Apple hits the skids – market share down, share price down

OMG! The polish is off Apple’s crown. It finally happened. Well, we say finally, but we’re old enough to still remember the days when Apple wasn’t the technological tastemaker it is now and was requiring of a $10 million loan from Microsoft just to stay afloat. Imagine such a thing happening now. Without the help of Bill Gates, maybe no iPod, maybe no iPhone, maybe no iPad. And definitely no Surface, arf! Never mind the “Redmond, start your photocopiers” jibes, though – Apple insiders knew the real score.

Anyhoo, all this is just our way of saying enjoy this infographic, which illustrates Apple’s diminishing share of the tablet pie (mmm… pie) and then read the E&T news story about Apple’s sliding share price.

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Apple’s tablet share falls

Apple iPad mini released, world swoons – an annotated graphic

In case you missed it… (yeah, we know, a more redundant opener to a blog posting there has never been) Apple has released a new iPad. It’s smaller than the existing iPad. Sort of a mini version of the iPad. They’ve called it the iPad mini. Brilliant. It gets easier and easier in the Apple Marketing Department, doesn’t it?

Note obligatory use of sentence case for this product name, like the iPod touch, despite Apple’s continued arbitrary use of a capital P. Why do we all persist in honouring this ludicrous bastardisation of written English? Really, it’s an Ipod, if we’re going to consider using a proper noun for the product name. Or if we consider it generic enough, we should write ipod, like writing kettle as opposed to Kettle. Or hoover vs Hoover.

Oh, sorry, were you waiting for a more detailed analysis of the new iPad mini? Sorry. Can’t really be bothered. It’s very nice, it’s completely unnecessary and it probably guarantees an early grave for millions of perfectly serviceable electronic devices now apparently rendered obsolete and prehistoric and ultimately heading to the world’s landfills. Super.

We’d all take one if it was offered to us free, though, wouldn’t we? Even if only for use as a bedside lamp or a small plate for sushi.

E&T covers this sort of 21st century gadgetry nonsense all the live long day, so drop by our home page any time for the latest news and features. If you prefer an Apple-only diet, bookmark our Apple news page. It’s dynamically updated every time we write about Cupertino’s technology behemoth. Mmm… dynamic!

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Apple iPad mini takes aim at 7-inch tablet market

Amazon Kindle Fire vs Apple iPad – an annotated graphic

And so it begins, as alphabetically aligned behemoths Amazon and Apple go in to battle, the former’s new Kindle Fire going toe-to-toe with the latter’s iPad.

At a glance on paper, the iPad seems to outperform the Kindle Fire in every respect. Bigger, faster, smarter – and of course that peerless integration with app content on the iTunes App Store.

But in these straitened economic times, money talks – and the Kindle Fire has a lot to say in that department, coming in at around $200 less than a comparable iPad. That’s a tidy saving for the gadget freak on a budget.

E&T covered the news about the new Kindle Fire in depth earlier today.

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Amazon updates Kindle Fire

Apple iPoo Toilet – are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

Yes, this iPoo toilet is a real thing, if not an official Apple product.  Yet.

The iPoo Toilet was created by Belgrade digital artist and designer Milos Paripovic, who came up with a toilet that combines the functional elegance of Apple products with waste disposal. The toilet seat is thinner than a Macbook Air and is made from the same material.

Like many an Apple product before it, the iPoo has exactly the same function as a regular toilet (e.g. a beige Windows one), merely costing twice as much for the same performance in a more stylish enclosure.

We don’t wish to speculate on where Paripovic did his thinking to be so inspired…

The iPoo is featured on the E&T home page today in our Big Picture image carousel (halfway down the page, enjoy the scrolling), if you fancy taking a virtual bio break. Check it out, along with other striking engineering images.

In the meantime, here’s a small preview:

Apple iPoo Toilet

Apple Q4 results – an annotated graphic

What would Steve do? For the first time in six years, Apple has missed its own voraciously high  sales expectations. Believe you me, your correspondent worked for Apple for a while earlier this century (pre-iPhone, if you can even remember such a time, what an age we live in, etc) and Apple always set aggressively ambitious sales targets for every month of the year. Even in February, the retail graveyard month!

Of course, in the crazy world of stockholders,  announcing that you’re not going to achieve your own self-set high standards is a cue for capricious market lenders to decide that your company is a bit rubbish now and promptly downgrade your stock value, wiping a tidy $27 billion off your market value.

Apple shocked investors with fourth quarter results that missed expectations for the first time in six years, saying consumers were waiting for the new iPhone 4S. Shares of Apple fell seven percent in extended trading on Tuesday, wiping some $27 billion off the value of the world’s largest technology company.

However, looking beyond the shock-value headline and the truth is that the only Apple product line on a downturn is the iPod. Mac, iPhone and iPad sales are all significantly on the up, the latter skyrocketing – yes, actually skyrocketing! – a mighty 166 per cent.

So market lender valuations aside, I don’t think Apple will be crying too disconsolately in to its iPillow tonight.

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Apple's Q4 results

Sony Tablet S and Tablet P vs the Apple iPad – an annotated graphic

Sony has announced its first tablet computers, destined to go head-to-head with Apple’s super soaraway market leader, the iPad2. Sony’s Tablet S is a full-screen wedge-shaped design, like a folded magazine. Tablet P is a dual-screen device, kind of like a posh Nintendo Game and Watch. They look nice, but they’re no iPad, eh? Good thing/bad thing: discuss, using one side of the paper only.

Click on the graphic for an expanded view.

Sony's new tablet computers

Apple becomes the world’s most valuable company – an annotated graphic

Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, deposing oil giant Exxon. Apple is now worth an estimated $337 billion, with shares up 13 per cent this year thanks to sales of the iPad and iPhone.

Click on the graphic for a larger view.

Apple milestones

Leicester Council’s ‘insulting’ iPad spending spree slammed

Leicester taxpayers and public sector union leaders are up in arms over cash-strapped Leicester City Council’s desire to spend £40,000 on spanking new Apple iPads for all of its 54 councillors and ‘senior officers’, according to a BBC video news story. Podgy-fingered Tory Council gadgeteers are claiming that the slinky devices are easier to use than less-expensive laptops with conventional keyboards, and will also enhance contact with citizens and could lead to eventual savings of £90,000 a year through obviating the need for paper documentation. Is it justified? No, it’s “an insult” that the council wants waste money on the trendy £700-a-throw tablet PCs, avers Unison spokesperson Gary Garner.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10859748?ls