Apple company, Inc.
Apple company, Inc.
Apple company, 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 range 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 audio tools; the Safari web browser; and iOS, a mobile operating system.
As of March 2010, Apple has approximately 34,300 full–time employees and 2,862 retail stores in nine countries, and an online store where hardware and software products are sold. The company enjoys high brand loyalty and strong customer satisfaction, with its customer satisfaction being ranked first in the US for the thirteenth consecutive year, as well as having the highest customer satisfaction with the notebook category of computers for the fourth year in a row.
In addition, a recent study showed that 97 percent of Apple customers would recommend the brand to a friend. Apple has been ranked number one in the annual Fortune magazine survey of America’s most admired companies. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since December 12, 1980. Apple was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne as Apple Computer, Inc. The company was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977, and was renamed Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007, to reflect its shifted focus towards consumer electronics. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has released a number of hardware and software products over the years.
The Apple I, the company’s first product, was released on April 11, 1976, and was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual–video chips)—a base kit concept that would be popularized by the Apple II, introduced in 1977. The Apple I went on sale for $666.66. Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800; Jobs and Wozniak owned 51% and 49%, respectively, of the new company.
Together the duo gained the attention of Hobby Shop electronics retailer Paul Terrell, who ordered and then purchased fifty Apple I computers at the $500 price. The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire.
It differed from its major rivals, the TRS–80, and Commodore PET because it came with color graphics and open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4–inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen as the desktop platform for the first “killer app” of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office. Apple was established on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. The Apple I kits were computers single–handedly designed and hand–built by Wozniak and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual–video chips)—a base kit concept that would be popularized by the Apple II, introduced in 1977. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market–priced at $666.66 ($2,788 in 2016 dollars, adjusted for inflation). Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800; Jobs and Wozniak owned 51% and 49%, respectively, of the new company. Together the duo gained the attention of Hobby Shop electronics retailer Paul Terrell, who ordered and then purchased fifty Apple I computers at the $500 price.
The Apple I computers were delivered to Terrell’s Byte Shop within weeks. The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS–80, and Commodore PET because it came with color graphics and open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4–inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen as the desktop platform for the first “killer app” of the business world: VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program.
VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II: compatibility with the office. The Apple II became one of several recognizable and successful computers during the 1980s, although this was mainly due to its ability to run the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. As the market for personal computers expanded and evolved through the 1970s and 1980s, Apple’s aims also changed.
The Apple II was succeeded by the Apple III in 1980, which failed due to technical limitations and was not well–received by the market. The Lisa was a personal computer designed by Apple during the early 1980s, first sold on January 19, 1983. It was the company’s first computer to use a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse. The Macintosh was introduced by Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command–line interface. Apple released several updated models which were mostly incompatible with each other. The Macintosh platform was itself heavily dependent on the success of the Lisa computer, which had been introduced two years earlier. The Macintosh was immediately successful; within a few months, it had outsold all other computers, including the Apple II, in the US. The Macintosh 128K, originally released as the Apple Macintosh, is the original Apple Macintosh personal computer.
Its beige case consisted of a 9-inch (23 cm) CRT monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. A handle built into the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and transported. The Macintosh was introduced by Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface. Apple released several updated models which were mostly incompatible with each other. The Macintosh platform was itself heavily dependent on the success of the Lisa computer, which had been introduced two years earlier. The Macintosh was immediately successful; within a few months, it had outsold all other computers, including the Apple II, in the US. The Macintosh 128K, originally released as the Apple Macintosh, is the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case consisted of a 9-inch (23 cm) CRT monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. A handle built into the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and transported.
The Macintosh 512K, originally released as the Macintosh 512K Enhanced, is a personal computer that was designed and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from September 1984 to April 1986. It is the second model of the Macintosh series of computers after the original Macintosh 128K. It was introduced on September 10, 1984, by Apple Computer at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California. The Macintosh Plus is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from January 1986 to October 15, 1990. It was the third model of the Macintosh series of computers after the original Macintosh 128K and the Macintosh 512K. It replaced the 512K with a SCSI Parallel Interface allowing the connection of up to seven peripherals, including hard drives and scanners, and an increased capacity of 1 MB of RAM. The Macintosh II is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from March 1987 to January 1990.
It is the first model of the Macintosh II series, and the first Macintosh to support a color display. The Macintosh II was also the first Macintosh to be sold without the original Apple Mouse, instead offering an optional mouse from Logitech. The Macintosh IIci is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from September 1989 to February 1991. It is the successor to the Macintosh IIcx and the predecessor of the Macintosh IIfx. The “ci” in its name stands for “color integrated”, referring to the built–in 8–bit color video support. The Macintosh IIci was the most powerful Macintosh ever made until the Macintosh IIfx was introduced six months later. The Macintosh IIfx is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from March 1990 to February 1992. It is the fastest and most powerful Macintosh ever made until the Macintosh Quadra 950 was introduced in October 1991. The “fx” in its name stands for “fast and expandable”.
TheMacintosh LC is a low–end Macintosh personal computer model designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1990 to March 1992. It was the first Macintosh to use the Motorola 68030 processor and the last to use the Apple Desktop Bus for keyboard and mouse connectivity. It was also the first Macintosh to include built–in audio input and output ports. The LC name stands for “low–cost color”.
The Macintosh IIsi is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1990 to March 1992. It is the successor to the Macintosh IIcx and the predecessor of the Macintosh IIfx. The “si” in its name stands for “silhouette”, referring to its small footprint and sleek design. The Macintosh IIsi was the most popular Macintosh ever made until the Macintosh LC was introduced six months later. The Macintosh Quadra is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1991 to October 1995. The Quadra name was used for the all–in–one case design of the Centris 610 and 650, the high–end case design of the Quadra 800 and 900, and the entry–level case design of the Quadra 700 and 950.
TheMacintosh Centris is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1991 to October 1995. The Centris line was introduced as a mid–range complement to the six–month–old Macintosh II family of computers; it was notable for its price/performance compromises, which resulted in the little market overlap between the Centris line and the premium Macintosh II line. The Macintosh Performa is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1992 to