HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Apple Computer was formed in April 1976 by 25-year-old Steve Wozniak and 21-year-old Steve Jobs both college dropouts. After selling a van for some extra start-up cash, the two set up shop in the Jobs family garage at 2066 Crist Drive in Los Altos, California, to start building computers. The ideas and early innovation techniques that emerged from this location would set the foundation for building one of the most important and globally effective technology companies the world has ever seen. In fact, some diehard Apple fans come from all over the globe just to pose for pictures in front of this now-famous garage. Apple Computer stands out from similar companies with their unconventional business ideas that constantly redefine the standards for product, marketing, and industry innovation techniques. The company has become well-known through their commitment to challenge the so-called possibilities of the computer industry. Their goal is to improve the user-friendliness of their products and to encourage an open-minded approach when developing new technologies and services.

The First Apple Computers

Wozniak, the true technical mind behind the building process of Apples early computers, spent the summer of 1976 building the companys very first computer, the Apple I. Meanwhile, Jobs began creating advertisements and found a buyer for the computer. The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, proved to be Apples first major customerand, coincidentally, the first retail computer store chain in the world.

The two Steves were able to build and sell fifty Apple I computers that summerall from within the confined space of the Jobs familys single-car garage. This would mark the first of many successful products to come from the company. Apple Computer was officially incorporated on January 3, 1977. Later that summer, Wozniak and Jobs began building the Apple II with the help of a few technically-savvy friends and classmates. It was at this

time that Jobs first realized his true passion for the burgeoning computer industry. To fuel this passion, Jobs consulted with retired Intel Corporation marketing manager Michael Markkula regarding the possible future of Apple Computer. During this consultation, Markkula worked with Jobs in coming up with a solid business plan and even purchased one-third of the company for $250,000.

KEVIN LANE KELLERS KNOWLEDGE MODEL

Types of associations
Attributes Non Product Related 1. Price

New Apple iPod nano (fourth generation) Price & Cost

Apple iPod nano 8GB Price Rs.8,699/- Indian Rupee (INR) Apple iPod nano 16GB Price Rs.11,149/- Indian Rupee (INR)

Apple ipod Shuffle Price List October 2011

New Apple Ipod Shuffle Apple ipod Shuffle 1GB Price Rs.2,499/- Indian Rupee (INR) Apple ipod Shuffle 2GB Price Rs.3,449/- Indian Rupee (INR)

New Apple iPod touch (Second generation) Price List October 2011

New Apple Ipod Touch Apple iPod touch 8GB Price Rs. 13,599/- Indian Rupee (INR) Apple iPod touch 16GB Price Rs. 17,000/- Indian Rupee (INR) Apple iPod touch 32GB Price Rs. 22,299/- Indian Rupee (INR)

Apple iPod Classic 120 GB Price Rs.17,249/- Indian Rupee (INR)

Apple TV - Watch photos, YouTube videos or listen to iTunes music on your large screen TV through Apple TV. The 40GB version of Apple TV costs around Rs 17,000 while the 160 GB model is available for Rs 21,000. All the specification are same except the difference in the hard drive. Macbook - These sleek laptops from Apple come in three variations - the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The thin & light Macbook Air is around Rs 88k, the MacBook is around Rs 50k while its expensive and more powerful cousin MacBook Pro starts from Rs 90k. Mac - These are desktop computers that again come in three models - the Mac Mini (only the CPU, no monitor or keyboard), the iMac (complete desktop) or the Mac Pro (high-end with custom configuration).

The Mac Pro starts around Rs 1.5l, the iMac 20" starts from Rs 56k while the basic Mac Mini with Intel Core 2 Duo processor can be had for around INR 29k. iPhone - While Apple or their partners (Vodafone, Airtel) have yet to disclose the price of iPhone in India, some reports suggest that iPhone will cost in excess of 20k here. How to buy Apple products in India ? Apple does not sell software or iPods through their online store in India. The best option is to call the Apple Online store at (080) 25744646 or send an email to indiasales@mac.com. If you looked to get your Apple product repaired or replaced, call the Apple support in India at (080) 41409000.

Packaging

Usage Ipod

iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle. iPod Classic models store media on an internal hard drive, while all other models use flash memory to enable their smaller size (the discontinued Mini used a Microdrive miniature hard drive). As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage

devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic. The iPod line was announced by Apple on October 23, 2001, and released on November 10, 2001. All of the models have been redesigned multiple times since their introduction. The most recent iPod redesigns were introduced on September 1, 2010.

Iphone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007,[1] and released on June 29, 2007. The 5th generation iPhone, the iPhone 4S, was announced on October 4, 2011, and released on October 14, 2011.

Imac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms. In its original form, the iMac G3 had a gum-drop or egg-shaped look, with a CRT monitor, mainly enclosed by a colored, translucent plastic case, which was refreshed early on with a sleeker design notable for its slot-loaded optical drive. The second major revision, the iMac G4, moved the design to a

hemispherical base containing all the main components and an LCD monitor on a freely moving arm attached to it. The third/fourth major revision, the iMac G5 and the Intel iMac placed all the components immediately behind the display, creating a slim unified design that tilts only up and down on a simple metal base. The current iMac shares the same form as the previous model, but is thinner and uses anodized aluminum and a glass panel over the entire front. In addition it also added a SDXC slot directly under the slot-loading SuperDrive. Newer versions are available with a solid state drive instead of a hard drive. The newest version features quad-core Intel processors across the line, 1 (on 21.5") or 2 (on 27") Thunderbolt ports, and aFaceTime HD camera, features introduced on the early 2011 MacBook Pro updates.

User imagery
It is surprising that it took all the way to #40 to call out Apple products. Initially, we were planning for an entire week on Apple products, but that would just be over kill. Plain and simple, white people dont just like Apple, they love and need Apple to operate. On the surface, you would ask yourself, how is that white people love a multi-billion dollar company with manufacturing plants in China, mass production, and that contributes to global pollution through the manufacture of consumer electronic devices? Simple answer: Apple products tell the world you are creative and unique. They are an exclusive product line only used by every white college student, designer, writer, English teacher, and hipster on the planet. You see, a long time ago Apples were super popular among layout artists and graphic designers. Then Apple released Final Cut Pro and became the standard for film editors. As a result, lots of creative industries used Apple computers instead of PCs. Eventually, people started making the connection, and all of a sudden all white people need to have a Mac.

Usage Imagery
Most Admired, the Most Innovative," and the Master at Design.

Perceived Obsolescence and Social Proof

Apple has managed to achieve remarkable success by using both methods at the same time: its Macs are entirely proprietary and very difficult for the user to modify; if you try taking one apart yourself, youll find youre no longer covered by the guarantee.

They form a closed system, meaning its hard to switch the hard drive or graphics card, or tweak the performance in any way, because the manufacturer is the only one that supplies the parts. Finally, software and hardware updates come along incredibly frequently. The manufacturers addicted fans are encouraged by incessant publicity to upgrade to the latest expensive mobile phone, laptop or MP3 player despite the fact that Apples products are part of the same low-cost supply chain with poorly-paid workers and cheap raw materials as everybody elses. The firms main sub-contractor, Foxconn, uses parts of its factories to work on products for Apples rivals, including HP, Sony, Intel and Dell.

Benefits
Functional

Imac price and functional specs 20-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz 2GB memory 320GB hard drive1 8x double-layer SuperDrive NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics 20-inch Apple iMac Price Rs.62,000/- Indian Rupee (INR)

24-inch iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz 24 inch Display 4GB memory 640GB hard drive1 8x double-layer SuperDrive NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics 24-inch Apple iMac Price Rs.79,630/- Indian Rupee (INR) Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93Hz 24 inch Display 4GB memory 640GB hard drive1

8x double-layer SuperDrive NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory 24-inch iMac Price Rs.89,630/- Indian Rupee (INR) Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06Hz 24 inch Display 4GB memory 1TB hard drive1 8x double-layer SuperDrive NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB memory 24-inch iMac Price Rs.105,750/- Indian Rupee (INR)

The Apple Customer Experience

The huge promise of the Apple brand, of course presents Apple with an enormous challenge to live up to. The innovative, beautifully-designed, highly ergonomic, and technology-leading products which Apple delivers are not only designed to match the brand promise, but are fundamental to keeping it. Apple fully understands that all aspects of the customer experience are important and that all brand touchpoints must reinforce the Apple brand. Apple has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores in key cities around the world in up-market, quality shopping venues. Apple provides Apple Mac-expert retail floor staff staff to selected resellers' stores (such as Australian department store David Jones); it has entered into strategic alliances with other companies to co-brand or distribute Apple's products and services (for example, HP who was selling a co-branded form of iPod and pre-loading iTunes onto consumer PCs and laptops though in retrospect this may now just have been a stepping-stone). Apple has also increased the accessibility of iPods through various resellers that do not currently carry Apple Macintosh systems (such as Harvey Norman), and has increased the reach of its online stores. The very successful Apple retail stores give prospective customers direct experience of Apple's brand values. Apple Store visitors experience a stimulating, no-pressure environment where they can discover more about the Apple family, try out the company's products, and get practical help on Apple products at the shops' Guru Bars. Apple retail staff are helpful, informative, and let their enthusiasm show without being brash or pushy. The overall feeling is one of inclusiveness by a community that really understands what good technology should look and feel like - and how it should fit into people's lives.

Awareness
Brand Awareness In the nearly 30 years since the logo was created, it has become one of the most recognized brand symbols in the world. It is used on all apple products around the world. It has proven so effective, and so

innovative, that the company does not even put the companys name on it. Through its innovative logo and marketing system, it has created brand awareness through the apple logo, without using their name. For a company to use its logo without their name on it, that is truly revolutionary in the world of marketing. Many companies since then have copied the apple logos idea and worked their own way to making a well-known logo that does not feature their name, but just the logo instead. However, none have ever reached the success or brand recognition that the apple logo has. The marketing team at Apple were far ahead of their time, and they played a big part in the success of the apple brand. Now it has been extended with the iphone and the iphone logo.

Image
The Apple Brand Personality Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. The Apple brand personality is about lifestyle; imagination; liberty regained; innovation; passion; hopes, dreams and aspirations; and power-tothe-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and the removal of complexity from people's lives; people-driven product design; and about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers. Apple Brand Equity and Apple's Customer Franchise The Apple brand is not just intimate with its customers, it's loved, and there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines. The brand equity and customer franchise which Apple embodies is extremely strong. The preference for Apple products amongst the "Mac community", for instance, not only kept the company alive for much of the 90's (when from a rational economic perspective it looked like a dead duck) but it even enables the company to sustain pricing that is at a premium to its competitors. It is arguable that without the price-premium which the Apple brand sustains in many product areas, the company would have exited the personal computer business several years ago. Small market share PC vendors with weaker brand equity have struggled to compete with the supply chain and manufacturing economics of Dell. However, Apple has made big advances in becoming more efficient with its manufacturing supply chain, logistics and operations, and it can be assumed that as far as like-for-like hardware manufacturing comparisons are concerned, Apple's product costs are very similar to those of Dell. In terms of price to the consumer, Apple's computer products have an additional cost advantage: the company does not have to pay another company for operating system licenses. Apple Brand Architecture From a brand architecture viewpoint, the company maintains a "monolithic" brand identity - everything being associated with the Apple name, even when investing strongly in the Apple iPod and Apple iTunes products.

Apple's current line-up of product families includes not just the iPod and iTunes, but iMac, iBook, iLife, iWork, iPhone, iPad, and now iCloud. However, even though marketing investments around iPod are substantial, Apple has not established an "i" brand. While the "i" prefix is used only for consumer products, it is not used for a large number of Apple's consumer products (eg Mac mini, MacBook, Apple TV, Airport Extreme, Safari, QuickTime, and Mighty Mouse). The list of Apple's Trademarks reflects something of a jumbled past. The predominant sub-brand since the introduction of the Apple Macintosh in January 1984 has always been the Apple Mac. Products whose market includes Microsoft computer users (for example MobileMe, QuickTime, Bonjour, and Safari) have been named so they are somewhat neutral, and therefore more acceptable to Windows users. Yet other product have been developed more for a professional market (eg Aperture, the Final Cut family, and Xserve). The iPod Halo Effect Though Apple's iPhone and iTunes music business is profitable in its own right, Apple's venture into these product areas was based on a strategy of using the music business to help boost the appeal of Apple's computing business. Apple is using iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and now iPad to reinforce and re-invigorate the Apple brand personality. At the same time, these product initiatives are growing a highly relevant, appealing brand image in the minds of consumer segments that Apple has not previously reached. In a so-called iPod halo effect, Apple hoped that the popularity of iPod and iTunes among these new groups of customers would cause these segments to be interested in Apple's computer products. This does seem to have happened. Since the take-off of the iPod there has been a dramatic rise in Apple's computer sales and market share. A couple of years ago, Apple's aspirations for the iPod halo effect was was highlighted most strongly when it used the slogan "from the creators of iPod" in its promotion of iMac G5 computers. In this instance, the Apple brand came full-circle - having been built into a branding system that originates in the personal computer market, then leveraged into the consumer electronics market, and then back into the consumer personal computer market. This halo effect is extended with the hugely successful Apple iPad tablet computer. Great customer experience with iPhone (and familiarity with Apple's touch screen gesture controls), combined with a great product in its own right, has made iPod a huge success that in turn is drawing even more people to Apple's Mac computer products. In a move which also brings matters full circle, the Lion version of Mac OSX brings to the Mac the same touch screen gesture controls which iPad and iPod users have learned. This is extension of a common user experience across Apple products has been further strengthened by the introduction of the Apps Store to Mac OSX in mid-2011. Mac users can now buy their OSX applications with the same convenience as iPad or iPhone users can buy iOS Apps. Expect the Halo to Speak - Siri and beyond Speech will be the next dimension in which Apple will gaining synery across its product lines. Expect the natural language speech processing and interactivity capabilities introduced in October 2011 on the

iPhone 4S to be introduced first on the iPad (which uses the same operating system and A5 processor as the iPhone 4S). Apple is giving substance to speech interactivity by giving it a character - a personal assistant called "Siri". Siri can be somewhat customised by using different languages and idioms (for example, there are three versions of English speech available with country-specific accents and pronunciation - US, UK and Australian). Presumably other customisation or personalization features will also be introduced (perhaps user choice of name and other "identity" characteristics). Having taught customers to use touch gestures, Apple is now going to teach us how to speak to computers (almost unavoidably, in a specific Apple dialect of speech interaction). Apple Brand Strength Now Creating Financial Success So far, Apples' branding strategy is bearing fruit. For example, Apple reports that half of all computer sales through its retail channel are to people new to Macintosh, the company's sales and margins have been growing strongly since 2006, and Apple has achieved several "best ever" quarterly financial results in recent years. Leveraging the success of the iPod, Apple launched the iPhone (released in July 07) to extend the brand even further. Apple's buzz marketing efforts in the first half of 2007 were truly superb, culminating in the release of one of the most highly anticipated products for many years - and launching apple into a completely new market: mobile handsets. By July 2008 the buzz about the 3G iPhone resulted in over 1 million units being sold in the first 3 days of its release in over 20 countries around the world. This success was repeated in 2010 with the introduction of the iPad tablet computer, and in March 2011 with the launch of the iPad 2 which sold 1 million units within 24 hours. Apple Re-entering the Corporate Market via the iPhone and iPad Halo Effect Though no-one at Apple would say so today, the next phase of Apple's strategy seems focused on the Corporate marketplace. A long time ago, Apple had a fairly strong market share in large companies. A long, long time ago (at the end of the 1970's) the first spreadsheet program (VisiCalc) was launched on the Apple II. The first PC (the IBM PC) to run a Microsoft operating system (PC DOS) did not appear until 1981. When Microsoft launched its Excel spreadsheet in 1984 it appeared first on the just-released Apple Mac, such was Apple's presence among accounting and finance departments. Even though Apple effectively stopped competing for corporate business during the 1990s, the Apple Mac is still used in corporate environments. Microsoft still has a vigorous applications development team totally dedicated to writing business software for the Apple Mac. New versions of Microsoft Office for Apple Mac still come out approximately 2 years before similar functionality is placed in the next version of Microsoft Office for the Windows operating system. Over the next few years it seems likely that Apple will re-focus on the Corporate marketplace: The company provides regular updates on the proportion of Fortune 500 companies which are either trialing or deploying iPhone (currently over 90%), and the iPad. In 2009, when Apple announced "Snow Leopard" (the current version of the Apple Mac operating system) it included features allowing Mac

computers to fully support Microsoft Exchange. This enables corporate IT departments to support business users who wish to use Apple Macs for their main email clients. Apple latest version, Mac OSX Lion (released in Summer 2011) includes all the functionality needed to use a Mac as a business server. Also, Microsoft continues to bring out advanced versions of Microsoft Office for Apple Mac, and - very significantly - in mid-2008 Apple announced a software upgrade for the iPhone which allows iPhones to be fully supported by Microsoft Exchange email servers. Corporate IT departments can now include iPhones as email clients. One aspect of Apple's strategy seems clear: to use the popularity of the iPhone and iPad to break back into large corporations, sell lots of those devices, and have Apple Mac back on the desks of large businesses (or more probably - in the laptop bags of middle and senior managers in most large businesses). The Macbook Air and iPad are clearly designed for business markets as well as for consumers, and Apple continues to display its mastery in smoothly morphing customer experience and brand preference from one product category to another. As we say; no one in Apple will currently admit to such ambitions, but Apple's branding strategy is clearly expanding to include business and corporate markets once again. After Halos - Clouds The next step in Apple's marketing strategy is the Apple iCloud, which delivers a seamless experience for using and sharing content across all your Apple devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad, or Mac). iCloud enables a common "it just works" experience for using content across all of Apple's mainstream products. iCloud positions the company for a future where customers experiences and their digtal lives transcend the hardware devices which they use, and enables Apple to extend the brand experience well beyond individual products. Apple has invested in a 500,000 (soon to be one million) square footApple data center in rural North Carolina. This data centre this will be used as the core of a data repository for Apple's iCloud services, which will enable Apple to leverage it's customer franchise into an even broader market space. Apple iCloud is one of many ways in which Apple and Google are fast becoming arch rivals.

iKnow Siri? Once Apple hand-held device users have become acustomed to this style of interactivity, presumably natural language speech interaction will also be extended to the Mac - in whatever form-factor Apple's full-function computers have evolved into by then. Perhaps longer-term, it can also be assumed that a user's Siri personal assistant will be used to embody and create a feeling of continuous experience across different devices, with Siri seemingly moving with us from device to device. This continuity across devices will be possible because Apple is using iCloud to offer customers deviceindependence and multi-device synchronisation - so that whichever Apple device you move to the

experience continues because the new one will "know" what you were doing on the last one and can pick up dialogues such as chat messages where you left off.

Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

All-Time Record Mac and iPad Sales Highest September Quarter Revenue and Earnings Ever CUPERTINO, CaliforniaOctober 18, 2011Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2011. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.3 percent compared to 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarters revenue. The Company sold 17.07 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 21 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, a 166 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 6.62 million iPods, a 27 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. We are thrilled with the very strong finish of an outstanding fiscal 2011, growing annual revenue to $108 billion and growing earnings to $26 billion, said Tim Cook, Apples CEO. Customer response to iPhone 4S has been fantastic, we have strong momentum going into the holiday season, and we remain really enthusiastic about our product pipeline. We are extremely pleased with our record September quarter revenue and earnings and with cash generation of $5.4 billion during the quarter, said Peter Oppenheimer, Apples CFO. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 14 weeks rather than 13, we expect revenue of about $37 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $9.30.

Apple Market Competition (Its Position)

May 09th, 2011 A new survey ranks the Apple brand the worlds most valuable. The sixth annual Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands survey pegs Apples brand value at $153 billion. Developed by Millward Brown Optimor, the ranking system looks at the worlds leading brands and the economic and completive dynamics that influence value fluctuations in making its conclusions. In doing so, the survey attempts to place a value on the Apple brand, for example, rather than Apple Inc. In securing the No. 1 position in the Brandz survey, Apple has ended Googles four year run at the top of the global brand power list. The search provider is No. 2 in this years survey.

With strong brand recognition and recall, it was found that the iPhone possessed top of the mind awareness in a variety of mobile phone categories and consumers were very familiar with the functions and capabilities of the iPhone. In addition, the iPhone also possessed top of the mind awareness in a variety of purchase situations, and is associated with various consumption possibilities, indicating the broad awareness consumers have of the iPhone.