Apple Inc in 2010 - Executive Summary
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Background: Apple was founded by Steve Jobs with Steve Wozniak on Apr 1, 1976. With the inventions of Apple I and II, Apple became the Industry Leader till 1980.The entry of IBM In PC Market hit Apple badly in terms of market share. High compatibility issues and higher Prices and the growth of highly compatible IBM PCs nearly ruined Apple. The then CEO Amelia recalled Steve Jobs back to Apple in 1997.
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Steve Jobs pioneered The Digital Hub Strategy. Apple started making Mac with Intel Chips. This reduced the Compatibility issues and Mac became more usable. By 2009, Apple regained market share of 8% becoming the 4th largest vendor.
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With the launch of IPOD in 2001, Steve Jobs brought the Digital Convergence to Mac. He started building an ecosystem with the IPOD accessory market. This gave to Halo effect helping Mac sales. With the introduction of iTunes, he presented the first legal site to download music downloads on a pay per song basis.
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Apple created a monopoly in the technology industry by controlling the hardware, software and the accessory market. Competitors started providing free streaming music. By introducing IPHONE, considered by TIME Magazine as “The Invention of the Year”, he reinvented the Smartphone market, dominated by NOKIA, by taking hardware design and user interface to the next level.
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Apple’s App store and Android Marketplace became niche competitors. Android based market gained more market than Apple’s IPhone. In spite of tough competition to IPhone, Apple’s public image and the aura of Steve Jobs always gave dominance to Apple products and market