Apple iPod - Apple's Best Innovation

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the World's Number One Innovative Company, three years in a row according to BusinessWeek's 2007 list of the world's 50 most innovative companies. BusinessWeek proclaims "their creativity goes beyond products to rewiring themselves." BusinessWeek ranks the innovative companies based on the responses received from over 1,000 global executives of the largest global corporations; survey questions include innovation metrics on process, product and business model innovations.

Apple is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

According to BusinessWeek, innovation today is “much more than new products.” Innovation is also “reinventing business processes and building entirely new markets that meet untapped customer needs.” The ubiquity of the Internet and globalization of the business expand generation of new ideas. Innovation is then “selecting and executing the right ideas and bringing them to market in record time.”

iPod driving Apple to Number One Innovative Company
iPod, powered by Apple, introduced in 2001 and masterminded by Steve Jobs, combines outstanding design, easy-to-use interface, superb performance, and an experience like no other. Apple assumed the world’s number one innovative company position and held it again in 2006 in large part due to the exponential growth of iPod – aptly called the iPod phenomenon. Just ask the tens of millions of fans walking, driving, jogging, exercising, chatting, playing, humming, relaxing, singing, rocking, screaming, and above all enjoying their daily iPod experience. Imagine if they were to miss their iPod for a day, or even for a few hours. iPod is oxygen – pure and simple – the source of life for these millions of fans. Not to mention iPod has become associated with personal status and symbol that speaks of cool, hip, polished, and different. What began as a new product quickly became a revolution. iPod is by far the best commercial innovation the world has seen in the last few years, and perhaps is the best innovation from Apple dating back through its storied history of innovation firsts. Apple one-upped the iPod design innovation by creating new innovations in business model with the launch of iTunes online service enabled by strategic partnerships with the Music, TV and Movie industry.

A Glorious History of Innovations
Apple has created great innovations beginning with the first Apple computer in 1976, Graphical User Interface (GUI) along with the popular Macintosh introduced in 1984, the reliable PowerBook introduced in 1991, the PDA named Newton that created a new industry of handhelds in 1993, the new millennium revolution beginning with the iMac in 1998, the new iBook hot on the heels of the iMac in 1999, the iPod that put an oomph in the MP3 players and essentially changed music as we know it in 2001, iTunes software and Music store service that changed the Music industry business model and made it easy for fans to listen and buy music piecemealed in 2003, iPod mini, iPod (U2 Special Edition) and iPod photo in 2004, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod with Video and Mac Mini in 2005, the new iMac with Intel core Duo processors and the new MacBook with Intel processors in 2006.

Five years of iPod Innovations

2006 marks five years of iPod innovations. Apple's Hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design and build the first iPod in less than a year, and it was unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs on October 23, 2001 as a Mac-compatible product with a 5GB hard drive that put "1,000 songs in your pocket." Since then, Apple has introduced fourteen different models of iPods in various colors, displaying photos, downloading and playing videos, branded and signed by U2, with numerous forms and shapes, different capacities for holding songs, pictures and videos, with connectors, next generation models with better wheels, and more. For instance, the new iPod video introduced in 2005 was the first iPod that could download and playback full-motion video with a larger color screen and better display resolution – an innovative package under $300 for the base model. Or the innovation in the wheel that is akin to the driving wheel on a car – from an original mechanical scroll wheel to the current touch-sensitive click wheel. According to PC Magazine, “In the years since (2001), the iPod's market share has grown tremendously, iPods have shrunk in size, Apple's iTunes Music Store has taken the lion's share of legal digital music downloads, and the iPod accessory market has exploded and taken on a life of its own. All this has made the iPod as synonymous with "MP3 player" as Kleenex is with facial tissues.”

The love for iPod

Why do people love iPod perhaps more than their spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or children? It has to do with the simple yet elegant design that makes it extremely easy-to-use (Toyota’s Innovation Factory), exceptional sound, video and imagery, and the amazing experience. The flexibility provided by the iTunes software and service that allows you to try and download any music and video with the click of a button from any computer or the Internet to your iPod. And all the available accessories from wireless headsets, remote controls, beautiful skins, acoustic speakers, to connectors that can literally take your iPod music and videos anywhere – inside the room, in the car, in the office, on the plane, even while taking shower. iPod fans can’t live without their iPods literally. And the search is still on for a music fan that has switched from an iPod to another MP3 player. And there is that small sharing thing: hard-core iPod fans don’t like to share their iPods with others. BYOiPod. Bring your own iPod.

iPod’s Topline

In the quarter ending September 2006, Apple sold 8.7 million new iPods, generating $1.5 Billion in sales, a third of Apple’s total quarterly sales. By the end of 2006, there will be over 67 million iPods in the world; Apple is poised to eclipse the 100 million iPods mark in 2007. iPod has revived Apple from the depths in 2001 when annual sales had plummeted to $5.36 Billion and Apple was losing money. Apple’s shares were under $10. Compare this to 2005, when Apple had sales of $13.9 Billion, and profits of over $1 Billion. Apple’s shares have climbed sixteen folds. The Apple machine is kicking into high gear, in large part due to iPod Innovation Revolution. iPod’s halo effect is even evident in the latest quarter when Apple sold more Macs than it has ever sold before: 1.61 million.

In 2007, Apple sold 52.7 million iPods, an increase of over 15% from the 45 million iPods sold in 2006. In the latest quarter ending December 2007, Apple sold 22.1 million iPods representing five percent unit growth and 17 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Can Apple grow iPods sales to over 20% in 2008? What strategy would Apple employ to lure more iPods buyers in 2008?

The next generation iPods

What innovations can be expected from iPod? Can Apple create jazzier, easier, feature-rich iPods?

How about iPods that beam songs and videos to each other, to a computer or even to a TV? Or iPods that deliver Presentations and Live Videos in team meetings. iPods with GPS Navigation system. iPods that combine as cell phones. iPods that can receive satellite radios. What innovations will Apple bring out next? Steve Jobs indicated in the latest quarterly earnings press release that 2007 will be an exciting year full of great new products. The world will be watching.

2008 Fast Forward

Apple Inc. added new models of iPod(R) touch after the success of iPod touch launched in 2007. The new models have "double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go."

iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

iPod touch features Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch(TM) user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. iPod touch models include the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals. iPod touch features the world's most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari(TM) and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Apple had an outstanding 2007 - the stock price and market cap more than doubled and finished upwards of 130% owing to such game changing innovations including the new iPhone, the new iPod Touch, and the all new Mac OS – Leopard, and on the strengths of the growing iPod and Mac business.

Retail research firm NPD Group says Apple's iPods still maintain a lock on the top spot in U.S. sales of digital music and media players, with as much as 75% of the market.

Nike + iPod

One innovation that Apple created with another Top 20 Innovator of The Innovation Index, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is Nike Plus. Apple calls it the "ultimate synthesis of sport and music: a pair of Nike+ shoes, an iPod nano, and the Nike + iPod Sport Kit."

Nike+ shoes feature a built-in pocket under the insole specially engineered for the Nike + iPod sensor. iPod nano syncs a runner's complete workout data with both iTunes and nikeplus.com. The Nike + iPod Sport Kit allows an athlete's Nike+ shoe to talk to the iPod nano. The sensor uses a sensitive accelerometer to measure the activity, then wirelessly transfers this data to the receiver on your iPod nano.

Nike + iPod receiver fits securely into the Dock connector on the bottom of the iPod nano. Wirelessly connected to the sensor in your Nike+ shoe, it receives up-to-the-second information as you run.

As one runs, iPod nano tells you your time, distance, pace, and calories burned via voice feedback that adjusts music volume as it plays. In addition to progress reports, voice feedback congratulates you when you’ve reached a personal best — your fastest pace, longest distance and time, or most calories burned. Besides the voice feedback, iPod nano plays the workout songs you choose, or have the iPod nano choose it for you based on your workout. You can also choose to play PowerSong.

Nike+ has created a growing new business for Nike, and Nike even touts this in their earnings reports and press. Is Apple planning to make more deals with more athletic companies besides Nike for the iPod? We will find out in 2008.

Apple iPod - Apple's Best Innovation.

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

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References:
BusinessWeek
PC Magazine
Apple-history.com
Apple.com
Wikipedia

Originally published October 23, 2006.
Updated February 09, 2008

The Innovation Index Reports: Introducing The Innovation Index Fund - Invest into The Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 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
The Innovation Index gallops to 56% - Quarterly Report - Q3, 2007

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 - (NYSE: 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.

Apple introduces new iPhone and new iTouch

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) today added new models of the iPhone(TM) and iPod(R) touch which have "double the memory, doubling the amount of music, photos and videos that customers can carry with them wherever they go." In January, in my article on:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Kicks Off 2008 with Bold New Innovations I discussed many of the new innovations at Apple and the impact.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

The revolutionary iPhone now comes in a new 16GB model for $499, joining the 8GB model for $399. iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

Both iPhone and iPod touch feature Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch(TM) user interface and pioneering software that allows users to find and enjoy all their music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger. All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application*; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes(R) Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world's most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari(TM) and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

Bottomline:
More memory! Yes, both iPhone and iPod Touch users want this, and crave for this so that they can add all the songs, music, videos and more. But Apple may have priced the 32GB iPod Touch at $499 out of the market. This was a great opportunity for Apple to reduce the price by $50 for each of the iPod Touch, and effectively price the new iPod Touch at $399 instead. iPod Touch is perhaps the best iPod to date, and considering that Apple came a bit short last quarter on the total iPods sold (versus analyst expectations), Apple may need to price iPod Touch more aggressively. On the other hand, the new iPhone is priced right at $499, however should have come with 32 GB instead to keep it consistent with the iPod Touch. Apple customers will welcome the new iPhones and iPods.

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

Download Now

The Innovation Index Reports: Introducing The Innovation Index Fund - Invest into The Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 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 - (NYSE: 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.

References:

http://www.apple.com

Originally published at:
Apple introduces new iPhone and new iTouch

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Kicks Off 2008 with Bold New Innovations

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index.

Apple had an outstanding 2007 - the stock price and market cap more than doubled and finished upwards of 130% owing to such game changing innovations including the new iPhone, the new iPod Touch, and the all new Mac OS – Leopard, and on the strengths of the growing iPod and Mac business. Is iPod, Apple’s best innovation? Or has the new iPhone toppled the venerable iPod?

On the business front, Apple executed and fired on all cylinders, and beat the earnings estimates every quarter. Apple business grew from $19.3 billion in 2006 to $27 billion in 2007, a solid increase of 24%, and net profits grew from $1.98 billion to $3.49 billion, a huge increase of 76%. Apple sold more than 4 million iPhones in 2007. The street expects Apple to sell more than 25 million iPods in the latest quarter, the busiest revenue quarter traditionally.

According to Marketwatch story, “Retail research firm NPD Group says Apple's iPods still maintain a lock on the top spot in U.S. sales of digital music and media players, with as much as 75% of the market.” What are the hottest selling Apple products in the retail stores? The MacBook laptops, the new iPod touch and the video-playing iPod nano digital media players could be the winners in the latest quarter. On the other hand, the revolutionary iPhone not only created a new market and business for Apple in the SmartPhones marketplace, it also paved the way for new innovations including the iPod Touch, that alone created a new segment of buyers in the MP3 players market. Finally, Leopard, the latest Mac operating system, found a stronghold in the Apple crowd with a host of new innovations including the Time Machine, a redesigned Finder, Quick Look, Spaces, and Stacks. Leopard sold more than two million copies in just the first weekend, and we expect Apple to sell more than four million Leopards during the latest quarter.

Apple once again proved to the naysayer that new innovations could create new markets, which in turn can fuel new business and new growth for the business. To the consumers – especially the teenagers, the young adults and the growing Apple community – Apple remains the space-age leader, the king of innovations.

Can Apple top 2007?

One thing is certain with Apple and Steve Jobs: It does not idle. It does not rest. It does not quit.

Apple kicked off 2008 with planned new innovations that espouse unbridled creativity.

The most significant announcement from Apple came in the heavily crowded laptop segment:

MacBook Air

At the MACWorld, Apple® introduced “MacBook® Air, the world’s thinnest notebook. MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. MacBook Air has a stunning 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe. MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.
“We’ve built the world’s thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “When you first see MacBook Air, it’s hard to believe it’s a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is.”

Here are some of the key new innovations introduced by MacBook Air:

·Thinnovation – or Thin Innovation – the awesome size of the laptop, or lack thereof. The thin design is another testament to the design innovation prowess of Apple.

·Vibrant 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display that is energy efficient

·Spacious trackpad that offers multi-touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe, making it more intuitive than ever to browse and rotate photos or zoom into web pages in Safari™.

·Backlit keyboard that makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls

·Built-in ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the display brightness for optimal visibility.

·Up to five hours of battery life for wireless productivity and includes AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, which delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g (according to Apple).

MacBook Air does not have an optical drive for playing DVDs or installing software from DVDs or CDs. Apple does provide the Remote Disc feature that allows you to access the DVD or CD drive of a nearby Mac or Windows PC.
Can MacBook Air find a new segment of buyers beyond the loyal Apple base? Would students and teachers rush to buy the MacBook Air? The largest segment of laptop buyers are the business users. Would a business user buy the MacBook Air? Is it compelling enough? What percentage of business users will convert to MacBook Air? These questions will be answered during the course of 2008. For now, MacBook Air is poised to create new growth for Apple in the Mac business line and create sales of over 5 million units in 2008.

iPod Touch
Another key innovation introduced by Apple is “a major software upgrade for the iPod® touch, making the best iPod into even more—the world’s best Wi-Fi mobile device. iPod touch customers already have the most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari™, and now Apple is adding five more great mobile applications—Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes. The iPod touch software upgrade also includes new features such as Web Clips, a customizable home screen and beginning today, the ability to watch iTunes® Movie Rentals. New iPod touch products shipping from the factory will include the software upgrade and existing iPod touch customers can get the software upgrade for $19.99 by purchasing and downloading it from iTunes.”
The new upgrade will be a blessing for iPod Touch customers. Apple may be bowed to sell the upgrade for free within three to six months; for now, Apple will benefit from incremental revenue from the fifty percent or so iPod Touch customers who will upgrade.

iPhone
Apple also upgraded the iPhone with a free software update “that allows users to automatically find their location using the redesigned Maps application*; text message multiple people in one message; create Web Clips for their favorite websites; customize their home screen; and watch movies rented from the new iTunes® Movie Rentals right on their iPhone.” Now, the loyal iPhone users are locked in for good. For the ones craving to use their iPhones with a real keyboard, perhaps Apple or an Apple partner can provide a basic keyboard accessory. We believe this will increase the market for the Apple iPhone manifolds – a simple keyboard accessory that plugs and plays into the Apple iPhone allowing the non-converts the ability to type away their emails and instant messages without having to learn to tap and enter.

Time Capsule
Apple also introduced Time Capsule, “a backup appliance that automatically and wirelessly backs up everything on one or more Macs running Leopard™, the latest release of Apple’s Mac OS® X operating system including the amazing Time Machine™ automatic backup software. Time Capsule combines an 802.11n base station with a server grade hard disk in one small package. Simply plug it in, then easily set up automatic wireless backup for every Mac® in your house to a single Time Capsule with just a few clicks. Time Capsule offers the benefits of a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station, and comes in two models: a 500 gigabyte model for just $299 and a 1 terabyte model for just $499.”
Time Capsule is a boon to a small percentage of loyal Mac customers who want backup, and want the best solution in the marketplace. Most Macs feature plenty of hard-disk space though, and most customers do not backup. Can Apple change the customers’ behavior towards making backups an essential part of their lives? Perhaps the business users will buy Time Capsule. The home users will wait.
The feature that is more interesting in the Time Capsule is “the full-featured Wi-Fi base station with the latest 802.11n technology.” “Delivering up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, 802.11n* is built in to Apple’s iMac® desktop and the entire Mac notebook line up, including MacBook®, MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air. Time Capsule features a sleek design with a built-in power supply and connections to print wirelessly to a USB printer. With Time Capsule, it’s very easy for users to create a secure, wireless network for up to 50 users and set security restrictions such as Internet access limits for children’s computers.” The wireless networking elements of Time Capsule would be the real hook for homebuyers.

iTunes Movie Rentals

Apple made movie history with the announcement of iTunes Movie Rentals. iTunes® Movie Rentals feature movies from all the major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and New Line Cinema. iTunes Users can rent movies for as low as $2.99 and watch them on their Macs or PCs, all current generation iPods*, iPhone™ and Apple TV®. iTunes Movie Rentals will offer over 1,000 titles by the end of February, including over 100 titles in stunning high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound which users can rent directly from their widescreen TV using Apple TV. iTunes Movie Rentals are priced at $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are just one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 and new releases at $4.99.

Apple has positioned itself well for the growth of online movie rentals business. Last year, I wrote about Blockbuster versus Netflix – Winner takes All and talked about the real possibility of Apple and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) staying and competing with these companies in the race for online movie rental business. Amazon.com is also one of the Top 20 Innovators of The Innovation Index. If the online movie rental business takes off in 2008, look out!

Mac Pro Business

Apple also introduced “the new Mac® Pro with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor*. The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel’s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.” And Apple® introduced the new Xserve®, a 1U rack-optimized server that is up to twice as fast as its predecessor* and includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS® X Server Leopard™. Starting at just $2,999, the new Xserve has up to two Quad-Core 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon processors for 8-core performance, a new server architecture, faster front side buses, faster memory, up to 3TB of internal storage and two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots for greater performance and flexibility.

Apple is trying to make a dent in the business segment, and the gaming, web hosting and graphics workstation markets. It remains to be seen how much of a new business these new Mac Pros and Xserve will carve out for Apple in 2008.

Apple 2008 Outlook

How will Apple perform in 2008? The Apple stock will do just fine; although recently, the stock has lost about 20% of its value from a high of over $200, we believe that Apple stock will end 2008 in the neighborhood of $250, or a growth of at least 25%. Apple will have another solid year for iPod, iPhone, Mac and Leopard business lines. Apple will provide a cautious outlook for 2008 sales owing to current economic conditions; however, it will easily exceed the earnings estimates for the current and subsequent quarters owing to strength in its core business including the iPod and Macs, and growth in new business lines including iPhone and Leopard. Most iPod users will begin upgrading to iPod Touch when the base memory increases to around 40 GB. Macs will give PCs a run for the money. iPhone will go global. The icing on the cake could be the growth of iTunes Movie Rentals.

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

Download Now

The Innovation Index Reports:Introducing The Innovation Index Fund - Invest into The Innovation Index
Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world - 2007 Report on Top 50 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
The Innovation Index gallops to 56% - Quarterly Report - Q3, 2007

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 - (NYSE: 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.

References:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Kicks Off 2008 with Bold New Innovations

Apple iPhone Rising - June 29 Liftoff - Top Ten Innovations

Top Ten iPhone Innovations introduced by Apple's Creativity
Apple iPhone launches today, June 29, 2007.
Here are the Top Ten innovations introduced in iPhone by Apple:
1. Make calls by "simply pointing at a name or number." Get out of here... no buttons to click. No clicking umpteen times before you find the number you want to call. Point and Call. Welcome to the new touchscreen interface of iPhone. If you love the iPod interface, iPhone will only make it better.
2. Visual Voicemail, is definitely an industry first, a new innovation, that "lets users look at a listing of their voicemails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to the prior messages." How useful is this? How often and how long you have to wait to hear that all important message from your very important friend, or boss until all the messages before are heard? If you are a frequent cell phone user, the answer is all the time. Apple understands the users' frustration as they check their voice mails, and Visual Voicemail will change the way you listen to your voice messages, and even save you minutes spent in waiting to hear that all important message. Oh, and you can even ignore earlier messages from that certain friend.
3. SMS move over. No more clicking 3 or 4 or more times to get to that letter that you want to type now. How about a touch keyboard that is predictive, full QWERT, and even prevents mistakes. Oh my. Finally, SMS will become easier, simpler, faster, friendlier, and bigger!! If you love SMS, iPhone is it. Recent reviewers have indicated that SMS on the iPhone needs a bit of getting used to; but once you do, you won't go back to the old ways.
4. A handy 2 megapixel camera, with that all important Photo management software. Finally. Now you can organize the photos you take and use them for wallpapers, emails, upload and download them to your PC or MAC, and watch them on a 3.5-inch widescreen.
5. A widescreen iPod. How wide? 3.5-inch wide. You love iPod. You would love iPhone even more. It takes iPod to the next level. Literally. iPhone promises that you will now "touch" your music, videos, photos, songs, artists, albums, playlists - all at the click of a finger. And now you can enjoy all those TV shows in cool landscape mode. Add YouTube to the video mix, and now we are talking!!
6. Cover Flow in iPhone introduces a new way to "browse music library by album cover artwork, for the first time." When navigating your music library on iPhone, you are automatically switched into Cover Flow by simply rotating iPhone into its landscape position. Now, you can enjoy the album in the same way as you buy it from the music store.
7. iPhone brings your Rich Email with the graphics, photos and visuals along with text from your friends, family or work to the phone. The emails are downloaded in the background while you work, browse, message or call, and will work on most POP3 and IMAP services. And to top it off, Yahoo! Mail is integrated and readily available for the iPhone.
8. Web Browsing as good as computer. This could be a stretch. Although iPhone comes with the Safari (TM) web browser which provides all the features of web browsing for the computer on the iPhone. Could this be the last straw that finally breaks the camel's back, and brings the hordes of wireless phone users to web browsing? Not only you can see a web page as it was designed to be seen, iPhone allows you to "easily zoom in to expand any section by simply tapping on iPhone's multi- touch display with their finger." And with the Quad-Band GSM technology along with EDGE and Wi-Fi means "you can surf the web from just about anywhere," and even "automatically sync bookmarks from their PC or Mac."
9. Google Maps. On iPhone. No way. Yes way. Google's groundbreaking maps service and iPhone's amazing maps application tied together "offering the best maps experience by far on any pocket device." Easily and conveniently view maps, satellite images, traffic information and even get directions. Finally, you have everything local and global covered.
10. Artificial Intelligence. iPhone that thinks and senses and becomes one with what you do. iPhone has "advanced built-in sensors -- an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor" that "detects when the user has rotated the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display accordingly, with users immediately seeing the entire width of a web page, or a photo in its proper landscape aspect ratio." Are you kidding me? No wait. There's more. iPhone also has "proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent inadvertent touches until iPhone is moved away." Wait a moment. Finally, "iPhone's built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display's brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light, thereby enhancing the user experience and saving power at the same time."

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

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

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Also check out the following interesting stories about the Apple iPhone:

Two Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Three Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Four Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1

Two Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

"Apple Inc.'s iPhone won't hit stores until Friday, but the heavily hyped gadget already has unleashed a cottage industry of touch-screen protectors, leather hip carriers and car adapters.

Even the most enthusiastic manufacturers said creating formfitting iPhone accessories was an enormous challenge. A notoriously tightlipped Apple kept many partners in the dark on precise specifications, and some of the company's most trusted accessory manufacturers still have not touched a genuine iPhone.

To compensate, many cribbed size and weight specifications from Apple's Web site, then created models out of wood, cardboard or plastic. They shipped models to Apple for advice on whether headset and other outlets were placed correctly. They adjusted and resent revised versions to Apple." - Source: BusinessWeek

"Motorola, the world's second-largest mobile handset maker is coming off a $118 million dollar first calendar quarter loss, notes the Financial Times, where its strategy to increase market share resulted in crisis.

Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer for Motorola, told the financial paper that her firm is basing a comeback on a new generation of handsets, but admits that iPhone is of particular concern.
"I do worry about [the iPhone] because [Apple] is a great competitor; a very respectable, credible, tough competitor to have in the industry," she said.

At the same time, the exec believes the Apple device will appeal only to a "small part of the market" and hold its share of weaknesses. For instance, she said the phone's web browsing capability could have "severe limitations" because it will run on AT&T's slower 2.5G network, rather than the carrier's high-speed 3G network.

Motorola, which saw a resurgence after the launch of its RAZR handset in 2004, plans to unleash the second-generation of the super-slim handset sometime this summer. Like the firm's Q9 smartphone, the RAZR2 will reportedly run on the faster 3G networks." - Source: Apple Insider

"Vodafone is in talks with Apple to launch the U.S. firm's iPhone combined music player and telephone in Europe, and talks partly hinge on volume guarantees and subsidies, a Dutch magazine reported.

Apple demanded a guaranteed sales volume for the iPhone, which the British mobile operator did not want to give, Dutch magazine Bright said on its web site late on Tuesday.

The magazine said Vodafone was pushing for more scope to subsidize the phone and did not want Apple to have control of the sale price." - Source: Reuters UK

"Apple Inc.'s iPhone won a strong endorsement from a key technology reviewer on Tuesday, June 26 when the Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg called it a beautiful, breakthrough device.

"Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer," Mossberg said in a review on WSJ.com.

New York Times technology writer David Pogue also weighed in with a largely positive review saying that the iPhone lived up to most of its considerable hype even if it did fall short in some areas." - Source: WSJ, New York Times

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

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

Download Now

Bottomline:

If iPhone is a huge success, the iPhone accessories market will be another big hit. Case in point: iPod accessory market. iPhone has competitors worried, both in the U.S. and outside. In order to succeed globally though, Apple must put together a solid win-win plan to expand in Europe and Asia soon - within the next two months. Finally, reviews of iPhone are coming in, and are mostly optimistic - either the reviewers don't want to emphasize the flaws, or there are limited flaws - also, do they really want to bet against a winning horse when there is so much hype, buzz, hysteria and more surrounding the launch? The consumers will soon find out whether the iPhone is for real on June 29.
Also check out the following interesting stories about the Apple iPhone:

Three Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Four Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1

Three Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

Jessica Rodriguez joins the line to purchase an iPhone in front of an Apple store on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 in New York. The much-promoted mobile phone from Apple goes on sale Friday in U.S. markets. For Jessica Rodriguez, waiting four days for an iPhone is nothing when the prize is "the next big thing."

On Tuesday, Rodriguez became the fourth person to line up outside Apple Inc.'s Fifth Avenue store in New York. The 24-year-old college student wants to get a belated birthday gift for her sister as soon as the iPhone starts selling Friday evening.
"Words can't express why I want an iPhone," Rodriguez said, sitting in a red folding chair she brought. "The main reason is (Apple CEO) Steve Jobs is a genius. He's a great innovator. It's going to be the next big thing in cell phones."
The three people ahead of her all joined the queue Monday, braving temperatures that reached 90 degrees. Their spirits weren't dampened by forecasts for thunderstorms later in the week and remarks such as "Crazy, people are just absolutely crazy" by one passer-by.
David Clayman, 21, on vacation from Chicago, happened to walk by and decided to change his travel plans on the spot, extending his trip by a day. He hopes to buy three phones: One to raise money for charity; one as an early birthday gift for his dad, who turns 50 on Saturday; and a third for himself.
....
Those features interest Eric Mueller, 45, a graphic designer who joined the line after dropping off materials for a client nearby.
He said he looks forward to better compatibility with Apple's Macintosh computers, complaining that the Bluetooth wireless connection on his Samsung Electronics Co. phone hardly works with Macs.
But Mueller said he might not last until Friday, saying every hour waiting for a phone is an hour away from serving his clients. Others, though, were willing to tough it out.....
"I've met some incredible people waiting on line," Clayman said. "When are you going to get an experience like this?".....

New Yorkers have a reputation for being a hearty lot, and those who want to be among the first to buy an iPhone on Friday seem to be made of a particularly tough constitution. Despite temperatures that soared above 90 degrees today, several were already lined up outside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The leader of the pack was Greg Packer, 43, a retired highway maintenance worker from Huntington, N.Y., on Long Island. Packer lugged his supplies, which included water and clothes, and set up a camping chair on the street outside the store on Fifth Avenue at 5 a.m. Monday so he could be the first in line for Apple Inc.'s latest gadget.
Though he's committed himself to spending nearly five days living on the street for the iPhone, he's not "computer literate" and doesn't own an iPod. Packer said "I'm not really a technology person, but I'm doing the best I can to keep up with technology," he said.
However, two of his favorite things are music and the phone, so Packer, who said he has camped out early for concert tickets and sporting events in the past, wanted to be first in line to get the product that combines the two and provides Internet access at his fingertips. "I want to see what it's like," he said. "I want to give my review of it."
Packer isn't the only one consumed with iPhone fever. At 2 p.m. today three people with chairs were in line behind him, and a fifth person said he was joining the queue while Packer was being interviewed. (That move seemed unlikely, however, since the man was dressed in casual business attire and had no supplies or other equipment that one might have for a four-day camping excursion on a New York street.).....

Johnny Vulcan started the queue outside Apple's store in Manhattan's SoHo district at 7 a.m. today. He's trying to raise awareness for Keep a Child Alive, a charity that treats children with AIDS in Africa. The group plans to auction the device on EBay and said one of its celebrity ambassadors will hand-deliver it to the winning bidder.
Service Plans
Apple will sell the iPhone at 162 stores. The company said today it will close the doors at 2 p.m. that day to prepare for the debut and then reopen four hours later. AT&T, which will offer the gadget at 1,800 company-owned outlets, said its stores will be closed for 90 minutes before the iPhone goes on sale.
The iPhone will come in two versions: a $499, 4-gigabyte model and a $599, 8-gigabyte version. Both require a two-year service plan with AT&T Inc. San Antonio-based AT&T said today that plans will cost about $60 to $220 a month.
"I'll probably get the world's worst sunburn,'' said Eric Mueller, a graphic designer from Harlem who's fifth in line at the Fifth Avenue store, the only Apple outlet that's open 24 hours a day. "But it's exciting to be part of it.''
For others, it's about earning some extra cash. John May, a college student in Vallejo, California, has offered to stand in line for $250 for a potential iPhone buyer. He'll wait at an Apple store in Vallejo or Walnut Creek. Although no one has responded to his ad on Craigslist, May said he'll still join the line for latecomers.
"It seems like an easy way to make cash,'' said May, 18, who said his dad gave him the idea. "It's crazy.''

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

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

Download Now

Bottomline:
Fans are beginning to clamor for the brand new Apple iPhone which is due out at 6:00 p.m. on June 29. The lines will only get bigger by June 29 morning, and expect dozens to hundreds of anxious buyers waiting outside the key Apple and AT&T stores to try and buy the iPhone. Even the $59.99 monthly plan that includes 450 minutes and unlimited data services among other features will not deter the die-hard Apple aficionados. Most analysts are predicting 100,000 to 200,000 iPhone unit sales by June 30. If you cannot wait for the iPhone, don't want to stand in line for days or hours, and are searching for an alternative, check this review of iPhone competitors by Marketwatch: Wireless device makers target iPhone crowd - LG, Nokia and target high-end users, but devices lack carrier support.

Also check the following interesting stories about the Apple iPhone:
Four Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1
References:
Customers line up for iPhone launch
By ANICK JESDANUN
AP INTERNET WRITER
New Yorkers camp out for iPhone despite summer heat
IPhone fever takes hold in the Big Apple

Four Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff

The following table shows estimates for unit sales of the Apple iPhone from various analysts, including my own:



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

Download Now

Bottomline:

The average estimate from all the analysts including the Apple Innovation Blog is over 1 million units of Apple iPhone sold by September 30, 2007, and 8.74 million units of Apple iPhone sold in the next year by September 30, 2008 for a total of 9.74 million units sold from June 29 launch through September 30, 2008. Even if Apple iPhone sells closer to 7.5 million units in the first full year of launch, this would be considered highly successful, and would easily eclipse the first full year of launch sales of the Apple iPod. However, Steve Jobs' and Apple's sights are much higher - the Motorola RAZR sold 50 million units from 2004 to 2006. Can iPhone come close to the breakout success of the RAZR?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the top 20 innovators of The Innovation Index, and is the Number One Innovator for 2007 as per the rankings of the Top 50 Innovative Companies in the world by BusinessWeek.

Also check:

Five Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Seven Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Eight Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Nine Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Liftoff
Ten Days to Apple iPhone Launch - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 15 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 14 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 13 - June 29 Launch
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 3 - June 29 release
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 2
Countdown to Apple iPhone Launch - Day 1