Apple Inc., (nasdaq: AAPL) formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an American multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronics and software products. 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, iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, and Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio- and film-industry software products. The company operates more than 200 retail stores in seven countries and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.

Established in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 and incorporated January 3, 1977, the company was called "Apple Computer, Inc." for its first 30 years, but dropped the word "Computer" on January 9, 2007

to reflect the company's ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers.

Apple has about 28,000 employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of US$24 billion in its fiscal year ending September 29, 2007. For reasons varying from its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States.

History

main: History of Apple

1976-1980: The early years

and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club.

The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—less than what is today considered a complete personal computer. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at US$666.66.

Wozniak, Steven: "iWoz", page 180. W. W. Norton, 2006. ISBN 13:978-0-393-06143-7

Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977 Apple Investor Relations FAQ, Apple. Retrieved on 2007-03-02. without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of US$250,000 during the incorporation of Apple.

The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because it came with color graphics and an open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II.