A brief history of Apple
From its humble beginnings as a computer company selling handmade machines conceived by a jobless college dropout, Apple’s empire has certainly come a long way. Today, Apple Inc has almost 50,000 employees and reported a profit of $14 billion in 2010, making it one of the most valuable information technology companies in the world. Furthermore, it has become a unique brand phenomenon, as Apple products are sold around the world, and consumers are still clamoring for more.
From the first Apple I to the iPhone 4: Here’s a look back at some of Apple’s biggest wins and some of its failures over the years.
1976 – Apple was first founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Wayne later sold his share of the company to his partners for $800. The company’s first offering was a handmade Apple I personal computer that retailed for $666.66.
1977 – The Apple II was introduced. With color graphics, open architecture, and a floppy drive interface, the Apple II positioned itself far ahead of its competitors and later became the business world’s personal computer of choice with the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. .
1983 – Apple Lisa was released, the first to feature a graphical user interface (GUI).
1984 – Apple launches the Macintosh with its powerful television commercial directed by Ridley Scott. The Mac was a success thanks to its advanced graphics capabilities, perfect for desktop publishing.
1985 – Co-founder Steve Jobs resigns from Apple and goes on to develop a new computer company, NeXT Inc.
1989 – 1991 – Macs become portable with the Macintosh Portable and PowerBook, which laid the foundation for the ergonomic design of most future portable and personal computers.
1986 – 1993 – During this time, Apple produces some product flops including a digital camera, portable CD players and video game consoles. The Newton was Apple’s foray into portable computing devices, but it too had limited success.
nineteen ninety six – Apple buys NeXT, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. He eventually became the interim CEO until 2000, when he officially took over as permanent.
1998 – The iMac, with its advanced digital video editing capabilities, would become the launch pad for Apple’s return to being a leader in the computing industry.
2001 – Apple introduces the first-generation iPod that would revolutionize the digital music industry and become a huge success with nearly 300 million iPod units in its various guises and generations sold since its debut.
2003 – To continue the success of the iPod, Apple launches its iTunes store.
2005 – Apple launches its popular line of Intel-powered computers with the introduction of the popular MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac. These would eventually come to replace their earlier PowerBook, iBook, and Power Mac models. Today, the Intel-powered models have been refreshed and re-released and continue to be some of the most popular computer models sold today.
2007 – Apple’s first iPhone is launched, revolutionizing smartphone technology and mobile computing. The App Store allowed third-party developers to create and distribute iPhone-compatible apps, including some of today’s most popular games like Words with Friends and Angry Birds.
2010 – Continuing to break new ground, Apple introduces the iPad tablet that works with all iPhone applications. The iPad has already sold nearly 15 million units in its first year, and consumers are already looking to buy or lease an iPad 2.
Today, Apple fans are expecting more updates on their favorite products with the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 expected to debut in 2011.