Apple Computer Inc introduced its first Macintosh computers using chips from Intel Corp on Tuesday, several months ahead of schedule.
Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, unveiled a new iMac computer and a new notebook computer called the MacBook Pro at Macworld Expo, a highly anticipated annual event at which the company usually shows off new products and initiatives.
Jobs also revealed that Apple's revenue for the quarter ending Dec. 31 jumped 63 percent, to US$5.7 billion. The figure easily beat Wall Street's expectations, as sales of the iPod portable music player more than tripled compared with the holiday quarter in 2004. Revenue for that quarter was US$3.5 billion.
PHOTO: AFP
Jobs said the company sold 14 million iPods during the holiday quarter, up from 4.5 million during the 2004 holiday season. Perhaps more surprising was the news that Apple sold 1.25 million Macintosh computers in the quarter, up from 1.05 million in 2004, despite the worries of some analysts that consumers would delay their purchases. Sales at Apple's retail stores rose to about US$1 billion, Jobs said.
The early financial disclosure marks a departure for Apple, which is considered among the most guarded of Silicon Valley companies. The company is scheduled to report earnings for the quarter on Monday.
Apple's decision to incorporate the Intel chips months ahead of time came as a surprise. Last June, the company said it was abandoning IBM Corp's Power PC processor line, which it had used for 14 years, as well as chips from its other major supplier, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. The move was considered a watershed announcement in an industry that has long considered Intel an ally of Microsoft Corp, Apple's giant rival.
Jobs has said that the Intel chips would allow Apple to make faster and more versatile computers and media devices than it could have with its previous chip suppliers.
"The iMac has already been praised as the gold standard of desktop PCs, so we hope customers really love the new iMac, which is up to twice as fast," Jobs said.
Jobs also introduced an update of Apple's iLife suite of software that is intended to make it easier to create, edit and distribute online photographs, movies, podcasts and other digital content. The company also introduced a new device to allow iPod users to listen to FM stations.
The announcements were in keeping with Apple's broader strategy of building on the success of the iPod with new hardware and services in the growing realm of digital media.
In October, Apple introduced an iPod that can play video and started selling television shows and music videos on its iTunes online store for US$1.99 each.
Jobs said Apple has sold 8 million videos and television shows since then. Apple has also been offering a remote control with new iMacs that allow customers to operate the computers as they would a television or DVD player.
Jobs said the entire Macintosh line would be converted to Intel chips by the end of this year, a move that analysts say could help take market share from Windows-based personal computers.
"This will give Apple a brighter future," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a consulting firm. "I think the Intel chip is going to grab the attention of consumers."
Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC, a research company, said the new Intel-based Macs would for the first time let customers compare Macs with PCs directly, since the microprocessors and other internal parts would be the same. But that could work to Apple's disadvantage, given that the company still charges a premium for its systems, O'Donnell said.
"They're playing in a whole new field now," he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from