Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO

Posted by Jeff in Apple, Business

Steve Jobs has resigned his position as the Apple CEO with immediate affect leaving Tim Cook to take over his CEO duties.

The 56 year old Steve Jobs has been suffering serious health problems over the past year and has been on medical leave since January.

We have seen Steve Jobs return to the spotlight occasionally to help launch new Apple products and make company announcements.

Tim Cook will now officially take over the reigns at Apple just as the latest iphone 5 news suggests it is on it’s way soon. Although in practice this has been the case for some time as Steve Jobs has been away for health reasons. What those health problems are have, understandably, been kept private by his family and Apple themselves.

In a letter to the Apple board, and the world at large, Steve Jobs writes that he no longer feels that he can carry out his duties as Apple CEO in the way he would like. He is therefore handing in his resignation.

You can read Steve Jobs letter below.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

It is hoped that Steve Jobs will take on an advisory role in the company but Apple shares still dived on the surprise, although not unexpected, announcement.

Such is the force of Steve Jobs that shares in other competing mobile companies rose higher on the news.

Steve Jobs & Apple’s Achievements (Post 1997)

It is not surprising when you consider how much of an influence Steve Jobs has been, not only on the Apple company, but on the technology and music industries themselves.

In recent years it has been the Steve Jobs vision that has guided Apple, and where Apple has led everyone else has had to follow.

When computers were just bland grey boxes, Jobs redefined what they looked like with the launch of the colorful, all-in-one iMac.

Steve Jobs then redefined the portable music world with the iPod. There were certainly other MP3 players before hand, but none that looked this… well… sexy. It has challenged the Sony Walkman as the most influential music device in history.

iTunes then redefined a whole music industry, offering legal, downloadable tracks made up of just computer bits and bytes. It’s now the largest music retailer in the world.

Not satisfied with shaking up the music industry, the cosy world of the mobile phone manufacturers was about to get a wake up call.

The launch of the iPhone instantly changed what a mobile phone could be and do. Not to mention being incredibly desirable, merely as an object of design.

The app store created a whole new industry that other companies have struggled to match. It is not just Apple that have made a large fortune from that particular idea. Successful app makers are now worth $100′s millions in their own right.

Steve Jobs was not finished yet though. Other people had tried and given up making tablet computers. No one had been able to make it work.

Steve Jobs and Apple have never been just another manufacturer though. The launch of the iPad created another new industry virtually overnight. Tablet computing was back in a big way.

Steve Jobs and Apple

Steve Jobs co-founded the Apple company in the 1970′s with Steve Wozniak and it became one of the most successful technology companies of the fledgling computer industry in the 1980′s.

After leaving Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs returned to a company on it’s last legs in 1997 (after starting that little animation company called Pixar by the way!) and turned it into arguably, the biggest brand in the world today.

Many people are saying that Apple will be the first $trillion company ($1,000,000,000,000). Without Steve Jobs they may not now be so certain but still, who would bet against it ?

Photo: Apple Inc.

Apple Reports Record Earnings

Posted by Clive in Apple, Business

Apple have announced record earnings of $28 billion and a net profit of over $15 billion for the last quarter.

The profits are on the back of surging demand for the Apple iPhone and iPad products, sales of which have more than doubled.

It is interesting that this massive demand has occurred when competitors to both the iPhone and the iPad has become alot stronger. HTC, for instance, have started to match the iPhone for functionality and design with their Google Android based phones.

The results do mask however, a real downturn in the fortunes of the iPod product range which has slipped by 20%. It seams more and more of us now store our music collections on our phones.

Analysts had been concerned that the devastation caused by the Tsunami in Japan would have an negative impact of Apple‘s supply chain, but it seems that there were no adverse supply problems.

Shares in the company rose by over 5% on the financial news and the Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that he expected revenue of about $25 billion in the 4th quarter of 2011. Predictions from Apple tend to be conservative so it will be interesting to see if they can improve on this performance.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO said,

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent. Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.”

They also have a new version of their operating system out this week, a new thunderbolt 27″ monitor and a rumoured launch of the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5 to come.

As you can see in our iPad 2 reader poll below, over 60% of you are waiting for the next generation iPad 3. Rumour has it that it will feature a display resolution that will make the Apple fans drool.

Are you waiting for the Apple Ipad 3?

Are you someone who is planning on getting / has bought the iPad 2 or are you willing to wait for the iPad 3 ? Cast your vote below.

Apple App Downloads Pass 10,000,000,000 (Yes..10 Billion)

Posted by Jeff in Apple, Technology

Apple has reported that the number of apps that have been downloaded from their app store has now surpassed the 10 billionth download.

There are approximately 160 million iPhone, iPod and iPad users worldwide that make up those purchasers and one lucky person, Gail Davis in the UK received a $10,000 iTunes voucher for being the 10 billionth person with her purchase of an app called Paper Glider.

Most of that total number, 7 billion, was purchased in the last year and shows how quickly the app store has gained traction in the marketplace. It operates in 90 countries around the world and the iPhone has yet to launch in some populous markets.

Other manufacturers are coping the business mode including Google and Nokia, hither to the top operator in the marketplace until a few years ago.

Apple Announces $6 Billion Profit

Posted by James in Apple, Press Releases, Technology

Apple announced this week record profits of $6 billion for the last quarter with record sales across it’s product range.

It is an impressive achievement and the new product range including the iPad seems to be at the heart of it. There have been tablet computers before but no one had anything that could be considered successful and the niche was abandoned by most manufacturers as a waste of time and money.

Apple changed all that in a master stroke with the iPad and instantly created a whole new sector which others are now scrambling to get into.

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 first quarter ended December 25, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $26.74 billion and record net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $15.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38.5 percent compared to 40.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 4.13 million Macs during the quarter, a 23 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 16.24 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 86 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 19.45 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 7.33 million iPads during the quarter.

“We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are firing on all cylinders and we’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can’t wait to get their hands on.”

“We couldn’t be happier with the performance of our business, generating $9.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $22 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.”

New Apple Mac Store Exceeds 1 million Downloads on First Day

Posted by Gary in Apple, Press Releases, Technology

Apple launched it’s much anticipated online store for the Apple Mac range of computers this month.

The store is essentially the equivalent of the app stores that iPhone, iPad & Touch users have been using for years now.

At the current time there are more than 1000 apps available, both free and paid applications accessed via your iTunes login details.

Apple® announced that over one million apps have been downloaded from the Mac® App Store℠ in the first day. With more than 1,000 free and paid apps, the Mac App Store brings the revolutionary App Store experience to the Mac, so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes® account, download and install them in just one step.“We’re amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is.”

The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews. The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard® users through Software Update as part of Mac OS® X v10.6.6.

Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

Photo: Apple Inc.

Apple App Store for Mac Open January 6th 2011

Posted by James in Apple, Press Releases, Technology

Apple announced this week that it will officially open up it’s app store for the deskop and laptop Macs in January 2011.

Apple® today announced that the Mac® App Store℠ will open for business on Thursday, January 6. By bringing the revolutionary App Store experience to Mac OS® X, the Mac App Store makes discovering, installing and updating Mac apps easier than ever. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch and will feature paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.

“The App Store revolutionized mobile apps,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can’t wait to get started on January 6.”

The Mac App Store lets you browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, view staff favorites, search categories and read customer ratings and reviews. Like on iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™, you can purchase, download and install apps in just one click and start using them immediately. Purchased apps can run on all of your personal Macs and updates are delivered directly through the Mac App Store so it’s easy to keep all of your apps up to date. The Mac App Store is available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard® users as a free download through Software Update.

Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Photo: Apple Inc

Apple Announces New IOS 4.2

Posted by James in Apple, Technology

Apple has announced the imminent arrival of the latest version of its portable operating system for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

It appears that the iPad is the main beneficiary from the update with the ability to group apps into folders and the big one, multitasking. Both of course are already available on the iPhone.

Airprint and airplay also arrive on all the devices. This allows you to print any document or photo from your device with a couple of key presses with a compatible printer.

Airplay does what it says on the tin, allowing your to stream any of your media files wirelessly to any airplay enable device such as your speakers or TV.

The security application, Find my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, has been moved over to be a free app. Once activated this enables you to locate your device on a map, you can then either display a message on the screen, set a passcode on the device to lock it or hit the reset and do a remote wipe of all the data. Very useful if you suddenly find your device has gone walkabouts and really a big step forward in anti-theft security, perhaps one that should have been free to start with.

You also get updates to the email center with a unified inbox, safari gets a new feature that allows you to find words on a page. Notes, keyboard, dictionary and messaging all get updated as well as some enhancements for anyone using the device in an Enterprise environment.

There is also a new addition called Game Center which allows more social gaming with an auto-matching facility.

The update will be available through iTunes today.

Photo: Apple Inc.

Apple’s Advertising Network Coming to Europe

Posted by Gary in Apple, Press Releases, Technology

Apple today sent out a press release that confirms that the iAd network is being rolled out into Europe in the last part of 2010. The PR is below.

Apple® today announced it will expand its revolutionary iAd℠ mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January.

iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio. Since its US launch in July, iAd has emerged as a powerful new way for advertisers to reach millions of iPhone® and iPod touch® users right in their favorite apps, while providing a significant new revenue stream for developers. iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers in just four months,* with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010 according to research firm IDC.**

“We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers,” said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd. “In just four months, we’ve doubled the number of advertisers on the network and thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue.”

“As the world leader in the beauty business, L’Oréal aims to create the most meaningful connections between its brands and its customers, so iAd was a natural choice,” said Marc Menesguen, L’Oréal’s Head of strategic marketing. “We’re thrilled by the quality, the interactivity and the depth of iAd’s user experience, giving us an unparalleled opportunity to reach and serve the most engaged and discerning customers at the digital forefront of beauty, hence our choice of Lancôme to lead our iAd campaign.”

iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes® content. With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new.

Advertisers can learn more at advertising.apple.com. Developers who join the iAd Network can easily incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Developers will receive an industry standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. Developers can visit developer.apple.com/iad to join the iAd Network or to learn more about the iAd platform.

* Advertising Age “100 Leading National Advertisers” rankings for 2009 by spend, June 20, 2010.

** US mobile display advertising 2010 forecast, published by BusinessWeek.com, September 26, 2010.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Photo: Apple Inc

Apple Add Beatles to iTunes

Posted by James in Apple, Technology

Apple the technology company and Apple Corps Ltd, the music company have finally agreed peace and come to an agreement that will finally allow The Beatles back catalogue into the iTunes store.

The band are one of the biggest on the planet even though they split up decades ago and most of their members are no longer with us.

Not having them on iTunes has been an embarrising omission for iTunes since it started but there was an ongoing court case that was finally resolved in 2007 over the name Apple.