Apple Inc, previously Apple Computer, Inc.is a 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 is one of the largest companies in the world and the most valuable technology company in the world, having surpaed Microsoft.
Established on April 1, 1976 California, 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.
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.However, the company has also received widespread criticism for its contractors\' labor, environmental, and busine practices.
In 1984, Apple Macintosh.Its debut was announced by the a $1.5 million television commercial.
The Macintosh initially sold well, but follow-up sales were not strong[ due to its high price and limited range of software titles.The machine\'s fortunes changed with the introduction of the , the firstto be offered at a reasonable price, and ,particularly powerful in this market due to its advanced graphics capabilities, which had necearily been built in to create the intuitive computer.It has been suggested that the combination of these three products was responsible for the creation of the desktop publishing market.
After introducing the bulkyin 1989, Apple introduced thein 1991, which established the modern form factor and ergonomic layout of the laptop computer.The Macintosh Portable was designed to be just as powerful as a desktop Macintosh, but was quite heavy in weight and had a a 12-hour battery life.The same year, Apple introduced , a major upgrade to the operating system, which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities.
The succe of the PowerBook and other products brought increasing revenue.For some time, it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing fresh new products and generating increasing profits in the proce.
Following the succe of the , Apple introduced theline, a low-endoffering, and the ill-fatedline.The result was disastrous for Apple as consumers did not understand the difference between models.
During this time Apple experimented with a number of other failed consumer targeted products including digital cameras, portable CD audio players, speakers, video consoles, and TV appliances.Ultimately, all of this proved too-little-too-late for Apple as their market share and stock prices continued to slide.
Microsoft continued to gain market share with , focusing on delivering software to cheap commodity
personal computers while Apple was delivering a richly engineered, but expensive, experience.Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response.Instead they sued Microsoft for using a graphical user interface similar to the Apple Lisa.The lawsuit dragged on for years before it was finally dismied.At the same time, a series of major product flops and mied deadlines.
Between 1994 and 1997 there were attempts at reinvention.Apple allied with IBM andin the .The goal was to create a new computing platform usingand Motorola hardware coupled with Apple\'s software.Early in 2005 Apple announced that it was to end its long-standing relationship with IBM as a chip supplier and that it was to switch to Intel.Some industry speacialists believe that this has confused customers
Not everything has gone well for Apple.It is reported that iPod Nano may have a faulty screen that break under impact if the iPod is dropped or bumped.Some earlu edition iPods have faulty batteries.Apples promise is to repalce all faulty parts and has offered customers free battery cases.
The music industry is constintly putting preure on Apple to increase the price on downloading music files .Many companies make more money from iTunes (i.e.downloadable music files) than from their original sales.
In 1998 the company returned to profitability.Computers were no longer the main focus of the company, which had shifted its emphasis to mobile electronic devices.The event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the .
In July of the following year, Apple launched theto sell third-party applications for the andWithin a month, the store sold 60 million applications and brought in $1 million daily on average, with Jobs speculating that the App Store could become a billion-dollar busine for Appple.Three months later, it was
announced that Apple had become the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone.
In 2005 Apple won a legal case that forced Bloggers to name the source of information that preempted the launch of new Apple products.It was suspected that Apple’s own employees had leaked confidential informatiom about a new product launch.Because of thei status, Apple are vulnerable to leaks that could cost them profits.
Apple is now a ver succeful company.Sales of iPod music player was the beginning of increasing and increasing profits.The brand has taken on a life of its own and it is because of this favourable brand perception that sales for Macintosh computera have also increased.The iPod gave apple acce to a whole new series of segments that buy into other parts of the Apple brand.
Although Apple is a ver succeful company, they are very aware of the high level of competitiom in technology markets.Being succeful attract competitom.Apple has to work ver hard on research and development and
marketing to retain its competitive position.The popularity of iPod, Ipad and Apple Mac are subject to deman and are affected where economies falter and demand for the product falls.
Tjere is a high product substitution effect in the innovative fast moving IT consumables market.iPod, iPad and MP3 rule today, but almost yesterday it was CD, DAT and vinyl records.Tomorrows technology might be completely different.
