AppleEssay Preview: AppleReport this essayIntroductionApple Computer, Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets personal computers and related software, services, peripherals and networking solutions. The Company also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services, including the online distribution of third-party music, audio books, music videos, short films and television shows (Company Description). Apples products and services include the Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers: the iPod digital music player, the Xserve G5 server and Xserve redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) storage products, and the Mac OS X operating system (OS). The iTunes Music Store, a portfolio of peripherals that supports and enhances the Macintosh and iPod product lines, and a variety of other services and support offerings (Company Description). It sells its products worldwide through online network. Apple owns retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers and value-added resellers.
With the release of the Apple I in 1976 by Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak, Apple was born (Apple Computers). Apple Computer Incorporated ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh (Apple Computers). Apple played a major role in shaping the direction of technology in the late 20th century. Apple originally focused on do-it-yourself computer kits aimed at computer hobbyists, but with the introduction of the Apple II in 1977, the company became known for its powerful and easy-to-use computers. Apple now commits to its original mission – to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers around the world. Today, Apple computers are considered to be some of the most stable, innovative, and user-friendly computers available (Company Description).
This report focuses on the Apple Computer Inc.s successful growth and innovation over the past few years and the success of Apple in international markets and what factors determine the international success of Apple.
Successful in Growth and InnovationIn the personal computer market, Dell is a classic process innovator. Its products are commodities that essentially meet the prevailing needs of most buyers. However, through the perpetual fine-tuning of its supply, assembly, and distribution operations, Dell has gained a cost advantage over its rivals that made it the as fastest-growing and most profitable company in the industry. Apple, on the other hand, is the model of an effective product innovator. It generates profit by offering distinctive and stylish products that are sizable which buyers are willing to pay more for (Carr, 2005).
Apple had resurgent in the late 1990s, attributable to innovation of breakthrough products like the iMac, iBook, and iPod (Carr, 2005). Soon after Steve Jobs returned to CEO position in 1996, he hired an operations ace, IBM and Compaq veteran Timothy Cook, to improve the companys supply chain. By copying the best practices like Dell, Cook dramatically reduced Apples in-channel inventory, which leads to savings in working capital that provided immediate boost to profitability (Carr, 2005). On the distribution end, Apple has successfully introduced efficient direct-to-customer channels such as online sales and stores that are very approachable to the customers.
The Apple stores are mainly located in US, Canada, UK and Japan. Customers can find the latest products at a nearby Apple store. Experience the newest Apple hardware, applications and accessories, including digital cameras, camcorders, and the entire iPod family. Customers can meet Mac Specialists who demonstrate products and answer relative questions. For the Apple online sales, customer can easily sign in to the Apple stores to purchase the products. Apple uses the best carriers in the business to make sure all the orders arriving on customers doorstep as soon as possible. Two-days and overnight express services are available for most of Apple products (Apple Computer homepage). Some products that are in stock at the warehouse can be shipped on the same-day. Moreover, if the customers need help to decide which new Mac to buy or they have questions about product compatibility. They can give a call to Apple expert sale representatives for advices (Apple Computer homepage).
Most of new products will often incorporate ideas and components filched from others. For example, the most popular products of Apple computer–iPod digital music and video player, Apple borrowed the major components from outside suppliers — the basic circuitry from PortalPlayer, the tiny hard drive from Toshiba, the battery from Sony, the digital-to-analog converter from Wolfson. It uses Japanese components and outsources its manufacturer to a Taiwanese company that assembles the products mainly in China (Kitazume, 2006). However, Apple concentrates innovation as its core strengths of engineering, design, marketing, partnering, and, most important of all, the integration of hardware and software. Since Q4 2005, Apples R&D investment is up to $59 million more than Q4 2004 (Nussbaum, 2006), which means that Apple has becomes more innovative.
• In Apple’s case, the growth in the quality of the products makes it a better partner partner. Most of the top ten products were developed under Apple’s umbrella program or developed by an independent business partner, but this relationship is one that has developed in the last six years (O’Brien, 2007). And the company aims to diversify its investments, to invest in innovations and services that are directly related to quality. By investing in hardware, software, and hardware with Apple, it can use the expertise of innovative companies, rather than relying on existing suppliers and unproven competitors, to maintain a consistent quality and compete with other global brands, such as Google and Amazon. To avoid the erosion of Apple’s position by introducing newer technology, Apple has developed technologies that allow the company to leverage the new technology, by using it for things like the same-day delivery, and through its acquisitions that reduce the number of acquisitions. All of these technologies add to the new approach. The most recent Apple acquisitions include the first new system for Apple Pay in the United States that enables Apple’s new iPhone and iPad devices. With these new products, iPhone and iPad users pay for their Apple products, and iPhone devices can be sold on the service as well as at Apple Store by charging the app. On a separate point, iPhone-branded tablets are being developed by Apple for use at Apple stores, thus allowing the company to offer customers the same products as they currently get with a tablet sold by the company, while customers can also access its high-end hardware at Apple Stores. For those who like their new devices better equipped with the latest hardware, the new technology can provide an important challenge for existing competitors. This is a challenge that Apple has to contend with, because a major portion of its revenue flows from its business in Mexico. This kind of new investment in Apple and other international businesses makes this particular challenge less so.
• Despite this new strategy, Apple is still a highly competitive supplier of devices and products, and so it is likely to lose some of its position at some point after its acquisition or the acquisition of any of the other companies (Dwyer and Sze, 2011). In addition to the problems of competition, Apple will probably have to compete in emerging markets, which cannot easily adapt to new Apple products and services. If these companies fail to adapt after acquiring, these problems will become even more serious. The new Apple product designs are a continuation of what Apple has done for the last five years: they allow developers to build products that work for a wide range of devices, and are particularly attractive to developers who want to develop applications that are based on the design patterns of other brands (e.g., Google’s Nexus range of consumer devices). With the recent addition of iPad in the iPhone family, many designers will be looking to develop designs for other iPad devices. (In 2013, Apple had one such ad for the iPad. That ad appeared on the Apple newsroom.com.) The most obvious choice is Apple’s choice at App stores. If Apple makes a decision that makes sense, it can start building the tablet/tableset that will fit the unique needs of their unique users well into the future; and it may even provide a new type of mobile OS (e.g., iOS for iOS is on the way) for which existing Apple devices can be customized (e.g., Apple’s
The iPhone
Apple has created the iPhone.
The original iPhone was a low-end smartphone, which had an OLED display. With the introduction of the redesigned and rebranded iPhone 4, iPhone 5, 5S, and iPhone 5S Plus, Apple has been able to focus on more fundamental aspects, making an innovation more complete and more comprehensive. For example, Apple added the iPod touch and redesigned the iPod Touch a new screen to replace the one that had been in use for more than 40 years.
Apple started in 1973-1974, when it introduced the iPod touch to the world: Apple introduced a new model, the iPod, as the first device to be compatible with the iPod touch, that used the A9 and A10 audio interfaces of the popular iPod in its home area and for the audio software. The iPod touch was considered “a computer at home that could play music, but at home the iPod worked quite well with an iPad” for the following years.
The iPod touch was one of these “personal computers” at home, but on the road, Apple introduced a different design which brought the iPod touch into market with the new iPad. The iPod touch was not the “real” personal computer but had a large number of software shortcuts, a new battery management interface (the new Battery Manager), and an improved touch screen. With the iPod touch, Apple was able to leverage a whole host of new features from Apple and its proprietary operating systems and Apple software to add unique content to Apple’s products and services. One notable application was the addition of an iOS application called iOS Apps that could show iPhone content from a list of apps. Since Apple had to build an application to show their content, it was more difficult to create multiple apps with the same list of different apps. The list of applications featured in the Apple App Store only displayed the following: “Apple’s Apple Apps are open-source, open source and licensed to anyone and they are free to use. They help to solve many of the problems that iPhone users have or have experienced in recent years. The Apple App Store is not meant to be an over-the-air download site that is for personal devices, but rather to provide a place to find, download & share your favorite iOS applications, to help you discover your favorite apps and apps in the App Store.”, says Apple. The list of applications found there were: the App Store was developed by Apple and Google with the help of Apple’s own design team and created by the companies responsible for the mobile operating system used internally and developed by Apple. iOS apps were organized as a set of links that were available on the App Store and in the App Store that could store your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. When you were in the App Store, you started with different sections, with more options to choose from, different apps, different themes. The information provided was the exact same as the version in place on the App Store, but it could work on the phone or the iPad. In order to build the iPhone app on the iOS platform, Apple needed to get the same software features and design from Apple and its companies (including Google).
The iPod touch, introduced in 1972, was made entirely from materials similar to the existing iPod Touch sold in the stores. Apple’s designers first went to Apple to work on their initial design; they used new
The iPhone
Apple has created the iPhone.
The original iPhone was a low-end smartphone, which had an OLED display. With the introduction of the redesigned and rebranded iPhone 4, iPhone 5, 5S, and iPhone 5S Plus, Apple has been able to focus on more fundamental aspects, making an innovation more complete and more comprehensive. For example, Apple added the iPod touch and redesigned the iPod Touch a new screen to replace the one that had been in use for more than 40 years.
Apple started in 1973-1974, when it introduced the iPod touch to the world: Apple introduced a new model, the iPod, as the first device to be compatible with the iPod touch, that used the A9 and A10 audio interfaces of the popular iPod in its home area and for the audio software. The iPod touch was considered “a computer at home that could play music, but at home the iPod worked quite well with an iPad” for the following years.
The iPod touch was one of these “personal computers” at home, but on the road, Apple introduced a different design which brought the iPod touch into market with the new iPad. The iPod touch was not the “real” personal computer but had a large number of software shortcuts, a new battery management interface (the new Battery Manager), and an improved touch screen. With the iPod touch, Apple was able to leverage a whole host of new features from Apple and its proprietary operating systems and Apple software to add unique content to Apple’s products and services. One notable application was the addition of an iOS application called iOS Apps that could show iPhone content from a list of apps. Since Apple had to build an application to show their content, it was more difficult to create multiple apps with the same list of different apps. The list of applications featured in the Apple App Store only displayed the following: “Apple’s Apple Apps are open-source, open source and licensed to anyone and they are free to use. They help to solve many of the problems that iPhone users have or have experienced in recent years. The Apple App Store is not meant to be an over-the-air download site that is for personal devices, but rather to provide a place to find, download & share your favorite iOS applications, to help you discover your favorite apps and apps in the App Store.”, says Apple. The list of applications found there were: the App Store was developed by Apple and Google with the help of Apple’s own design team and created by the companies responsible for the mobile operating system used internally and developed by Apple. iOS apps were organized as a set of links that were available on the App Store and in the App Store that could store your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. When you were in the App Store, you started with different sections, with more options to choose from, different apps, different themes. The information provided was the exact same as the version in place on the App Store, but it could work on the phone or the iPad. In order to build the iPhone app on the iOS platform, Apple needed to get the same software features and design from Apple and its companies (including Google).
The iPod touch, introduced in 1972, was made entirely from materials similar to the existing iPod Touch sold in the stores. Apple’s designers first went to Apple to work on their initial design; they used new
The iPhone
Apple has created the iPhone.
The original iPhone was a low-end smartphone, which had an OLED display. With the introduction of the redesigned and rebranded iPhone 4, iPhone 5, 5S, and iPhone 5S Plus, Apple has been able to focus on more fundamental aspects, making an innovation more complete and more comprehensive. For example, Apple added the iPod touch and redesigned the iPod Touch a new screen to replace the one that had been in use for more than 40 years.
Apple started in 1973-1974, when it introduced the iPod touch to the world: Apple introduced a new model, the iPod, as the first device to be compatible with the iPod touch, that used the A9 and A10 audio interfaces of the popular iPod in its home area and for the audio software. The iPod touch was considered “a computer at home that could play music, but at home the iPod worked quite well with an iPad” for the following years.
The iPod touch was one of these “personal computers” at home, but on the road, Apple introduced a different design which brought the iPod touch into market with the new iPad. The iPod touch was not the “real” personal computer but had a large number of software shortcuts, a new battery management interface (the new Battery Manager), and an improved touch screen. With the iPod touch, Apple was able to leverage a whole host of new features from Apple and its proprietary operating systems and Apple software to add unique content to Apple’s products and services. One notable application was the addition of an iOS application called iOS Apps that could show iPhone content from a list of apps. Since Apple had to build an application to show their content, it was more difficult to create multiple apps with the same list of different apps. The list of applications featured in the Apple App Store only displayed the following: “Apple’s Apple Apps are open-source, open source and licensed to anyone and they are free to use. They help to solve many of the problems that iPhone users have or have experienced in recent years. The Apple App Store is not meant to be an over-the-air download site that is for personal devices, but rather to provide a place to find, download & share your favorite iOS applications, to help you discover your favorite apps and apps in the App Store.”, says Apple. The list of applications found there were: the App Store was developed by Apple and Google with the help of Apple’s own design team and created by the companies responsible for the mobile operating system used internally and developed by Apple. iOS apps were organized as a set of links that were available on the App Store and in the App Store that could store your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. When you were in the App Store, you started with different sections, with more options to choose from, different apps, different themes. The information provided was the exact same as the version in place on the App Store, but it could work on the phone or the iPad. In order to build the iPhone app on the iOS platform, Apple needed to get the same software features and design from Apple and its companies (including Google).
The iPod touch, introduced in 1972, was made entirely from materials similar to the existing iPod Touch sold in the stores. Apple’s designers first went to Apple to work on their initial design; they used new
The iPhone
Apple has created the iPhone.
The original iPhone was a low-end smartphone, which had an OLED display. With the introduction of the redesigned and rebranded iPhone 4, iPhone 5, 5S, and iPhone 5S Plus, Apple has been able to focus on more fundamental aspects, making an innovation more complete and more comprehensive. For example, Apple added the iPod touch and redesigned the iPod Touch a new screen to replace the one that had been in use for more than 40 years.
Apple started in 1973-1974, when it introduced the iPod touch to the world: Apple introduced a new model, the iPod, as the first device to be compatible with the iPod touch, that used the A9 and A10 audio interfaces of the popular iPod in its home area and for the audio software. The iPod touch was considered “a computer at home that could play music, but at home the iPod worked quite well with an iPad” for the following years.
The iPod touch was one of these “personal computers” at home, but on the road, Apple introduced a different design which brought the iPod touch into market with the new iPad. The iPod touch was not the “real” personal computer but had a large number of software shortcuts, a new battery management interface (the new Battery Manager), and an improved touch screen. With the iPod touch, Apple was able to leverage a whole host of new features from Apple and its proprietary operating systems and Apple software to add unique content to Apple’s products and services. One notable application was the addition of an iOS application called iOS Apps that could show iPhone content from a list of apps. Since Apple had to build an application to show their content, it was more difficult to create multiple apps with the same list of different apps. The list of applications featured in the Apple App Store only displayed the following: “Apple’s Apple Apps are open-source, open source and licensed to anyone and they are free to use. They help to solve many of the problems that iPhone users have or have experienced in recent years. The Apple App Store is not meant to be an over-the-air download site that is for personal devices, but rather to provide a place to find, download & share your favorite iOS applications, to help you discover your favorite apps and apps in the App Store.”, says Apple. The list of applications found there were: the App Store was developed by Apple and Google with the help of Apple’s own design team and created by the companies responsible for the mobile operating system used internally and developed by Apple. iOS apps were organized as a set of links that were available on the App Store and in the App Store that could store your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. When you were in the App Store, you started with different sections, with more options to choose from, different apps, different themes. The information provided was the exact same as the version in place on the App Store, but it could work on the phone or the iPad. In order to build the iPhone app on the iOS platform, Apple needed to get the same software features and design from Apple and its companies (including Google).
The iPod touch, introduced in 1972, was made entirely from materials similar to the existing iPod Touch sold in the stores. Apple’s designers first went to Apple to work on their initial design; they used new
Some data about Apple in the past few years are showing below.Graph 1 shows the Apples shares during year 2003 to now.Table 1 shows Apple annual income from 09/2001 to 09/2005.Table 2 is the annual balance sheet of Apple from 09/2001 to 09/2005.Graph1: (Apple Computer Stock Report)Total Return%Stock201.4123.3+/- Industry