From the SCMP, 28th May, 2010:

"Apple's market value reached US$222.1 billion, surpassing Microsoft's US$219.2 billion yesterday on Nasdaq. That makes Apple the most valuable technology firm in the world. It is also the second-largest US stock by market value, behind oil company Exxon Mobil, valued at US$278.6 billion."

Good going for Apple. Sure many bros here have contributed to Apple's success with so many threads concerning the iPhone & iPad. I recall Apple nearly went bust in the late 90's and Microsoft at the time invested US$150m in the company. Kudos to Steve Jobs.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 28-5-2010 18:37 ]

They are going to get utterly raped by the Foxconn suicide fiasco though.

Indeed. Think Apple will find another manufacturer after this Foxconn episode. Currently they're not able to change midstream with the imminent launch of the iPhone 4th gen. Very sad about the Chinese workers committing suicide because of work pressure but don't think people  could ever resist getting that new iPhone or iPad.

I absolutely agree with the market valuation.  Apple's been putting out industry changing products one after another while Microsoft is left trying to defend against Google who is intruding on their money biggest money making divisions - MS Office and even Windows operating systems.  Google is currently attacking the mobile market with Droid and I'm not surprised if they'll attack Windows OS head on.  Apple still has a lot of room to grow if they can make their laptops and desktops appeal to the general masses.

•        iPad on sale at 8am
        •        Fans queue through night
IS the iPad launch manufactured hype or an organically grown obsession driven by Apple fans?
The march of hundreds of hopeful iPad buyers through the doors of seven Apple stores at 8am around Australia today marks the culmination of a marketing campaign that could have come only from the world of Apple founder Steve Jobs, accentuated by the curious obsession Apple fans have with the brand.
While Apple has done everything in its power to make the hype surrounding the launch seem spontaneous and consumer-driven, marketing experts say it has been a carefully calculated campaign managed in minute detail by Apple executives.
The devices will be widely available in stores across Australia, but Apple has worked to distill the hype of the launch by releasing the names of only seven Apple stores that will have the iPad, including a new store opening in Sydney's Bondi today; other outlets will not be revealed until after Apple's own stores have opened.

Experts told The Australian the move is designed to focus the hype and media attention around Apple's branded stores

Last night, cold, wet weather in Sydney appeared to be counteracting the hype at the city's George Street store, with only a dozen or so die-hards huddled outside waiting for today's release.

One fan who was not to be deterred, however, was engineering student Rahul Koduri, 22, who was first in line after arriving at 2am yesterday.

Mr Koduri said he already owned an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iMac, MacBook and MacBook Air, and could not wait to have the "revolutionary" iPad among his Apple arsenal, which he will carry everywhere and use for email and internet.

"It's an amazing product, revolutionary in many ways, because five years from now that's the only kind of device you will have in your hand," Mr Koduri said.

Sources close to Apple told The Australian that while Apple fans' passion for the brand was real, there was nothing left to chance with such launches.

"It's all very carefully managed," one said.

"Steve Jobs turns the product into a celebrity. It gets a glamour launch and is surrounded by lots of gossip, and people eat that gossip up which helps drive the hype."

Locally, Apple's ad agency WhybinTBWA/Tequila in Sydney has a small team locked away with not even senior executives of the agency privy to the campaign.

Matt Eastwood, creative director of DDB, said Apple was a master of taking people's passion for the brand and amplifying it out to the wider community.

        iPad fans queue outside the Apple store in George Street, Sydney, ahead of the release

woo hoo!  I got 800 shares...had it since the early days of Apple when I bought 100 shares at $14..not bad for a $1400 investment...it's my rainy day fund.  

Doesn't quite make up though for the fact that I was a millionaire on paper for about a month when one of the startups that I worked at went public, only to tank down to $5/share by the time I could sell and then eventually went worthless.  And I never sold a single share.

Is the date wrong?  Or is this actually something written a year ago?


I love the design of Apple products... they always look sooo nice (which is why most people buy their stuff)....

But as lovely as they look, I wish they actually made useful products.
It takes at least 3 iterations to catch up to years old tech.

Remember how long it took to get "cut and paste" on the iPhone?
How many versions before you get a USB port on the iPad?

Though from a marketing standpoint, they're geniuses....
Selling pretty shiny, yet sub-standard tech, for an inflated price.
AND have the same customers buy EVERY version/update, no matter how trivial the upgrade is....

Personally, I think think they're the devil.... but only because I wish I was them....   

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said he was unconcerned that his company had been overtaken by rival Apple as the world's biggest technology firm in terms of market value.
Ballmer spoke to reporters in New Delhi a day after Apple, maker of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, passed the software giant for the first time.
"It is a long game. We have good competitors but we too are very good competitors," he said. "I will make more profit and certainly there is no technology company on the planet that is as profitable as we are."
"Let's see what happens as I am still pleased that 94 times out of a 100 somebody picks a Windows PC," he said.
Ballmer was in India to underline the future importance of Microsoft's cloud services platform, in which people use applications hosted online instead of buying, installing and maintaining software on their own computers.
"India will not only see a surge in consumption of cloud services, driving growth in domestic IT usage, but companies all over the world will look to India for their transition to cloud computing," he said.
The technology is expected to create more than 300,000 jobs by 2015 in India, he said.
Microsoft shares shed 4.07 per cent on Wednesday to close at US$25.01, dropping its market capitalisation to US$219.18 billion.
Apple shares lost 0.45 per cent meanwhile to close at US$244.05, giving the company a market value of US$222.07 billion.
Apple stock has risen steadily as chief executive Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple in 1997 after a stint away, piloted the release of hit products starting with the iPod in 2001.

Sorry, the story actually came out today, 28th May, 2010, not 2009. I've corrected the date. Thanks for pointing it out.

Bro - if you are copying and pasting from online newspapers or other websites can you credit the source like geoduck or provide the website address.

Congrats JeSun for buying Apple at HK$14. Think it's time to take profits when they announce the new iPhone early next month. Just think about it....what other news is there apart from the iPhone 4 gen? Sell into strength and then look around for other bargains or until Apple should dip to $180 again if that is possible. If Steve Job kicks the bucket suddenly, it would be 180! His health ain't too good.

you think I should cash out?  I've had the stock for 25 years now, so adjusting for pre-splits my purchase price is more like $5/share...I am truly one of the stupid ones that believes in holding onto things long-term.

I use to be in the business and think Apple to achieve such great success considering it almost went bust in the late 90s, it is a miracle. All the good news have already been factored in the share price now. Microsoft seems a better bet because it has high quality recurrent income from the Windows OS and Microsoft Office. With Apple, they need to innovate and there isn't anything else in the pipeline. Remember, a share certificate is only a piece of paper, actually these days, it is paperless script so never fall in love with a stock. It is nothing more than a trading instrument unless you actually own the company.

Well, if you have shares, you DO own part of the company, no?

But you're right that Microsoft is a better bet.
They are more profitable, and will remain so for a long time.  Microsoft products has become a "necessity" for a lot of businesses and people in general.  While Apple products seem to be more of a "luxury".

And at some point, people will stop buying every iteration of Apple products.
People kept upgrading their iPhones, because their old ones were missing tech. (tech that SHOULD have been in the iPhone in the first place). But the iPhone is getting close to other high end PDA phones now (hardware-wise). So cell service carriers subsidizing the cost of the iPhone will have the biggest impact.

The iPod sales are starting to go down, because why would you have an iPod AND an iPhone? when an iPhone can do both jobs.

Which leaves the iPad.  Apple is betting (hoping) that people will buy 3-4 iterations of this. Personally, I think the hype is dying out on this niche product.
I'm still laughing at the CNN reports when the iPad came out.  A "tech-guru" girl was touting about how great it is. And the greatest app for it was a "Periodic Table of Elements"???  Seriously?

i wasn't really a big apple fan even when the ipod came out i never got one. i see ppl go crazy and wait in long lines to get these products but i dont understand why. my first apple purchase was a few months ago when i got my iphone and even then im not all that crazy about it. it's a nice phone, but it's still just a phone to me.

By owning the company, I had meant being the major shareholder. It is a wrong perception that you do 'own' part the company when you just own a few shares. Surely you get to participate in the upside of the stock but you have no control over the direction of the company.

To reiterate, Microsoft has almost become like a utility company as it's products are a necessity. Apple strives on innovation and everyone is trying to topple them by offering similar products. Only way to go is down for Apple and share price will most likely peak in the short term upon the confirmation of the new iPhone and that's when you one should sell, always into strength.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 29-5-2010 06:59 ]

With current recession in the US.. apple is a company that is still making lots of money. I have to admit, when i saw my coworkers with an iPad, it looked extremely tempting to purchase, and I would have bought it if I didn't have an iPod and iPhone already

20% raise and don't kill yourself

Foxconn, is planning to raise wages for its Chinese workers by about 20 percent after a spate of suicides at its main plant in southern China put working conditions at its factories under international scrutiny.

This might mean Foxconn will have less profit and maybe charge more in the future to other companies like Sony, Apple and HP.  On other words, maybe less profit for Apple in the future. X-Mas I heard there will be competition from other manufactures for the ipad.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSI ... wages.ft/index.html

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 29-5-2010 07:29 ]

apple's success hinges on whether it can continue to innovate or not. microsoft's success hinges on whether someone can stop their monopoly on Office and Windows. it is pretty clear which company has more staying power in the future.

i'm an apple fan (all sorts of ipods, iphone, macbook air and pro, ipad) but if apple comes out and misses with its new products, its shares are gonna get hammered. the itunes store is a good and recurring revenue stream for apple, but it is nothing compared to the windows and office recurring revenue stream for microsoft, currently valued at over $30B a year. and if youlook closely at microsoft's annual report, the gross profit on office and windows is at 90%! as a result, microsoft generates crazy amounts of cash (around $1B a month) which it uses on its (so far) unsuccessful attempts at search, mobile phones, animation, zune and the xbox.

so microsoft is investing in the future, while its current earnings are stable and growing, while apple needs to keep innovating on its products to keep its lead. i believe that things will normalize (meaning microsoft and apple will get valued for what they really are) in the next 6 months, and microsoft should be tech's most valuable company again.

In China, all wages are going up. Think Apple can live with a slight decrease to their margins as unlike Mircosoft, they make their own hardware. There'll always be competition for Apple and it's a matter of time before someone comes up with something better. I am more concerned with Steve Jobs health as he seems to be the driving force behind the company.