The Apple Beat: Happy Birthday Macintosh!

Soaring sales, great products and strong retail performance helps maintain Apple's successBy Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

It was a big news week for Apple and  the buzz was not product related at all. An unexpected health leave letter from CEO Steve Jobs preceded the first quarter results conference call where Apple posted record revenue of $26.74 billion and record net quarterly profit of $6 billion.

Following that, the announcement of 10th billion app was downloaded in the UK. Heading into Macworld which is happening in San Francisco this week, we're expecting more exciting news and revelations. Finally, we celebrate the Macintosh as it hits its 27-year milestone.

Jobs on Leave, Cook Subs In

Tim Cook: Apple's COO taking the reins in Jobs' absence

In his letter to staff which was circulated to the press last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that, “at my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company."

It really is difficult to grasp an Apple without Steve Jobs.

Just as it is hard to imagine the next great device being unveiled on stage without the man in the black mock turtleneck and jeans revealing that “one more thing” that sets techies hearts aflutter and generates immeasurable amounts of excitement, hype and as evidenced by the recent earnings announcement, a lot of money.

Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will take over, as he has in the past instances, when Jobs was unavailable. 

Analysts and Apple watchers agree that Jobs has assembled a prodigiously talented executive team at Apple who have been ingrained with his vision and longview for the company and its products.

Aside from Cook, VP of Marketing Phil Schiller together with SVP for iPhone Scott Forstall and  SVP Industrial Design Jonathan Ive are expected to pitch in for most of the big product announcements going forward. Will Jobs be back? No one knows but all we can do is wish him a quick recovery.

Public perception and investor’s confidence in the company can still be shaken by Jobs’ absence specially because of the sensitive and possibly critical nature of this leave. But Jobs has said that, " I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," so we know he will be watching.

Still, Apple’s performance as a company has been amazing with their of highest revenues and highest earnings ever with revenues growing by 71 percent  and earnings growing by 78 percent.

“We couldn’t be happier with the performance of our business, generating $9.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter,” explained Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $22 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.”

Happy 27th Birthday Macintosh!

Man, has it been 27 years? Macintosh was launched on January 24, 1984. The video above takes us back to that important moment in computing history. Looking at today's iMac, you can still find the same philosophy of integrated design for the consumer Mac which proves the more things change, the more they stay the same. Like the Mac's voice.

10 Billion Apps in the bag

Paper Glider was the 10 billionth app downloaded on the App Store

The 10 billionth app downloaded for the iOS app store, Paper Glider, was purchased by Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. As the winner of the App Store Countdown to 10 Billion Apps, Gail Davis  received a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.

The success of the App Store comes at an important time for Apple now that competition in the smartphone space and the emerging tablet segment is heating up. Judging from all the announcements at CES 2011, manufacturers are gunning for Apple's most successful product areas, smartphones and tablets. 

A thriving App Store means a healthy and growing developer community and gives Apple an advantage over the competition. Matching hardware specs and features is one thing but providing a stellar selection of app choices for users is what keeps them coming back for more. Apple has a three-year lead in the smartphone ecosystem and it has its secret weapons, iTunes and the App Store.

With the iPad, Apple has a whole year head start and just as competition is benchmarking the iPad and its features, we're sure to be hearing about iPad 2 which should be coming by April.

Apple's Mac App Store, which resides in all the  new notebooks and desktops is still in its infancy but has already gained momentum.

One good example of a successful app in the Mac App Store (that isn't Angry Birds) is Pixelmator, an image editing app that raked in $1 million during its first 20 days on the Mac App Store. The app grossed a million dollars in sales in the App Store's first twenty days. The program sells for $29.99 (a limited-time discount from the normal price of $59), so that's more than 33,000 copies.  Hard to imagine this happening in a retail store scenario.

Macworld 2011- Second year without an Apple Keynote

The biggest Apple trade show and conference, Macworld 2011, kicks off this Thursday in San Francisco. This will be the second year without an Apple Keynote which also means no big product announcement from Apple. Despite this, it seems that Macworld is growing in terms of exhibitors and attendance. Created in 1984 when the first Macintosh was announced Macworld has been the kickoff  Mac event of the year. The show attracted 30,000 visitors last year, but this was before the iPad was announced so there are sure to be more participants this year focusing on the tablet space.

We're covering Macworld remotely this year, hoping in stead to attend the WWDC 2011 in June.

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Gadjo Sevilla is a long time Mac user and technician and has been covering Apple's business and products for over 15 years. The Apple Beat is a weekly opinion column focusing on the latest Apple news.