Apple's Role In Is Development

Apple has become the "it" in technology all over again. The company that was on the brink of extinction just a few years ago has picked itself back up and is growing exponentially each year. Upper management and top officials have kept close to their beliefs for Apple and have been able to push the company further in not only profits, but also product lines. Forthcoming you will find Apples current products, their short but tumultuous history and financials, and what role they have played and will continue to play in the ever evolving information systems world.

MAIN PRODUCTS

Apple's current product line include the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro and Mac Mini- all of which are desktop and laptop computers. These computers feature the Mac OS X operating system. While laptops and desktop computers make up a significant portion of Apple's product line, the introduction of the iPod has resulted in a recent focus on music-related products. " Forty-two percent of Apple's revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2008 came from iPod sales, followed by twenty-one percent from notebook sales and sixteen percent from desktop sales" In addition to the aforementioned products, Apple also offers iPhones, servers, multimedia and other software, and wireless networking equipment.

COMPANY HISTORY

In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak quit their jobs designing video games in order to start their own company. In the garage of Jobs' Cupertino, they founded Apple Computers. Their mission was to simplify computing and offer users a more affordable option. They introduced their first system, the Apple I, later that year. This system was an encased circuit board (users had to configure their own keyboard and monitor) which sold for $6...

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Apple experienced an extraordinary growth in both revenue and net income in the past five years. These numbers indicate that Jobs' investments in research and development finally paid off. In 2004 there was a 33.38% increase in revenue and a 285.51% increase in net income, followed by a 399.25% increase in net income in 2005. These growths in revenue and net income have translated into an increased market share for Apple in personal computing.

Company 1Q07 Shipments 1Q07 Market Share (%) 1Q06 Shipments 1Q06 Market Share (%) Growth (%)

Apple 741 5 570 4 30

Dell 4126 27.9 4881 33.9 -15.5

Gateway 1147 7.7 1225 8.5 -6.3

HP 3807 25.7 3027 21 25.8

The exponential growth of iPod sales has contributed greatly to Apple's recent success. Apple currently owns nearly 75% of the market for portable mp3 players, and this is reflected on their income statement.