Apple

Mismatch

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Horace Dediu:

If stores did not show any effect of poor management, then why was Browett fired? I suspect it had mostly to do with a mis-match of understanding of the job the stores are hired to do by consumers and by Apple itself. The company treats the stores as a sales channel but also as a communications channel with its customers.

A complete and total mismatch.

Scott who?

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The exit of Apple Inc’s longtime mobile software products chief may be a surprise, but a band of able executives led by Tim Cook and a bigger role for design boss Jonathan Ive meant the company was in good hands, analysts said on Tuesday.

And that’s why Tim Cook put Ive in that position. It instantly calmed everything down.

Apple’s executive shake-up — Forstall, Browett are out

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Apple today announced executive management changes that will encourage even more collaboration between the Company’s world-class hardware, software and services teams. As part of these changes, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi will add more responsibilities to their roles. Apple also announced that Scott Forstall will be leaving Apple next year and will serve as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook in the interim.Additionally, John Browett is leaving Apple. A search for a new head of Retail is underway and in the interim, the Retail team will report directly to Tim Cook.

Wow.

Apple’s investment manager wrestles with $120bn problem

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The Guardian:

It is one of the world’s largest hedge funds, with $121bn under management, but its name is virtually unknown in financial circles. Braeburn Capital is not operated from the top floor of a Manhattan skyscraper or a plush Mayfair townhouse. It is located in a quiet suburb of Nevada’s capital, Reno, and it belongs to Apple.Much of Apple’s money is trapped overseas, sheltered from the US taxman, who would demand a 35% cut were the money to be repatriated. But it can be invested at home. Apple’s financial reports show it holds $21bn of US government debt – a vast sum for a single private investor. Foreign governments like investing in US securities, but Apple owns more than the $19bn held by Malaysia, and just $4bn less than Spain.

“Problem”? We should all have such problems.

Apple posts $8.2 billion fourth quarter profit

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Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2012. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $36.0 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $28.3 billion and net profit of $6.6 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.0 percent compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.The Company sold 26.9 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 58 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 14.0 million iPads during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.9 million Macs during the quarter, a 1 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 5.3 million iPods, a 19 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

Mac mini (Late 2012) and iMac (Late 2012): About Fusion Drive

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Apple’s Support Page just posted additional details about the Mac mini (Late 2012) and iMac (Late 2012) Fusion Drive announced at Yesterday’s Apple Event.

As Apple says, “Presented as a single volume on your Mac, Fusion Drive automatically and dynamically moves frequently used files to Flash storage for quicker access, while infrequently used items move to the hard disk.”

There are some interesting tidbits such as you can only have one partition on the hard disk, third party utilities “may or may not” work (not unexpected) and some details about using Time Machine backups.

iPad resales surge over 700%

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MarketWatch:

As soon as Apple unveiled the iPad mini Tuesday, the first thing many consumers did was sell their old iPads.

Two major resale sites reported eye-popping surges in business in the run-up to the iPad Mini launch. Some 140,000 devices were put up for sale on Gazelle Tuesday – a 700% spike from the day before, says Anthony Scarsella, chief gadget officer at the site.

While some people are trading in first and second generation iPads, both Nextworth and Gazelle say that nearly 70% of their resellers are dumping the iPad 3.

How about you? Are you dumping your iPad for a newer model any time soon?

Apple vs. Samsung: A peace treaty

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CNN:

WHEREAS, the respective Parties, the Apple Fanboys (also known as “Apple Fanbois,” “Fanb0yz,” “iPhoners” or simply “The Mac Faithful,” among many other names) and the Samsung Fanboys (also known as “Apple H4terz,” “Galaxians” or “Androiders”) seek a lasting peace, both online and off, and…WHEREAS, online forums, queues for new products and technology blogs have become polluted with smack talk, useless feature comparisons and Photoshopped ads meant to deride and belittle each other’s device preference, and…WHEREAS both sets of Parties recognize that a competitive market is both critical and necessary for continued technological innovation to benefit all, especially early adopters…NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree to abide by the agreements herein, enumerated in the terms of the articles set forth below.

This is actually pretty darn funny.

Perfection

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Tell me if you’ve heard this one: “Steve Jobs never would’ve let [PRODUCT/SERVICE/INCIDENT] happen.”

That declaration has distorted the way the press writes about Apple and how it operates. The claims of his alleged perfectionism and ability to “sweat the details” didn’t just elevate the CEO to “best thing since sliced bread” status, it mutated the perception of the company for industry insiders and the public. […]

Apple extends complimentary iCloud storage

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As a thank you to our former MobileMe members who moved to iCloud, we have extended the complimentary storage upgrade they received until September 30, 2013. This extension applies to accounts moved to iCloud between October 12th, 2011 and August 1st, 2012.

Thanks Apple.

About Steve

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I am still incredibly sad about Steve’s death. I haven’t been able to read the book published last year and I wonder what he could have accomplished. I will leave you with Steve narrating “The Crazy Ones.”

Cheers Steve.

Apple named No. 2 global brand

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Mikey Campbell for AppleInsider:

According to Interbrand, Apple’s brand value increased 129 percent to reach an estimated $76.5 billion, the most growth shown by any of the top 100 companies on the global list. In determining value, the firm measures financial performance of branded products or services, the role of brand in the purchase decision process and the overall strength of the brand.

Coca-Cola was No. 1.

Sculley talks Newton, ARM

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John Sculley recently spoke about Apple’s development of the Newton MessagePad and the genesis of the ARM processor.