| About
Apple
Apple Computer Inc., is an American multinational
corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing
consumer electronics and closely related software
products. Established in Cupertino, California on
April 1, 1976, Apple develops, sells, and supports
a series of personal computers, portable media players,
mobile phones, computer software, and computer hardware
and hardware accessories. As of September 2007, the
company operates about 200 retail stores in five countries,[3]
and an online store where hardware and software products
are sold. The iTunes Store provides music, audiobooks,
iPod games, music videos, episodes of television programs,
and movies which can be downloaded using iTunes on
Mac or Windows, and also on the iPod touch and the
iPhone.
The company's best-known hardware products include
the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod
line of portable media players, and the iPhone. Apple's
software products include the Mac OS X operating system,
the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software,
and Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio-
and film-industry software products.
The company, incorporated January 3, 1977,[4] was
known as "Apple Computer, Inc." for its
first 30 years. On January 9, 2007, the company dropped
"Computer" from its corporate name,[5] reflecting
the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer
electronics market in addition to its traditional
focus on personal computers.[6]
Apple employs over 20,000 permanent and temporary
workers worldwide[2] and had worldwide annual sales
in its fiscal year 2007 (ending September 29, 2007)
of US$24.01 billion.[1]
For a variety of reasons, ranging from its philosophy
of comprehensive aesthetic design to their advertising
campaigns, Apple has engendered a distinct reputation
in the consumer electronics industry and has cultivated
a customer base that is unusually devoted to the company
and its brand, particularly in the United States.
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