1. Thomas Gale 10.10.11

2. Apple is an American situated computer technology company that develops and builds personal computers, computer software, and electronics for consumers. Their list of products created under the Apple brand name include the Macintosh line of computers (more commonly known as just the Mac) and their associated operating system Mac OS X, the iPad line of tablet computers, the iPod line of portable media players, the iPhone line of multimedia supporting smartphones, programs such as the iTunes media browser and Safari internet browser, music production tool Logic Studio, professional audio and film- industry software Final Cut Studio, and even more. Founded on April 1 st in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, Apple was established to sell the personal computer kit known as Apple 1 that was hand-built solely by Steve Wozniak, and only consisted of a motherboard rather than a complete computer system. Since then, Apple has gone on to produce a large line of full personal computers and a variety of other electronic devices and computer software, and is well renowned within the computer industry alongside other computer technology company Microsoft and their Windows line of computers. iPhoneMacintosh

3. Being a company that builds a variety of computer technology products, Apple releases new versions of their technology onto the marketplace when there is a significant advancement over the previous version of the product, and have also made variations of it’s products (such as different sizes, colour variations, different hard-drive sizes, varying space and limitations, etc) to appeal to different demographs, and particularly to people that are looking for specifics system specs so that the item is just right for them. For example, the MacBook line of notebook computers/laptops that had premiered on May 16 th 2006 was quietly discontinued and pulled from the public on July 20 th 2011 in favor of the MacBook Air, a branch line of the MacBook product that was originally released in January 29 th 2008 and boasted a sleeker look with a slightly smaller hard-drive and other minor differences. That same day, a new version of MacBook Air was released that boasted a more powerful processor, a backlit keyboard, and the v4.0 update to BlueTooth. The MacBook was not completely pulled from the market, however it is now only available for educational institutions to purchase. The next two slides are going to present some of Apple’s lines of products and their branch line, as well as listing other details; such as whether the product was discontinued in favor of being carried on by another product from the line, or if it and the branching products are still being given equal care and upgraded together. MacBook Air

4. Product LineProduct RunType Apple I Apple II Apple II Plus Apple III Apple IIe Lisa Apple III Plus Macintosh Apple IIc Macintosh II Apple IIc Plus Apple Iie Platinum Macintosh LC Powerbook Power Macintosh Power Macintosh G3 iMac Power Macintosh G4 Power Macintosh G5 Mac Pro 1976 - 1977 1977 - 1979 1979 - 1982 1980 - 1983 1983 - 1984 1983 - 1984 1983 - 1984 1984 - 1987 1984 - 1988 1987 - 1990 1988 - 1990 1990 - 1993 1990 - 1991 1991 - 1994 1994 - 1997 1997 - 1998 1998 - Now 1998 - 2003 2003 - 2006 2006 - Now Desktop Computer

5. Product LineProduct RunType iPod iPod Touch 2001 - 2008 2008 - Now Portable Media Player iPhone2007 - NowMultimedia Smartphones iPad2009 - NowTablet Computers MacBook2006 - NowNotebook Computers OS X2001 - NowOperating System

6. Apple’s brand is the key driving force behind the success of the company as a whole; it wasn’t just because of technology such as the iPod or Mac. The prime of the company’s strategy focuses on providing innovative and user-friendly products that are available to and easily useable by anyone and everybody, and it’s services being aligned with the digital hub strategy where a range of both Apple and non-Apple computer products can be used without needing any work- around to get the devices and services working. These devices and services include the iPod, cellular phones, digital cameras, and personal digital assistants. The Apple brand is also extremely notable for being able to deliver their uniqiue experience through their easily identifiable user interfaces, with a key example being their iPhone product’s touch-screen mechanics, iTunes, and the Apple Apps store. Combined with their shining customer service, they are a prime example of how big an impact a well thought out strategy for brands can have.

7. The financial success of Apple is also all down to the strength of their brand, which holds forever strong to this day as the single largest computer technology company in the world through their revenue and profit. Since their debuts, the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and iPad have gone on to become highly relevant and important for a large number of people to use in their everyday lives and get the things they want, when they want. These sales have also had a positive impact on the Mac computers sales, indicated by a dramatic rise that was started from the first release of the iPod, and has been kept going with further releases of new products under the ‘i’ name.

8. One of Apple’s most famous advertisement methods was the 1984 commercial for the upcoming Macintosh computer system, and was based on the novel that had the year as it’s name (Nineteen Eighty-Four). The advert presents a dystopian future ruled by a televised ‘Big Brother’ style character that rules with an iron fist and orders every person around, and a lone human female (who wears a white shirt that features an image of the Macintosh computer) wielding a hammer running towards the screen and hurling the hammer towards it, causing it to explode and shock the people sitting before the screen. The screen fades to black, and a voiceover that announced the following message: “On January 24 th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984”.” Despite issues with copyright owners for Nineteen Eighty-Four and not being personally satisfied with the end result, the commercial went on to become legendary within the industry, and one of the most memorable American commercials of all time.

9. Much later on, Apple found itself inventing a new advertising scheme that proved to be almost as iconic and memorable as the 1984 one; the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” lines of adverts. These adverts place two people alongside each other, and has one representing Apple’s Mac computer line while the other represents other general computer such as Microsoft’s Windows computer line. There were at least 20 different versions of the advert, each showcasing some form of problem with PC’s that the Mac was being advertised as being able to handle much more efficiently. This included problems such as constant freezing/crashing, time consumed when loading programs and files up, and the easier way of multi-tasking and handling several jobs at once.