While going through Tech stuffs as usual today, I came upon a very interesting news article and I felt it would be good and timely to share it with my pals in MobilityNigeria.
Apple Inc. sped ahead of Microsoft Corp as the world’s largest tech company as measured by market value on Wednesday, 26th of May 2010. Apple Inc., the maker of the iphone and ipad has overcome a major milestone. It is interesting to note that they almost went out of Business in the 1990s. They struggled for many years to get their products into the mainstream and it was only a $150 million investment from the much larger Microsoft in 1997 that kept them afloat.
According to Reuters, Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer was not disturbed a day after rival Apple Inc exceeded his firm as the world’s largest tech company by market value. He retorted that his goal was to develop a good product line and earn more profits. “My focus is on … what we should be doing to our product line, where do we go, how do we make products more innovative,” he said in response to a question on Apple racing past it in market value in New Delhi, India today, 27th May.
“It’s a long game, we have good competitors … we too are a very good competitor,” Ballmer said. “We are executing very well and that is going to lead to great products and great success.”
Analysts believe Microsoft is betting on an updated version of its Microsoft Office software it launched earlier this month along with a completely new Mobile software Operating System for smart phones called Windows Phone 7, which is scheduled to enter the market in a new range of handsets by the holiday shopping season.
“I am optimistic,” Ballmer said.
By Nasdaq ratings, Apple’s shares rose 1 percent on Wednesday, elevating its market value up to $225.1 billion and ahead of Microsoft’s $222.7 billion, as noted by Reuters data. Apple shares went up 1 percent above $247 in late afternoon trading. Microsoft shares were down 2.2 percent to $25.50.
Shares of Apple are now worth more than 10 times what they were 10 years ago, as it has profited from revolutionizing consumer electronics with its exquisite, broad appeal, easy to use devices with superb interface in products exemplified by the iphone. Other products of stellar quality include the iPod, iPhone and MacBook laptops. Not to mention the top selling ipad which sold a million units in the US alone less than a month after its release. The ipad is widely believed to repeat the same feat in Europe after its launch there on Friday, 28th of May.
Microsoft, the former biggest Tech Company is of repute to have its operating system (Windows) running on more than 90 percent of the world’s PCs. Regrettably, they have not been able to match their impeccable growth rates of the 90s.
Now the Cupertino, California-based Apple is the second-largest company on the S&P 500 index by market value, second only to Exxon Mobil Corp., the Energy Giant.
This post was written by
Ovie Albert – who has written 22 posts on Mobility blog.
Guest writer, Ovie Albert, is a medical Doctor by profession and a Techworld lover by interest. Opinions expressed in this article are strictly the author's and do not necesarilly represent the position of MobilityNigeria.
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May 28th, 2010 at 6:03 am Browsing with
i knew afewgoodmen will post this article without even opening the page.
really mad about apple. hope they give part of the share.
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May 28th, 2010 at 1:56 pm Browsing with
Apple surpasses Microsoft?! And to think Apple is so conservative about its marketing unlike Microsoft. I wonder what will happen if and when Apple decides to go truly global (ie recognize markets such as Nigeria). I am happy for Apple cos they make such fantastic products that leave their competitors in the dust. But I fear that this success will further justify their very conservative marketing model meaning many of us in these parts can only watch from afar or take a risk of getting products with no after sales support or restricted content ( I have come across several preminuim video content on the web that will fail to play and tell me “content not available for your region”).
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May 28th, 2010 at 4:00 pm Browsing with
Apple has been able to rise this far cos of its innovative products which have relied mostly on catchy design and an easy to use interface. They were’nt the first company to put out mp3 players but they came out with the iPod/iPhone/iTunes and make a killing. Microsoft you’re going to need more than an OS n a gaming console to lift your name up again
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May 28th, 2010 at 8:13 pm Browsing with
It is a competitive market. The fact is that apple is introducing some game applications that are more than microsoft but microsoft still remain top in the pc world. Love to used ipod phone my next dream phone.
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May 28th, 2010 at 8:56 pm Browsing with
iphone iphone iphone…..although a revolutionary tool in mobile communication going by its accomplishments, i think its over hyped.
I may not be able to make a very good argument as i dont own one, but from the ones i see with my friends.. speed is all i noticed and a more robust apps store. The talk about the iphone killer is not as popular as back in the days. More software/ phone companies are stepping up their game.
With most smart phones running on 1GHz processors, you can hardly fault them on speed any more, not even the traditionally slow winmos. Even apple is feeling threatened by android these days. There are just some basic things that apple has refused to have on their iphones which are common essentials.. like your fm radio, higher camera pixel size, also a bigger screen (which seems to be the norm now,well, they have the ipad).
However, i still have to give it to Steve Jobs as he gave the mobile community a new standard with the iphone introduction. This competition is a major factor in getting other phone companies back on the drawing board.
If not for the iphone, we may not have the Nexus Ones, HTC HD2s, SonyEricsson X10s, Dell Streaks, Acer Stream, Samsung Galaxy, Nokia N900… the list is very long these days. Available 3rd party apps for these phones are almost endless and the phone companies are trying to have their own apps store better organised now.
You will notice i didn’t mention blackberry…well, that is because i don’t consider it fun enough though a good competition in business tools.
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May 28th, 2010 at 10:23 pm Browsing with
@olurotimi lawal. I am not really mad about Apple. Only stating a News item. I believe I presented a balanced view. Cheers.
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May 28th, 2010 at 11:03 pm Browsing with
@archie. I agree with you. There are some contents and some after sales support that we miss in this part of the world. My Apple products, I usually buy from the UK. It would really be good if Apple should open up and become global like Microsoft and Nokia. I just hope its quality and innovation does not drop in that situation.
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May 29th, 2010 at 6:30 am Browsing with
This development is ironic. But then, no company can remain on top of its game forever. Every organism (organisations included) have a life span. They grow, atrophy, them die. Looks like Microsoft is on the downtrend, generally.
The same phenomenon is observable in the auto world where class leaders like Honda & Toyota are no longer the gold standard.
Yomi often emphasises that the average Joe is not interested in technical details. He is not even necessarily interested in so much technical capabilities. He is infernally on the lookout for easy2use devices (exemplified by Apple’s iToys)
that have visual appeal and an fluid interfaces.
Smart, profit-motivated organizations recognise the power of the mass-market. Give what the majority wants and watch your market capitalisation go through the roof!
P.S: The ‘captcha’ recently introduced has been a major disincentive to post on MobilityNigeria. On most mobile phones, the effort required to
get the ‘captcha’ correctly is am impediment. The captcha is often not clear enough (on mobile phones). Maybe a clearer captcha type can be used instead.
But I actually hope this will not be reintroduced as it discourages posting from mobile phones
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May 29th, 2010 at 6:39 am Browsing with
Sorry about the hassles with the Captcha, EyeBeeKay. Azeez sent in a complaint recently and I promptly took it off. I won’t be re-introducing it.
Please enjoy your mobile browsing experience here!
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June 2nd, 2010 at 1:32 pm Browsing with
Apple overtaking Microsoft as the biggest tech company didnt come as a surprise to me. I foresaw this a long time ago. I knew a company will push Microsoft out of the way sooner or later.
Apple has been helped by its range of innovative products like the ipod, iphone, ipad and mac computers.
As Eyebeekay pointed outed out in his comment above, no one company can rule forever!
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