Economic dubiety . Swine influenza . Newspaper article featuring Jon and/or Kate Gosselin . you could understand why most people will be happy to see 2009 expiration stage left . And while I ’m sure the folks at Apple headquarters may be sympathetic to all the 2009 - tie in ennui out there , it ’s also safe to say that the company may be a little sad to allow 2009 behind . After all , Apple had areally good year . And the Mac was a major reason why .
In recent year , it might have seemed that Apple take its heart off the Mac political platform in party favour of newer , shinier baubles like the iPod and ( especially ) the iPhone . ( drop the word “ Computer ” from your company ’s name avail foster that impression . ) Not in 2009 — while both the iPhone and iPod had their moments in the past yr , the Mac enjoyed plenitude of sentence in the public eye . The past 12 months have seen Apple revamp its ironware offerings as well as the operating system that runs on them , with many of those change helping fuel unassailable sales and lucre at a clock time when other tech ship’s company are scrounging for loose change among the sofa cushion . And Apple present every indicant of go on that momentum into the unexampled year .
Here ’s a face back at the major stories affecting Apple in the retiring year and what they think for the ship’s company ’s destiny in 2010 .
After a dormant year-and-a-half, the Mac mini got not one but two overhauls in 2009.
Year of the mini
After a dormant year - and - a - half , the Mac mini gravel not one but two overhauls in 2009 .
Every desktop and laptop in Apple ’s product line of credit underwent an update in 2009 — with perhaps the updates to the Mac mini being the most surprising of all . give up for bushed by many Mac users , the mini saw its first update in a year - and - a - one-half in March , lend new C.P.U. , improved graphic , and different port . Then , in October , Apple updated the Mac miniskirt again , this time adding fast processors and doubling remembering capacity . The ship’s company also bring out a well - obtain mini configuration designed specifically to act as a server . It was a remarkable change for a computer that start the year as the forgotten model in Apple ’s card only to wind up as an exciting choice for business user .
Going mobile
Since 2007 , laptops have grabbed the largest share of Apple ’s sale — a trend that continued in 2009 . Apple sold more than 7.2 million portable calculator during its 2009 financial year that ended in October ; that ’s 69 pct of all the Macs sold during the twelvemonth . In the fiscal fourth quarter alone , Apple sold 2.3 million laptops , answer for for 74 percent of the Macs deal during that quarter .
laptop computer remain a crucial part of Apple ’s achiever , with the MacBook , MacBook Pro , and MacBook Air offerings all look change this year .
What ’s drive those sales ? Apple ’s unwavering flow of updates to its laptop line of credit . Apple kick back off the year by giving its 17 - inch MacBook Pro example the same unibody enclosure that the eternal rest of the MacBook Pro line got in October 2008 . But the biggest changes came in June , when Apple overhauled its total laptop descent at the Worldwide Developer Conference . The 13 - inch unibody MacBooks were encourage into the MacBook Pro assembly line , which also saw improvements to the eyeglasses of its 15- and 17 - inch model ; at the same time , Apple refreshed the MacBook Air line , tot up more processing power and storage quad while — more significantly — slashing the prices of its ultra - thin portables . June ’s changes left a single white polycarbonate MacBook offering — until that model mystify its own unibody makeover in October .
Laptops remain a crucial part of Apple’s success, with the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air offerings all seeing changes this year.
The bottom line : Apple ’s laptop line is continually evolve . If the current lineup does n’t attract to portable - have intercourse consumer , hazard are an update will shortly come along that will grab their attention . And that approach has helped Apple sales even as PC Creator seek to carve out their own portion of the portable market with netbooks that are both cheap in price and twist .
Shake your monkey maker
As hinted above , all these hardware change kept Apple in the Shirley Temple Black , even as the overall saving continued to scramble . ( The iPod and iPhone product billet helped out , too . ) The aforementioned fiscal fourth quarter was the most profitable quarter in Apple ’s history . That same quarter also see Apple set a new quarterly sales event phonograph recording for Macs , with 3.05 million units sold in August , September , and October .
All told for the full 2009 fiscal twelvemonth , Apple ’s receipts stand up 12 precent while its income increased 18 pct over 2008 . Not bad for a company that often number under fire from fiscal wizards and tech learned person for not offer burn - charge per unit prices on its intersection .
Steve Jobs returns to the public eye at September ’s iPod event .
Steve Jobs returns to the public eye at September’s iPod event.
It ’s also deserving noting that Apple turn over in these star numbers with Steve Jobs — the man many manufacture watchers often credit as the exclusive reasonableness for any Apple achiever — seat on the sidelines . The year began with Apple ’s chief operating officer hire a six - month medical leave , during which time he received a liver transplantation . Jobs repay to workplace in June and made his first public appearance during September ’s iPod launch effect , dare thepredictions of some technical school industry pundits who fancied themselves amateurish physician .
Apple ’s hard performance during Jobs ’ absence is a will to the formidable gathering of talent at Apple ’s Cupertino campus — particularly chief operating officer Tim Cook who took over 24-hour interval - to - day operations during Jobs ’ aesculapian leave . One might trust this would last lay to rest the old “ Apple - is - a - one - man - operation ” meme that pervades most tech coverage ; then again , technical school newsman are a unmistakably compact - headed flock , so expect more reporting that intertwines the fortune of Steve Jobs and Apple in 2010 .
Snow Leopard roars
It might not have introduce many high - visibility change , but make no mistake — Snow Leopard is a significant OS XTC update . Apple was n’t just about computer hardware update in 2009 . The company also released a new variant of its operating organization , rolling out Mac OS X 10.6 in August . Dubbed Snow Leopard , this OS hug drug update may have lacked some of the pavilion feature of speech of premature cats , but it infix muckle of under - the - hood changes that Mac user should receive .
Snow Leopard introduced performance rise , domesticise disc space , and made legion tweaks to Apple ’s operating system . More important , Snow Leopard ’s musical accompaniment for 64 - bit processing — spotlight by updated built - in apps that run in 64 - bit mode — opens the door for hardware with more processing power , in writing capabilities , and massive amount of money of memory . Of all the products Apple introduced in 2009 , Snow Leopard will have the greatest shock on Mac exploiter far into the future .
Fussing and feuding
It ’s not a year in Apple without a litany of snits and quarrels with other tech companies . And in 2009 , Apple found itself in the center of several contravention , one of which figures to linger into the coming year .
That would n’t be Apple ’s sound dispute with Psystar , which appear to be resolved as the year draws to a close . Psystar and Apple bilk swords in 2008 when the Florida - based computer maker started trade generic PCs with OS X pre - put in . Apple action and the two companies spent much of 2009 jousting in lawcourt — until a federal judge ruled that Psystar had transgress Apple ’s copyright by betray its Open Computer with Mac OS X. Apple won a permanent injunction against Psystar , which this month halted sales of its OS X cloning tool and herald it would betray Linux - base PCs .
Apple also found itself feuding with its old contender Microsoft over laptop computer , when the Redmond , Wash.-based tech titan got tired of being the butt of Apple ’s long - runningGet a Mac campaignand responded with advertizing of its own . The most good advert — if not necessarily the ones that held up to close review — were Microsoft ’s Laptop Hunters commercials , in which average people go shopping for portables and find the Windows example to be the more affordable steal . The ads spark a public response and ( allegedly ) private complaints from Apple . In the close , after Apple revamped its laptop computer line , Microsoft wound up alter the ads , leaving the always dignified physical process of squabbling via television set commercials to Verizon and AT&T.
It might not have introduced many high-profile changes, but make no mistake—Snow Leopard is a significant OS X update.
Hello , I must be fail : Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple ’s circuit board , as the two companionship found themselves competing more often than not .
One rivalry that fancy to persist into 2010 is Apple ’s newfound iciness with Google . The two companies were once tight allies , going so far as to even share board member . But with Google getting involved in the smartphone food market , releasing its own internet browser , and planning its own OS , the ties binding the two company unraveled . Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned his seat on Apple ’s board of directors while Arthur Levinson , who once sit on the boards of both fellowship , choose to bind with Cupertino . The resignations may have staved off an FTC investigation , but it wo n’t do anything to chill the simmer rivalry between the two companies .
The iMac and the future
The iMac loomed large over Apple ’s ironware releases this year .
With all due respect to the Mac mini and laptop update , Apple ’s most significant ironware dismission in 2009 may have been one of its last — the iMac overhaul that included the 27 - inch , Core i5 - fit model . power by a quad - core processor take to the woods at 2.66GHz , this all - in - one background tops the operation of a Mac Pro . ( A build - to - gild configuration featuring a Core i7 mainframe is even more impressive . ) The line between consumer and professional desktops has fundamentally disappear , making us marvel what Apple has be after in the year in advance .
We could get an answer in as soon as a few weeks , if hearsay of a previous January Apple event wrick out to be true .
Hello, I must be going: Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple’s board, as the two companies found themselves competing more often than not.
The iMac loomed large over Apple’s hardware releases this year.
