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5 armchair CEOs whose advice would destroy Apple
Steve Jobs has stepped down from his role as Apple's CEO, and Tim Cook has stepped up to the plate. The web has gotten most of its reminiscing out of its system, so now it's time for the wild-eyed and empty-headed analysis! Huzzah! Tim Cook said nothing at Apple is going to change under his leadership, but that hasn't stopped "analysts" from compiling wish lists for Apple's future anyway. Today the tech sector is pretty much bursting at the seams with dunderheads whose advice for Apple ranges from merely misguided to downright tragic. I've singled out five whose advice for Apple's future is so monumentally bad that it's like telling your gullible cousin he should brush his teeth with dog food. I've arranged them in rough order of lunacy. 1. Apple should make a QWERTY iPhone ZDNet's Matthew Miller seems to think that Steve Jobs's departure from Apple means the company will abandon the design philosophy behind its most successful product ever and tack on a physical keyboard. Why? "I think there are millions out there that would love to see an iPhone with a QWERTY keyboard and if Apple can design one as well as it designs the iPhone then it could be the best physical QWERTY keyboard ever and there would be a lot more people who would jump on an iPhone." Umm, okay. This is just a guess, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that "lacks physical keyboard" hasn't been a big factor in the extremely low adoption rates of the iPhone so fa- hahaha, sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face for the rest of that sentence. If you're holding your breath waiting for Apple to slap a physical keyboard on the iPhone, well, I hope for your sake you're not underwater. Putting a physical keyboard on the iPhone would be a back-pedalling decision from a design perspective. Apple's not known for slapping extra things onto its products if it doesn't think most people will need that feature, and gumming up its flagship product with a physical keyboard would set a dangerous precedent. If you're going to do that, why not put a "real" keyboard on the iPad, too? And how about five USB ports, and a 3D camera, and a built-in handle, and a cupholder, and some fuzzy dice? Leave design decisions to the designers. 2. Scott Forstall should run Apple, not Tim Cook From the Department of Insensitive Headlines comes Ed Oswald's "It was time for Steve Jobs to go." I'm not going to dwell on his analysis of the timing of Steve Jobs's departure; instead, let's look at Oswald's plans for Apple's future. "I'm not the biggest fan of Cook at the helm of Apple. I don't really think he is the right person long term," Oswald says. Well, you're entitled to your opinion, I guess, but why not? Oswald says it's because Tim Cook doesn't take center stage the way Jobs did, and from there he decides that means Apple will be run by committee from now on and plunge into the same chaos that doomed it in the 1990s. Who would make a "better" CEO according to Oswald? "If you ask me, I've always been a fan of iOS chief Scott Forstall. The man has impressed me in his increasing number of public appearances at Apple events: he has the charisma, and shares Job's [sic] vision and knows how to express it well. Forstall is the next long-term CEO of Apple, and not Cook." So this is how we gauge a CEO's potential performance: not on the real numbers he turns in, but by his stage presence? Oswald's "analysis" would be a lot easier to swallow if fellow betanews writer Joe Wilcox, who's wrong about Apple far more often than he's right, hadn't pointed out that Apple's revenue has more than tripled in the past two and a half years under Tim Cook's guidance as Chief Operating Officer. Cook has already been in charge of the day-to-day at Apple for a long time, and the company has been more profitable than ever. If Steve Jobs thought Forstall was the better CEO long-term, why did the Apple board (and Steve) build a succession plan around Tim Cook instead? Maybe because Steve Jobs and Apple's board knew far better than Ed Oswald who'd be able to successfully helm Apple once he stepped down? Apple also just awarded Tim Cook one million shares of Apple stock if he stays on until 2021, so there's that. Strap into your safety gear, because it only gets dumber from here. 3. Apple should become less secretive Popular Mechanics' take on the matter is the opening salvo in a trifecta of wooly-headed calls for more "openness" from Apple. According to Glenn Derene, the company "must be more open about upcoming products. And to be honest, it's not even clear that Apple's secrecy gives them any tangible business advantage." You're absolutely right. I'm sure that pre-announcing products months in advance, then being forced to delay the shipping date later is a far better business strategy. I mean, look how well it's worked for Microsoft! And given that companies like Samsung are already shamelessly aping Apple's designs, I'm sure that problem won't get worse at all if Apple lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding its future products. Derene also advises that Apple should be less "vindictive" from here on out, and of all things, he cites Apple's blacklisting of Gizmodo as an example of that vindictiveness. Gizmodo, the outlet that paid several thousand dollars for stolen property, dismantled it for the world to see, blackmailed Apple into admitting the device was real before returning it, and then had the gall to publicly humiliate the engineer who lost it in the first place. If enacting media sanctions and pursuing legal action against them is "vindictive," Derene probably would've called me genocidal if I'd been in any position to pursue my own ideas for punitive actions against Gizmodo. For an encore, Derene says Apple should "stop being so full of itself," and basically attacks every facet of the company that gets people excited about its products. Sure, Apple could stop advertising itself and its products as "special" to its customers, but why should it? It is, and they are. 4. Apple needs to open up Proving once again that she's never met a free/open source (and legendarily consumer-hostile) operating system she didn't like, PCWorld's Katherine Noyes says "Rather than maintain its completely closed and locked-down approach to the technologies it makes, the time is right for Apple to open up." I know to a Linux enthusiast every nail looks like it needs to be pounded with an open-source hammer, but does that really mean you have to cite MacDefender as evidence that Apple needs to be more "open" than it is? You remember MacDefender, right? The harbinger of the end of Apple's "free ride" when it comes to malware? I know my antivirus logger on my Mac has been going nuts since then -- wait, no it hasn't. And let's not forget that the "open" mobile platform Android has been getting slammed with malware, while the "locked down" but equally popular platform iOS has -- wait for it -- absolutely none. Kind of kicks that "security through obscurity" argument right in the chestnuts, doesn't it? Noyes also argues that Apple's vertical integration has worked against compatibility and interoperability. I apologize if you just did a spit-take all over your keyboard. I'm sure she can't be talking about interoperability amongst Apple's own products, because that's unassailable even by the thickest of skulls. Instead, she's probably talking about interoperability with PCs, which leads me to think she's stuck in that late-90s world that so many pundits seem to be trapped in, where Macs can't read .doc files and can't network with PCs in any meaningful way -- you know, the kinds of legacy issues that haven't been actual, current problems for the better part of a decade. She also argues that Apple's "closed strategy just isn't going to be sustainable over time" without providing a single number for evidence. I've got some numbers for you to go look up when you've got some free time: Linux's profitability as an "open" platform versus Apple's profitability with two "closed" platforms. Linux's marketshare among non-server consumers versus Apple's. The amount of money "open" Android has made for Google (not handset manufacturers) versus the amount iOS has made for Apple. I don't know where the Linux guys and gals picked up the idea that "free as in beer" would somehow translate into billions of dollars, or that "free as in speech" would mean greater platform security, but the past decade or so of evidence is not exactly on your side. A drum roll now for the worst advice I've heard today, and possibly all year: 5. Apple should license iOS I'll let Ken Goldberg speak for himself before I beat him with a shovel refute his points: Extending the reach of iOS beyond iPhones and iPads is a real opportunity to dominate the ecosystem of appliance devices. It would unleash the creative force of thousands of developers who meet secretly all over the world and perform monthly druid rituals hoping to influence the Spirits to open up iOS. The fire wardens are getting testy, Tim. Let's just get this done! Make iOS even more pervasive, and make your mark! You know that old saying, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it?" Do you remember what happened the last time Apple licensed its OS to third parties? It damned near killed the company. It's arguably the worst decision Apple made in its entire history. Once Mac OS was available on cheap, crappy clones, guess what happened? People stopped buying Macs! It's been a while since I've heard the "Apple should license (x)" argument. It used to be a regular thing with Mac OS X, but that's died down in the past couple years. Even in the early days of iOS, before Android started taking off, people were clamoring for Apple to license its mobile OS to third-party handset manufacturers. And really, why shouldn't Apple undercut its own hardware business by allowing its OS to run on less expensive and inferior products? After all, it's not as though Apple's low PC marketshare is doing it any favors (other than being the most profitable company in that market), and it's not like the iPhone is bringing in any money for Apple compared to what Android's bringing in for Google. Right? But for the sake of argument, let's say Apple follows Goldberg's advice and licenses iOS to third parties. Here's what happens next: Handset manufacturers initially say "no thanks" to iOS because Android is "free." Then they realize, wait, MONEY. iOS runs on fifty disparate devices rather than less than a dozen. Developing for iOS becomes a fresh hell thanks to device fragmentation. Customers blame Apple when their $99 LG POS can't run Infinity Blade. Predictably, a class action lawsuit ensues. Half as many people -- or less -- pay $199 for an iPhone when they can pay $99 for an LG POS instead. Apple's profit share from iOS devices goes down the tubes. Apple's stock tanks. Wired runs a cover story with an Apple surrounded by thorns and two words: "PRAY. AGAIN." Without Steve Jobs to save Apple again, the company really does die. Apple is a hardware company. Unlike Microsoft's software hegemony, Apple makes the overwhelming majority of its profits on selling tangible products: iPhones, iPads, and Macs, in roughly that order. How much money does Google make off of Android? Considering it doesn't charge anything to license Android, virtually all of Google's mobile platform profits come from advertising. In a year, those profits are roughly equal to what Apple makes in three months, just from the iPhone. Meanwhile, Google has recently paid $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola, probably in order to shield itself from patent attacks on Android. This means that as of today, Android is essentially a net loss for Google and will be for years to come. That's the company strategy Goldberg wants Apple to emulate. I'm gonna go with "No" on this one. Here's my advice for Apple and its new CEO: stick with what you've already said. Don't change a thing, and for all our sakes, don't listen to any of these people telling you what you "should" or "must" do, because it's five slices of wrong in a dipstick sandwich.
Apple awards CEO Tim Cook one million stock shares - if he stays until 2021
Now that Tim Cook is CEO of Apple, how do you ensure you keep him at the company's helm? How about by awarding him one million shares of Apple's stock. A form 8-K filed with the SEC gives the details: In connection with Mr. Cook's appointment as Chief Executive Officer, the Board awarded Mr. Cook 1,000,000 restricted stock units. Fifty percent of the restricted stock units are scheduled to vest on each of August 24, 2016 and August 24, 2021, subject to Mr. Cook's continued employment with Apple through each such date. Cook will receive half a million shares in five years, and the other half million in ten. That's got to be a major incentive both for staying on with Apple and ensuring the company continues to run well. According to MacRumors, that stock is worth just over US$383 million today. It looks like we'll be saying "Apple CEO Tim Cook" for quite a while.
Daily Update for August 25, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Tim Cook: Who is Apple's new CEO?
Tim Cook is no dark horse. He's no outsider either. And while most of us were caught a bit off guard when Apple announced Steve Jobs's resignation last night, none were too surprised when the 50-year-old executive was formally named his replacement. It's a role for which Cook has been groomed for some time now, even temporarily stepping into the position in 2004, 2009 and early 2011, as Jobs took leave in order to tend to his ongoing health problems. Cook has been with Apple for the lion's share of Jobs's second coming, joining the company in 1998. At the time, Cook was six months into a stint at Compaq, serving as Vice President, Corporate Materials. Prior to his brief run there he was the COO of Intelligent Electronics and spent a far longer 12-year stretch at IBM, serving as the Director of North American Fulfillment at the time of his exit. Cook did his undergrad at Auburn University, earning a BS in industrial engineering, going on to get an MBA at Duke University half a decade later.
Tim Cook email to Apple employees: "Apple is not going to change"
In an email designed to reassure Apple employees who might be a bit trepidatious after the Steve Jobs announcement yesterday afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook told workers that "Apple is not going to change." The email, leaked to Ars Technica by a reputable source, includes Cook's reassurance that the company will "continue to make the best products in the world" under his guidance. The text of the email is included in its entirety below. Team: I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I've ever made and it's been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve's optimism for Apple's bright future. Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman. I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that-it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do. I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is. Tim
Apple's new CEO Tim Cook addresses employees in staff letter
With less than 24 hours under his belt as the new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook has sent a letter to the company's staff this morning, thanking his predecessor, and predicting bright things for Apple's future. The note reads, in part, I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is. Read the full text of the letter after the break.
Tim Cook: my first-person impression of Apple's new CEO
After yesterday's news, I was originally going to title this post "Relax. Apple's new CEO Tim Cook is gonna do just fine." I was going to push back on the conventional wisdom that nobody can lead Apple as Steve Jobs has with facts about how Tim Cook has stepped in multiple times to help Apple navigate the roughest economy in at least a generation with stunning success. I was going to write about how Tim Cook is considered by many to be an operational genius and a fair but tough negotiator. I was going to write how he came from Compaq and IBM before that. I was going to write about all that. But you can read his history anywhere. Everyone is writing about him now. So instead I'm going to tell you about the first time I met Tim Cook and why, from that day forward, I have never once worried about Apple post-Steve Jobs. I was in my third year of a five year stint with Apple the first time I met Tim Cook. Steve Jobs had made waves earlier that year with his Stanford commencement speech, where he discussed his cancer diagnosis; Wall Street and the tech industry were still worried sick about who could possibly lead Apple when Jobs no longer could. I knew one thing for sure: it wasn't me. In the grand scheme of things at Apple, I was nobody important. I was just a sales guy that had flown out to Cupertino with other sales people one September for the annual sales conference. And though my numbers were great, I knew that I was replaceable -- just like most employees at large companies can be replaced. I could leave Apple tomorrow and the company would be just fine. I was no Steve Jobs. No matter what your position is in the company, however, from intern to executive staff, it's always great being on Apple's campus. You see cool things, meet interesting people, and have some great food (and a few good games of volleyball) to boot. But on this particular day we were herded into one of the meeting rooms you sometimes see when Apple holds smaller press events on the campus -- the auditoriums with the projector screen the size of one you'd see in a 1950s movie theater and a stage with a small podium with some metallic stools near the front. On this day there were about 300 sales guys and their managers in one such auditorium watching presentations from the iLife project managers about what the latest iteration of Apple's digital lifestyle suite was going to deliver. Though the presentations were interesting, you could see everyone in the room fidgeting a little as if they were restless. You see, we had been notified that Steve Jobs' #2 man, COO Tim Cook, might be dropping by for a visit. The day went on as we explored the new iLife suite; then, sometime halfway through the iDVD presentation, a woman who worked for Apple who I had never seen before entered the auditorium and simply announced, "Excuse me. Three minutes!" There was a shuffling on stage and the project managers halted their presentation as a murmur ran through the room. The woman who had spoken loaded something from a USB drive onto the Mac behind the podium. Three minutes later (to the second) Tim Cook entered the auditorium, flanked by his entourage. Cook walked down the steps and onto the stage. The room was completely silent. And it remained that way for maybe half a minute as Tim Cook slowly took a few steps back and forth. He shuffled the presentation remote around in his hand. He looked out at us and smiled, but still didn't speak. Then he clicked a button on the remote and a large image of a padlock appeared on the screen behind him. "The details of everything we talk about after this slide changes stay in this room," he said in that Southern drawl some of you may be familiar with if you've ever heard him speak on one of Apple's financial conference calls. At the time I had never heard his voice before, and it was such an odd contrast to what you expected to come out of a Silicon Valley executive's mouth. "It stays with Apple. With us," he said. It wasn't a threat. It wasn't an order. The "us" he spoke of, the tone he used, conveyed a sense of kinship. It showed the confidence and trust he had in every single Apple employee packed into that auditorium. We were Apple and Tim Cook appreciated us for that. Even though it's been five years since I worked at Apple and my NDA has long since expired, I'm not going to divulge the specific details he talked about, but I do want to relate the experience. During his time on stage, Cook spoke to us about numbers and metrics, about Apple and the state of the tech industry as a whole. He spoke in that long drawl at a controlled pace, but that drawl and pace had nuance to it that conveyed passion in slow tones. Then Steve Job's #2 guy did something many corporate higher-ups never do. He stopped speaking and asked to hear from us -- from the front-line sales people at Apple. He wanted to hear our questions and ideas. And that's when I found myself raising my hand and the next thing I know Tim Cook pointed at me and smiled. "Yes. You, please," he said. And as I was getting ready to speak I caught my boss out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting about five seats away from me in the auditorium and wore a nervous look on his face. And I knew that if he could have spoken to me in confidence then, my boss would have muttered, "Don't you ask him a foolish question! Don't you know who this is? He doesn't have time for silliness! He is a Very Important Person!" I ignored my boss's look as much as I could and asked Cook what he thought about the direction of a certain software company whose products were closely tied to the Mac; about their lack of support for certain applications Mac users were clamoring to have. Cook's answer was detailed and thorough, and everything he said about the company in question, every prediction and outlook, ended up coming true in the two years that followed. But the fact that he was dead right about the future of that company wasn't why I remember his answer to my question so well. It was because he took his own sweet time answering it. Tim Cook is one of those rare people who stop and think before speaking. Standing in the same room with him I realized that he's comfortable with silence as long as that silence is productive and appropriate. He's not like other tech execs who ramble almost immediately and incoherently at any question lobbed at them, as if doing so will convince others they know everything about everything. Tim Cook is a person who has confidence in his position as a leader, sans ego. Ego doesn't take pauses. It's rapid-fire. And it's that confidence and lack of ego that allows him the time to examine the issues and questions at hand, no matter how lowly or silly others may think them, and address them appropriately. But Cook's confidence, his answer to my question, and his knowledge about the industry isn't why I left the auditorium that day pitying the people on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley who were needlessly worried sick over who would lead Apple. I left the auditorium that day knowing the post-Steve Jobs Apple would be fine because of the way in which he addressed me -- the sales grunt. My boss's worried glances were for nothing. For Tim Cook there are no dumb questions. When he answered me he spoke to me as if I were the most important person at Apple. Indeed, he addressed me as if I were Steve Jobs himself. I know that's a big statement to make, but that's what it felt like and I've spoken with others who have told me the same thing. One just has to experience it to fully understand it, I suppose. His look, his tone, the long pause was evidence enough that he genuinely gave thought to the concern I brought up. And that's the day I began to feel like more than just a replaceable part. I was one of the tens of thousands of integral parts of Apple and it was Tim Cook's raw leadership ability, confidence, and subtle charisma that made me realize that. No one can ever replace Steve Jobs, the man, the genius. But Apple is not only Steve Jobs, no matter what anyone thinks. Apple is the interns and executive assistants; it's the retail employees and the designers; it's the marketing and PR departments, it's Scott Forstall and Jonathan Ive; Bob Mansfield and Phil Schiller; it's the dozens of other names you see on all those Apple patents that we talk about every week. Apple is not any single one of these people. It is the sum of them all, run by a leader who possesses enough wisdom to know that everyone in the company matters, that everyone's concerns are valid and deserve attention. Tim Cook is such a leader. So relax everyone, will ya? I said it yesterday, but I'll repeat it again. Apple is one of the best-run companies on the planet and it's got years of growth ahead of it due to the incredible talent assembled by Jobs and Cook. People are not going to stop buying iPads and iPhones because Steve Jobs is now only the Chairman of Apple and not its CEO. And other companies are not going to suddenly make killer products that make Apple's look like last year's castoffs. Tim Cook has the reins firmly in hand; I only wish others who doubt me could spend two minutes in the same room with him. Apple's got the right CEO to carry it into the post-Steve Jobs era, and the company will continue to thrive.
Apple updates executive chart to reflect CEO changeover
Apple's page of executive biographies has already been updated to match the new reality, with Tim Cook in the top left corner as CEO. Cook's bio now states that he assumed the top job in August of 2011. Cook's presumptive successor as COO is SVP of Operations Jeff Williams, who sits on the lower left corner of the chart. Like Cook, Williams got his MBA from Duke University; during the worldwide launch of the iPhone in 2007 he "played a significant role," and since then he has been the worldwide ops lead for iPhone and iPod products. The chart also shows retail maven Ron Johnson, who has already announced his plans to leave Apple later this year and take over the top job at J.C. Penney. [via The Next Web]
Tim Cook takes over as Apple CEO
Amidst the pathos and shock of Steve Jobs' resignation from his post as Apple's CEO (while still retaining his role as chairman of the board), one line from Steve's resignation letter should be ringing exceptionally loudly in the ears of all Apple fans, not to mention Wall Street's decision makers: "As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple." The most important words in that sentence: succession plan. Apple's corporate leadership has been repeatedly chastised by investors and pundits for the lack of a publicly announced succession structure, given the precarious state of the CEO's health and the critical role of leadership in guiding the company's groundbreaking products. While any competent observer of Apple's operations would have confidently stated that yes, there was a plan (albeit a closely held one, to prevent executive defections and talent raids by other Silicon Valley giants with deep pockets), and yes, Tim Cook was the heir apparent, still the caviling and caterwauling continued. Now, given the circumstances, we know that Apple's plan was what most of us assumed it would be: the operations chief who repeatedly stepped into the interim CEO role (in 2004, 2009 and 2011) has been promoted to the top job, and is now responsible for delivering the same exceptional results that the company's founder and chief visionary brought forth over the past decades. We know that Tim Cook has Apple's best interests (and the interests of its customers) at heart, and we know he has the advantage of many years of service within the inner circle of Apple's leadership. We wish him all good luck & wisdom as he moves into his new role. Check back with TUAW tomorrow morning for our profile of Cook, including first-hand impressions from former Apple employees.
Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple
A major development out of Cupertino: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has stepped down, the board naming Tim Cook as his replacement. The company said "Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company." Steve himself published the following letter: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. Steve Apple has confirmed that Jobs will stay on as Chairman. Full details in the PR after the break.
Tim Cook spotted at China Mobile's headquarters
Apple's acting CEO Tim Cook was spotted at the headquarters of China Mobile today, lending credence to recent rumors that Apple is in talks to bring the iPhone to the carrier. China Mobile is the largest mobile phone operator in the world, with over 600 million subscribers, so bringing the iPhone to the carrier is seen as an important step for Apple's growth in the Asian market. As noted by MICGadget, a reporter from First Financial Daily was sitting in the the lobby of China Mobile earlier today when she spotted Tim Cook flanked by seven to eight people. She quickly snapped the picture you see here. From her blog: This morning, around 10, Apple COO Tim Cook is spotted in the lobby of China Mobile's HQ, accompanied by 7-8 people. Probably Cook is talking with executives from China Mobile to discuss bilateral cooperation for the iPhone. Both China and America flags are seen in the lobby, and Cook seems to be happy. A month ago we told you about rumors that Apple and China Mobile had reached a consensus on a 4G iPhone that would support China Mobile's TD-LTE 4G technology. At the time, sources said that negotiations weren't complete. Given that Tim Cook was spotted in China Mobile's headquarters today, it seems apparent that, at the very least, negotiations are ongoing, if not almost wrapped up in time for the next iPhone launch this fall.
Tim Cook: Tablets will outsell PCs (no kidding)
Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope has been talking to Apple's higher-ups lately according to BI (including COO Tim Cook), and that they're extremely bullish on iOS devices, even more so than they've been in the past. That's hardly surprising -- not only would you expect Apple executives to be excited about Apple products, but the iOS platform has been rocketing up anyway. Anyone betting against it at this point would be nuts. Still, Cook specifically is claiming that there's "no reason why the tablet market shouldn't eclipse the PC market over the next several years," according to Shope. And while it seems hard to believe that the much larger PC market could ever be threatened by tablets, that's exactly what's been happening lately anyway. Shope's report says he expects another big increase in iPad sales this quarter, which surely Cook and friends would agree with as well. This also means that we'll see some interesting announcements about iOS 5 next Monday for sure.
A look at Apple's "all-star" executives
Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Jony Ive, and Steve Jobs are big names at Apple. These top executives are known around the technology industry and around the world for their operational excellence, marketing know-how, design genius and powerful reality distortion fields. While these four men often get credit for much of Apple's success, the company boasts an enviable collection of talented "chiefs" and senior vice presidents who help carve its skyward path. A new gallery from CNN Money takes a brief look at eleven of Apple's all-stars. For avid fans of Apple, some of the names mentioned in CNN Money's gallery may be familiar. But if you don't recognize names like Craig Federighi, Scott Forstall, Bob Mansfield, Ron Johnson, Peter Oppenheimer, Bruce Sewell, Jeff Williams, Eddy Cue, Katie Cotton, Dr. Guy "Bud" Tribble, or Greg Joswiak, this may be a good opportunity to brush up on the men and women who help shape one of the world's most successful companies.
Apple confirms LTE iPhone is at least one generation away
During its earnings conference call, Apple re-confirmed it is not adopting the current generation of LTE chipsets in its iPhone handsets. According to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, Apple would have to redesign the iPhone to accommodate the first generation LTE chipsets used in smartphones, such as the Verizon Wireless' HTC Thunderbolt. Apple is not willing to make that concession at this point and will wait for future generation LTE hardware before it adopts this 4G technology. For iPhone fans, this means an LTE-enabled smartphone from Apple is at least a generation away. The iPhone 5 may hit this year, but it will support current 3G technology and possibly the 4G HSPA+ technology that AT&T is rolling out on its network. Folks looking forward to downloading full-length HD movies in one minute will likely have to wait until 2012 for this high-speed connectivity to land on their iPhone.
Rumor: Apple no longer allows Best Buy to sell the iPad 2 [Updated]
Update: Boy Genius Report has independently confirmed that at least two retail employees at at least two Best Buy stores were told not to sell iPad 2s by managers on Thursday. Additionally, a store spokesperson told BRG that "Our stores have been asked to temporarily hold non-reserved iPad 2 inventory for an upcoming promotion." File under "Interesting if true": A reader tipped us to say that Apple has ordered a freeze on sales of the iPad 2 through Best Buy. He claims that until further notice, the mammoth electronics retailer has had all stock except demo units pulled. We didn't put much credence in this rumor until CrunchGear reported the same thing after being tipped by a supposed Best Buy employee; Apple has supposedly banned Best Buy from selling the iPad 2 for the time being. According to CrunchGear, this doesn't have anything to do with Best Buy thumbing its nose at the iPad via a recent ad. Instead, CrunchGear says its tipster claimed Best Buy set an artificial daily quota of sales for the iPad 2 and told customers it was out of stock when it did, in fact, still have stock remaining. It's rumored that Apple's Tim Cook got wind of this chicanery, and Apple isn't happy about it at all. We haven't received confirmation of any of this yet, so it's all just a big rumory rumor for now. But if anyone happens to go into a Best Buy tomorrow and finds no iPad 2s available anywhere, it may be that the worldwide shortage of Apple's newest gadget isn't to blame, for once.
Apple set to open massive European flagship store in Liechtenstein
It may be one of the smallest countries in Europe, but Vaduz, Liechtenstein will soon host Apple's largest European flagship Apple Store. The store, which will be located adjacent to the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein's Museum of Modern Art) and open in September, will be even larger than London's 28,000 square-foot Regent Street Apple Store, measuring 43,000 square feet. The first floor will be dedicated to showcasing Apple products, while the second floor will be comprised of multiple Genius Bars and staffed by over 100 multilingual Geniuses. The third floor will reportedly be an interesting mix of technology and art, including what might be a shared theater/gallery with the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein as well as a state-of-the-art digital library using iBooks sharing. The library was added to the plans at the last minute when Apple found out Liechtenstein is one of only two countries in the world with a 100 percent literacy rate (interestingly, this is probably the reason Apple is rumored to be requiring all future iBooks to be uploaded into the iBookstore in both English and Alemannic German).
Rumors of Jon Ive moving to the UK reportedly false
Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president of product design, has no plans to take his talents back to the United Kingdom, an in-depth profile of the designer in the Daily Mail revealed last week. Recent speculation suggested the 44-year-old planned to cash in his US$30 million in Apple stock options and relocate to a mansion he owns in Somerset so that his children could receive an education in the UK. Last month, the Times of London reported that Ive might be looking to leave Apple whose trend-setting designs he's helped shape for nearly 15 years. The Times suggested Ive remained an Apple employee only to reap the benefits of a "golden handcuffs" option grant from 2008 that he is now eligible to sell. With his net worth currently estimated at $128 million, many believed Ive could easily retire from Apple and return home to the UK with his family. Fortunately for Apple, last week's profile in The Daily Mail states, in no uncertain terms, that Ive has no plans to leave California and that his $4 million home in Somerset, UK, will remain empty. "I'm not sure there is any truth he wants to come back," a former colleague told the Daily Mail. "My last conversations with him were that he was planning to sell his house in the UK." Ive's career at Apple started quietly in 1992 when he often worked out of his own basement office, cranking out futuristic prototypes that were entirely under-appreciated by his superiors. "For the first three years Jony was having a pretty miserable time designing Newton PDAs and printer trays," Clive Grinyer, who co-founded tangerine, a UK consulting firm, with Ive in 1989, told The Daily Mail. "It was a bad existence." Then, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and quickly recognized the value of Ive's design talent. With the responsibility of designing Apple's future, Ive got off to a fast start with the iconic and colorful iMac. Despite falling short of Jobs's high standards for perfection, the iMac was a huge hit with customers and rejuvenated Apple essentially overnight. Since then, Ive has become one of Apple's strongest assets, consistently raising the standard for industrial design both at the company and throughout the world. Many consider Ive and current acting CEO Tim Cook to be Apple's most valuable executives behind Steve Jobs. With Ive apparently staying with Apple for awhile longer, Apple fans can look forward to more beautiful Macs, iPads, iPhones and iPods that define thoughtful, modern industrial design that's both functional and beautiful.
Apple's Tim Cook hints at cheaper iPhone, prepaid possibilities to come?
Apple COO Tim Cook got all buddy-buddy with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi this week, talking about Apple's business strategy -- nothing out of the ordinary there -- but this morning, that analyst decided to publicly paraphrase an intriguing part of the interview. Guess what? It sounds like a cheaper iPhone may indeed be in the cards: While Tim stopped short of explicitly stating that Apple would pursue a lower price iPhone, he did state that Apple was working hard to "figure out" the prepaid market and that Apple didn't want its products to be "just for the rich," but "for everyone"; he also stated that Apple "understood price is big factor in the prepaid market" and that the company was "not ceding any market." Cook noted that Apple executives – including himself – had spent "huge energy" in China, noting that it is "a classic prepaid market." He further noted that the handset distribution model was poorly constructed and that Apple would look to "innovate" and do "clever" things in addressing that market.As you can see, there aren't any statements of fact here, just some general strategy ideas, but if Apple indeed plans to put an iPhone in every pot, it would be helpful if it didn't have to rely on the carrier subsidy model.
Apple holds shareholder meeting, Tim Cook presides
Apple held its latest shareholder meeting in Cupertino today, and while Jobs was apparently in attendance (and re-approved as a board member, along with William Campbell, Millard Drexler, Albert Gore, Andrea Jung, Arthur Levinson and Ronald Sugar), Tim Cook was the one overseeing the proceedings. The shareholders also voted to keep Ernst & Young LLC as the accountants of record, and a vote about executive compensation was also approved. One proposal brought up by the shareholders suggested that Apple should publish a detailed succession plan for the CEO position, but that vote didn't pass. In the just over an hour meeting, shareholders also wished Steve Jobs well in dealing with his health issues (to a round of applause), and they also brought up the recently announced subscription plan, suggesting that if Apple lowered its 30 percent cut on content purchased through the iTunes store, newspapers would have an easier go of it. The board reportedly didn't have a response for that, but for those developers and content publishers who feel the deal is unfair, it'll be good to know the shareholders are representing those concerns at least. All in all, it sounds like business as usual in Cupertino. Apple holds one of these every year, and it's rare that major decisions get made or announced during a meeting open to shareholders.
Steve Jobs working from home on next iPad, iPhone
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Steve Jobs is actively involved in strategic decisions and product development despite his health-related leave of absence from Apple. According to WSJ sources, Jobs has been taking business meetings at his home and on the phone. Two of the areas in which Jobs is actively involved are the next generation iPad, widely expected to go on sale in the next month, and the next generation iPhone. The Wall Street Journal also reports that Jobs has been seen back on Apple's campus, as well as out and about in Palo Alto with another Apple executive. Jobs announced on January 17 that he was taking a medical leave of absence to focus on his health. Apple COO Tim Cook once again stepped up to the Apple helm while Jobs is away, a role in which he performed exceptionally well during the previous absence. As Jobs is widely seen as vital to the continued success of Apple (which he is, but IMHO Apple is solid in creative and business talent), the news of his continued involvement in the company's two highest profile products is no doubt producing a sigh of relief from nervous investors and Apple fans alike.
