and food from the company, which generally amounted to a little over half of workers' earnings.
PC surgery update
PC as Steve Jobs
