11 Apple Innovation Ideas for Change

11 Innovation Ideas To Change Apple

"The most important thing to Apple is to make the best products in the world that enrich customers’ lives. That’s our high-order bid. That means that we aren’t interested in revenue for revenue’s sake. We could put the Apple brand on a lot of things and sell a lot more stuff, but that’s not what we’re here for. We want to make only the best products." Apple CEO Tim Cook (during the Apple earnings call on January 23, 2013)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of the Innovation Index. 

Apple stock got hammered after the earnings, and many analysts are predicting rough seas in the quarter ahead. Some are even questioning CEO Tim Cook's vision and strategy. ( Check my earlier article: Why is Apple getting killed? )

Here are my 11 Innovation Ideas that could Change Apple:

1. Real new innovations - Apple needs to go back to the drawing board and create breakthrough products. Not just basic product refreshes, and adding couple of minor features here and there. Something original. Something Big like the original Macintosh, the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad! Something that is an industry first! Real new innovations will drive new business for Apple.

2. One new product each quarter - this is key to getting the excitement going and get people going back to Apple stores. This is also important to keep the competition in check. Apple has to shorten the product refresh cycles and provide new products in consumers hands every quarter. These could be a new iPad, a new iPhone, a new iMac, a new MacBook .... something new which is substantial. Today's consumers want new technology every quarter, and don't want to wait a whole year for a refresh.

3. Smartphones for all - all meaning for all hands and of all sizes... 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5 inch - both length and width! Apple needs to do this fast. Take a look at Samsung. One of the key reasons it is winning is because they introduced cool smartphones of all sizes. Every month that Apple doesn't provide bigger smartphones is lost opportunity, lost revenue, and perhaps lost customer for life. It's quite simple! Make bigger smartphones, and stop the bleeding. Apple did this with the iPod already when it made different types of iPods. Why can't they do this with the iPhone?

4. Pre-Announcements - Apple needs to begin pre-announcing products or at least begin sharing what's coming up in the pipeline openly. Not all consumers want the latest products, and hence pre-announcements won't stall the sales. Pre-announcements only keep the buzz going, and get people flocking back to the stores.

5. Apple TV ads - Why stop showing the ads? Only ad we recently see is the iPhone ad. What happened to the Mac vs PC ads and the Mac guy? Apple needs more ads and should take its marketing into overdrive mode. Samsung has been killing Apple with an advertising juggernaut. Apple used to do the same to the PC. Apple needs to build a new ad machine and really go after the competition.

6. China market - enough said! China mobile partnership will be a great start. Sooner Apple sets base in China and begins expanding R&D and operations, better the market share growth in China! China market can and will open up new opportunities for the next five years. Further, the knowledge gained from marketing and selling to the Chinese consumer will be instrumental for all emerging markets.

7. Teenagers market - Is Apple losing a grip on this market? More teenagers are walking around nowadays with Androids. They used to die by Apple products earlier. Now, Apple seems to have lost the edge here, thanks in large part to the Samsung marketing machine. This is Apple's market to lose. Can they afford to?

8. Corporate market - Where is Apple's corporate channel strategy? There is so much money to be made by selling to big companies all the Macbooks, iPads, iMacs, support subscriptions, and much more. When will Apple embrace the corporations with open arms, and really go after them? 

9. Colleges market - Just like teenagers, college students, teachers and administrators have been in awe with Apple for many years. However, is there an opening made by Google with the Chromebooks and Android tablets, and Microsoft with Windows 8 and Surface? Apple needs to become more aggressive here.

10. Smart TV anyone - Is 2013 the year that Apple finally rolls out the much anticipated Smart TV? What would Apple call this new TV? The name "iTV" is taken already. How about just "Next TV" or "TV Plus"? This is the blockbuster innovation everyone is looking out for. Will this change the way we watch TV?

11. X-Factor - Apple users. How can Apple woo and wow them again and again? Is Apple reaching out to their users? What stories is Apple sharing about them? Can Apple promote their customers more so? Can Apple create and participate in local community events, and really get involved with their customers?  

These are just my thoughts and ideas on changing Apple. What are yours? 

Download my Apple's Innovation Strategy eBook about how Steve Jobs and Apple team made Apple the #1 Innovator ...It's used by over 1,000 innovators worldwide. You will enjoy it! Go here
  
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The Incredible Apple

Yesterday, Apple did the unthinkable, yet again! Apple blew away the revenue and earnings by a long shot. Apple announced record quarterly sales of over $28.57 billion, and profits of $7.31 billion ( Apple, what are you planning to do with all that cash? Perhaps you can buy out a country or two! )

Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 142 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 3.95 million Macs during the quarter, a 14 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.54 million iPods, a 20 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.” (This means, iPhone 5 is coming this Fall as well!)

Apple Destroys Estimates AND the Stock Is Still Cheap! Here's what stood out:
* Apple's Cash on Hand grew by 16% to $76.2 billion. The number works out to roughly $81 per share. Were they so inclined, Apple could write checks for Netflix (NFLX) and Ebay (EBAY) combined and still remain liquid.
* Apple's revenue growth is actually accelerating.
* The company beat EPS estimates by over 30% and revenue forecasts by 15%. These numbers speak ill of the people analyzing Apple but are jaw-dropping nonetheless.
* The stock continues to perform yet somehow gets cheaper; trading at over 18x earnings yesterday and in the vicinity of a 15 P/E today.

Cramer on Wednesday raised his price target on Apple from $400 to $500 a share. Yet at the $500 level, the technology stock will be selling at just 11.5 times his estimates for next fiscal year's earnings, only three quarters of what the average company in the S&P 500 index sells for.
To Cramer, Apple is a great example of why capitalism is worth cheering for. Unfortunately, Apple also puts U.S. leaders to shame because all they can do is bicker. "The United States of Apple?" Cramer said, "Now that's a place Cramericans can call home."

Apple Earnings Call: "We are very excited to be launching Mac OS X Lion tomorrow. The Lion includes more than 250 new features such as a multi-touch gestures, system wide support for full screen apps, Mission Control, which is an innovative view of everything running on your Mac and much more."
"iPhone continues to be adopted as the standard across the enterprise with 91% of the Fortune 500 deployed or testing the device, up from 88% last quarter. We're also seeing great growth in scale worldwide. Today, 57% of Global 500 companies are testing or deploying iPhone, fueled by strong employee demand and opportunities for custom App development. Some examples of Global 500 companies supporting iPhones on their corporate networks, include AXA, Credit Agricole, Nestlé, Dow Chemical, GlaxoSmithKline, SUPERVALU and Comcast."
"We are also seeing strong adoption internationally with 47% of Global 500 companies testing or deploying iPad. In the 15 months since iPad has shipped, we've seen iPads used in the enterprise in ways we could have never imagined. Companies like Boston Scientific, Xerox and Salesforce.com are deploying thousands of iPads and revolutionize in how their sales teams engage their customers. iPad is being used inside the country's top hospitals like HCA and Cedars-Sinai and in retail at Nordstrom and at Esteé Lauder's Clinique counters. General Electric, SAP and Standard Charter have developed internal Apps for training, currency tracking and business process management to help make employees even more productive. And Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are using the iPad in cockpit to replace paper-based navigational and reference information pilots carry with him on every flight."
- Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO
"China was very key to our results. As a reminder, we define Greater China as Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Year-over-year, it was up over 6x and the revenue was approximately $3.8 billion during the quarter and that makes the year-to-date numbers through the 3 quarters that we've had thus far around $8.8 billion. And so this has been a substantial opportunity for Apple and I firmly believe that we're just scratching the surface right now. I think there is an incredible opportunity for Apple there." - Timothy Cook, Apple COO

Bottomline:
Apple dropped a huge sales bomb again! Apple's quarterly revenue and earnings explosion is just the beginning! Expect Apple to deliver successive quarters of record sales and earnings in the foreseeable future. About the only thing that can bring Apple down is supplier constraints. But Apple has planned well in this department as well; Apple's inventory is healthy, and current generation products are getting rolled out without any delays. As schools resume in Fall, and as we get closer to the holiday season, Apple revenue machine will accelerate faster! A $40 billion holiday quarter is indeed a possibility... Apple makes more money internationally than in the U.S.; 62% of sales came from international operations in the latest quarter. This means that Apple has become a true global company, and has even less dependency on local market going forward. It also means that the world has more buying power and buys more Apple products thatn U.S. does. This is both a challenge and opportunity for Apple going forward. Apple now has to design products that cater to international buyers. And assuming that the world is still warming up to Apple, the global demand for future Apple products will be very high. As the U.S. economy improves, Apple will derive even more sales locally, giving its quarterly revenue numbers bigger boost! Apple is a winner no matter what!
When a billion cell phones are sold every year worldwide, if Apple is able to increase its marketshare to 10%, this would translate to 100 million iPhone annual sales. Apple just sold over 20 million iPhones. Expect a 25 million iPhone quarter in the near future. As for the iPad, there are many choice tablets available. However, at $499, iPad 2 offers an amazing mix of features and functionality in one incredible machine. Can Apple sell 15 million iPads next quarter? Quite possibly. Apple just announced the latest MacBook Air at starting price of $999. It's faster, ships with Mac OS X Lion, has Flash storage, backlit keyboard, camera and most everything you need as your entry notebook. This will help accelerate the sales of MacBooks in the coming quarters. Finally, the all important iOS 5 and iCloud are coming this year... along with the launch of iPhone 5. Apple has the whole world in awe with its product wizardry! The Incredible Magic of Apple!

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?


Download Apple's Innovation Strategy, and learn how Apple became the #1 innovator through:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Visionary Leadership

Revised in 2011! Steve Jobs interview

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now

Why Apple is a BUY at these levels

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has corrected 8% from the 52 week high of $364.90 set on Feb 16, 2011.





Apple is set to announce record quarterly earnings this month on the heels of the hot launch of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 on Verizon. The average quarterly estimate is $5.33 EPS on $23.18 billion of quarterly sales - a spectacular growth of 60.10% in earnings, and 71.70% in sales. Compare this to the quarterly earnings growth of 20.80% for the average S&P 500 company. Thus, Apple earnings growth is poised to be more than three times that of the average S&P 500 company.

Apple Muddied Picture

Apple's current P/E is 18.69, while the forward P/E is only 12.56 - a significant undervaluation of Apple's future potential. What's wrong with this picture? Here are possible explanations: 1. Retail investor is holding out until after the earnings are announced 2. Current NASDAQ-100 rebalancing that reduces Apple's 20% stake to around 12%, and surrounding liquidation by funds 3. Steve Jobs medical leave, and speculation about his health 4. Downgrade by JMP Securities analyst.

Apple Quarterly Milestones

Apple has made significant announcements during the last quarter, which should translate to real growth in quarterly sales. Key Apple milestones include:

1. iPad 2 launch in U.S.A on March 11

2. iPad 2 launch in 25 countries on March 25

3. Revved up MacBook Pro launch on February 24

4. iPhone 4 launch on Verizon Wireless on February 2

5. App Store growth juggernaut on January 22

What will be Apple's earnings this quarter?

Three earnings scenarios are plausible:
1. Apple beats the average earnings estimates of $5.33 by at least 50 cents, and announces in the vicinity of $5.83 (40% probability).

2. Apple makes the average earnings estimate of $5.33 (50% probability).

3. Apple misses the average earnings estimate by 10 cents and announces $5.23 earnings (least likely, 10% probability).

Accounting for all probabilities, Apple's mean earnings will be around $5.52 for this quarter; this will increase its prior 12 months earnings to $20.10. If Apple's current P/E were to remain the same at 18.69, Apple stock price should appreciate to $375.57.

There you have it: If Apple delivers reasonable quarterly earnings of $5.52, and current P/E of 18.69 remains constant, Apple's stock price should jump to $375.57.

What's the upside?

Some analysts estimate Apple's earnings to be as high as $5.98.  If Apple were to kill its quarterly earnings, and make this high estimate, watch out from above! This will increase Apple's prior 12 months earnings further to $20.56, or fetch an Apple stock price of $384.27! (at the current P/E of 18.69)

On an average, Apple has beaten the average earnings estimate by 20.3% during the previous four quarters. If Apple were to match this average, Apple could deliver whopping surprise earnings of $6.42. Imagine that! This will increase Apple's prior 12 months earnings to $21, or fetch an even higher Apple stock price of $392.49! (at the current P/E of 18.69)

Thus, we have three possibilities of where the Apple stock price could be post earnings:

1. $375.57 (for mean earnings of $5.52)

2. $384.27 (for analyst high earnings of $5.98)

3. $392.49 (for an Apple high earnings of $6.42)

Analysts are even more bullish

The mean target for Apple's 12 month price as per 46 analysts is $424.80, which is higher than all three possibilities above. The median is $440.00. The high target is $550.00, and the low target is $200.00. The high-low 12 month average target price is also $375.
Apple Price Target Summary

Mean Target:	424.80
Median Target:	440.00
High Target:	550.00
Low Target:	200.00
No. of Brokers:	46

Data provided by Thomson/First Call

Caveat: Stock Price Drops after earnings

Apple stock has not done well immediately after earnings announcement. On an average, Apple stock has actually dropped 4.48% post earnings during the previous four quarters, before it begins appreciating. This could mean that further downside to Apple stock is entirely possible after the earnings are announced this quarter. However, one can argue that Apple stock has already corrected significantly this quarter, and is priced for perfection post earnings to go up. 

Where will Apple stock price end up after quarterly earnings call is anybody's guess... For instance, if Steve Jobs participates in the earnings call, the investors will welcome him and get excited about Apple's future. All eyes will be on the iPad 2 quarterly sales, Mac shipments, iPod sales, iPhone 4 growth and importantly, margins. If Apple were to hit a home run on all of these, Apple stock has nowhere to go, but up! We do know one thing for sure: At current price point of $335.06 as of Friday's close, Apple is quite undervalued! Even if the Apple stock remains undervalued and the P/E of 18.69 stays constant, it is reasonable to expect at least a 12% upside in the near term post earnings. $375 could be just round the corner!
Apple's Innovation Strategy
How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?


Download Apple's Innovation Strategy, and learn how Apple became the #1 innovator through:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Visionary Leadership

Revised in 2011! Steve Jobs interview

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now

Apple hits Home Run with latest quarterly earnings

Apple hit major milestones today in the latest quarterly earnings:

1. Highest Quarterly Sales of $20.3 billion, rising 67% from previous year
2. Highest Quarterly Profits of $4.3 billion, rising 70% from previous year
3. Highest Unit Sales of Mac, iPhone and iPad

“We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings—both all-time records for Apple,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone sales of 14.1 million were up 91 percent year-over-year, handily beating the 12.1 million phones RIM sold in their most recent quarter. We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.”

Apple raised the outlook for the holiday quarter, and as Steve Jobs indicated, is planning to launch something exciting this year... Apple TV sold 250,000 units for the quarter.

In the conference call, Steve Jobs was elated, talked about winning, catching "tiger by the tail", and even joked about loving "Flash" ( memory). Mr. Jobs talked about creating the best products for the markets and customers Apple serves, and maintaining higher margins by providing the better Apple experience out of the box. Mr. Jobs quipped that he would like to learn from Nokia on how to create Smart phones for less than $50. Apple had a phenomenal quarter for the new iPad, and importantly, the businesses and education are finding new applications for the iPad.

“7-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad,” said Jobs, adding that competing manufacturers were struggling to meet the price point of the iPad, which starts at $500. Both Samsung and RIM have not announced pricing on their tablets.

“These are among the reasons that the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA — dead on arrival,” Jobs said during the earnings call!

After hitting another record daily high, Apple stock was down more than 6% in after hours, perhaps reacting to lower gross margins and pent up expectations.

Learn to innovate like Apple and Steve Jobs.
How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?


Download Apple's Innovation Strategy, and learn how Apple became the #1 innovator through:

• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Visionary Leadership

Revised in 2011! Steve Jobs interview

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now

Read more:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/tablets-steve-jobs/#ixzz12ou3xuLP

Apple Stock Explodes - On Fire - Before Earnings

Apple is all set to announce the quarterly earnings on Oct 18 after market close!

Apple hit an all-time high (again) today, closing the regular session at $314.74, a surge of $12.43 in one day, or 4.11%. Apple's market cap is now at $287.53 billion.

Apple is poised to announce quarterly revenue of at least $18.86 billion, earnings of at least $4.06 a share, and provide an uplifting outlook for the last holiday quarter, traditionally Apple's best quarter. This could mean Apple's stock has more upside going into the holiday season... An Apple analyst raised the Apple stock price estimate to $500 today.

Apple could report sales of 4.5 million iPads (not a typo), 9 million iPhones, 9 million iPods, and 4 million Macs... for a dizzying total sales of at least $18.86 billion. This is going to be a Monster quarter for Apple by all measures.

Important side note: This will mark the first quarter in Apple's storied history when it's quarterly revenue will exceed that of Microsoft's! Amazing indeed!

Apple's Innovation Strategy - Innovation eBook & Process

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?

What is Apple's Innovation Strategy? Download these Apple Innovation eBook insights and learn to be like Apple... like Steve Jobs, the innovator and CEO of Apple.

"There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote
that I love. 'I skate to where the puck
is going to be, not where it has been.'
And we've always tried to do that at
Apple. Since the very very beginning.
And we always will." -Steve Jobs

Apple innovates through:
• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs

This Apple Innovation Strategy ebook provides insights, strategy, best practices, facts and much more...

Apple has built an Innovation Factory – one that harnesses creativity in its people, stimulating new ideas, and launching successful, profitable new innovations... Apple leverages its diverse culture, innovation processes, partners and networks to seize the new opportunities in the marketplace and grow its business...exponentially…

How did Apple do it?
• Increase revenue more than 400% in 8 years…
• Increase net profit more than 650% in 8 years…
• Increase market cap more than thirty times to over $250 billion and
counting…

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now

Apple Earnings Blowout - It's Going To Be Huge!

Congratulations to Apple & Steve Jobs for providing a good solution yesterday to the iPhone 4 antenna problem... Every iPhone 4 user will get a free case! This is a good response from Apple, and will hopefully allow users to fully appreciate their new iPhone 4, and be very happy about their purchase!!

Did you catch the iPhone 4 Antenna song that Apple played in their news conference yesterday... very funny!


Expect Apple to deliver another blowout quarter when it announces earnings this week...

According to Yahoo Finance, the average earnings estimate by 40 analysts is for Apple to earn $3.10 a share this quarter, with a low estimate of $2.65 and a high estimate of $3.47. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple breaks free and announces earnings well over $3.47 a share...

The average revenue estimate by the same 40 analysts is for Apple to make $14.74 billion this quarter, with a low estimate of $13.82 billion and a high estimate of $15.74 billion... Again, it's very likely that Apple will report revenue on the very high end of the estimate, perhaps even surpass the $15.74 billion mark!

What's going for Apple to have a huge earnings blowout?

1. iPad - more than 3 million iPads were sold in the quarter, accounting for at least $1.5 billion in new business.
2. iPhone 4 - at least 1.5 million new iPhone 4 sales happened in June. This one is tricky though... Did the launch of iPhone 4 stall the sales of iPhone 3GS? Let's hope that it did not; total sales of iPhones for the quarter could end up above the 9 million mark...
3. MACs - Intel just announced that they had the best quarter in history on the sales of the microprocessors that power the majority of computers worldwide! Apple is becoming a leading player in contributing to the sales of Intel processors, and it's plausible that Apple had a huge quarter for MAC sales...

All eyes will be on Apple as it announces perhaps the biggest & baddest earnings quarter in Apple history!!

How does Apple, the #1 innovative company in the world, innovate and create game-changing innovations such as the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad and more? What is Apple's secret recipe for innovation success?

What is Apple's Innovation Strategy? Download these Apple Innovation eBook insights and learn to be like Apple... like Steve Jobs, the innovator and CEO of Apple.

"There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote
that I love. 'I skate to where the puck
is going to be, not where it has been.'
And we've always tried to do that at
Apple. Since the very very beginning.
And we always will." -Steve Jobs

Apple innovates through:
• Creativity and Innovation
• Innovation in Products
• Innovation in Business Model
• Innovation in Customer Experience
• Innovation and Leadership
• Steve Jobs Visionary Leadership

This Apple Innovation Strategy ebook provides insights, strategy, best practices, facts and much more...

Apple has built an Innovation Factory – one that harnesses creativity in its people, stimulating new ideas, and launching successful, profitable new innovations... Apple leverages its diverse culture, innovation processes, partners and networks to seize the new opportunities in the marketplace and grow its business...exponentially…

How did Apple do it?
• Increase revenue more than 400% in 8 years…
• Increase net profit more than 650% in 8 years…
• Increase market cap more than twenty times to over $200 billion and
counting…

Download Apple's Innovation Strategy and Learn how Steve Jobs made Apple the #1 Innovative company in the world.

Download Now

References:
Yahoo Finance
Apple.com

All Eyes On Apple - AAPL - Apple delivers big

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index, and the number one Innovator in the world. Innovation Index Group, Inc. has a BUY recommendation for Apple with Q4, 2008 price target of $235 to $250.

Analysts were expecting Apple to earn $1.07 on revenue of $6.96 billion - earnings growth of 23% and revenue growth of 32% year over year.

How many iPods will Apple sell in the quarter? How many iPhones? Will Apple announce the new iPhone availability today? How about the growth of Mac sales?

Last quarter which is normally Apple's best quarter owing to the holiday season, "Apple shipped 2,319,000 Macintosh® computers, representing 44 percent unit growth and 47 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 22,121,000 iPods during the quarter, representing five percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone™ sales were 2,315,000."

For the first quarter of 2007 (one year ago quarter), Apple "shipped 1,517,000 Macintosh® computers and 10,549,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 36 percent growth in Macs and 24 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter." Apple iPhone was not shipping yet.

If Apple were to grow at least 15% year over year, Apple should ship at least 1,744,000 new Macintosh computers and 12,131,000 new iPods; and if Apple iPhone were to hit 12 million unit sales in 2008, Apple should ship at least 2 million iPhones in the first quarter.

All eyes will be on Apple as the quarterly earnings are announced.

Earnings Announcement

Apple Inc. "announced financial results for its fiscal 2008 second quarter ended March 29, 2008. The Company posted revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share. Apple revenue increased by 43%, and net profit increased by 36%. These results compare to revenue of $5.26 billion and net quarterly profit of $770 million, or $.87 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 32.9 percent, down from 35.1 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple shipped 2,289,000 Macintosh(R) computers during the quarter, representing 51 percent unit growth and 54 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10,644,000 iPods during the quarter, representing one percent unit growth and eight percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone(TM) sales were 1,703,000"

Great Earnings Report from Apple. Although Apple had provided a very conservative quarterly forecast in January, 2008, Apple beat the high end estimates on revenue, and came on the high end estimates on earnings for the quarter. Apple once again gave a conservative outlook for the future. The street should get an idea now. Mac business is solid. iPod volume business is stalling, however Apple is selling higher priced iPods. iPhone business is strong, and Apple is on track to sell 10 million or higher iPhones in 2008.

Is Apple winning marketshare against Windows Vista? Apple had a strong surge in Mac business. Can Apple reclaim the position, slowly but surely, in the PC business? Apple has a really long way to go.... but if Apple can get to the 10% marketshare of the overall PC business worldwide, this would mark a significant milestone and signal a shift.

Watch out for Apple in Q4, 2008!
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Why Apple will hit $250 by December 2008?
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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Kicks Off 2008 with Bold...

About Innovation Index Group:

Innovation Index Group, Inc. is a new investment management company focused on systematically identifying, tracking and investing in the most innovative publicly traded companies in North America – collectively called the Innovation Index. We have developed the Innovation Index Fund, LLC as our first vehicle to invest in the Innovation Index.

Innovation Index Group, Inc. and Innovation Index Fund LLC are registered California Corporations, and member of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Further, Innovation Index Fund LLC is a private placement investment partnership organized under the California state regulations.

The Innovation Index Reports:

Invest in The Innovation Index - Innovation Index Fund tracks The Innovation Index
The Innovation Index closes 2007 at 66% - 2007 Annual Report on the Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 Innovative Companies
Annual Report - Chapter One - Total Innovation Activity - 2006 Annual Report One
Annual Report - Chapter Two - The Top Innovator - 2006 Annual Report Two
Annual Report - Chapter Three - The Innovation Insights - 2006 Annual Report Insights
Innovation and Stock Performance Correlation - The Innovation Index and Stock Performance

About The Innovation Index

The Innovation Index introduced in December 2006 is a weighted stock price index of the top 20 Innovators in North America.

The Innovation Index returned 66% in 2007, and returned 174% over the previous five years (2002-2006). This assumes equal investment in each stock of The Innovation Index as of December 31, 2001. An average of $100 invested in The Innovation Index on December 31, 2001 returned $454 as of December 31, 2007. By comparison, $100 invested in S & P 500 returned 28% or $129, $100 invested in NASDAQ returned 34% or $136, and $100 invested in the Dow Jones Index returned 30% or $131 through December 31, 2007. The Innovation Index beats the S & P 500, NASDAQ and Dow Jones Index by more than seven times over the past six years.*

Alphabetical list of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index for 2008 and their stock ticker symbols:

3M Company - (NYSE: MMM)
Amazon.com, Inc. - (NASDAQ: AMZN)
America Movil - (NYSE: AMX)
Apple Inc. - (NASDAQ: AAPL)
AT&T Inc. - (NYSE: T)
Best Buy Co., Inc. - (NYSE: BBY)
Cisco Systems, Inc. - (NASDAQ: CSCO)
Costco Wholesale Corporation - (NASDAQ: COST)
eBay Inc. - (NASDAQ: EBAY)
General Electric Co. - (NYSE: GE)
Google Inc. - (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co. - (NYSE: HPQ)
Intel Corporation - (NASDAQ: INTC)
International Business Machines Corp. - (NYSE: IBM)
Merck & Co., Inc. - (NYSE: MRK)
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD)
Microsoft Corporation - (NASDAQ: MSFT)
NIKE, Inc. - (NYSE: NKE)
Research In Motion Limited - (NASDAQ: RIMM)
The Proctor & Gamble Company - (NYSE: PG)

The Innovation Index will analyze the positions and standings of the Top 20 Innovators at the end of each year. For 2008, there will be no further changes in The Innovation Index.
Disclaimer: The Innovation Index Group, Inc. invests in the stocks comprising The Innovation Index.
*Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Results