This Week's Sponsor:

Hello Weather

Half Off for WWDC Week, Just in Time for Summer.

At Apple’s Q4 Earnings Call, Steve Jobs’ Rant Sets The Record Straight

So here’s what happened: at the Q4 earnings call Steve Jobs grabbed the mic and started talking. No one expected Steve Jobs to be available at the conference, because Steve Jobs doesn’t usually attend earnings calls.

But it happened, and he went on a 10-minute long “rant” where he set the record straight about overly discussed arguments such as Google’s openness, Android’s sales numbers, Apple’s App Store and closed system and the rumored 7-inch iPad form factor. He’s still taking questions at the moment of writing this. Read more

Apple Low On iPad Sales in Q4 2010? 7.46 Million iPads Sold So Far

Once again, Apple’s quarterly fiscal results broke any record: $20.43 million revenue, 14.1 million iPhone sold (despite the whole Antennagate “thing”), 3.89 million Macs and 4.19 million iPads.

Looking at the numbers reported above, it appears that analysts this time almost got the whole situation right: they predicted 4 million Macs, 13 million iPhones and…6 million iPads. So is Apple low on iPad sales, with “just” 4.19 million units out from the shelves in Q4? Not really: of all the analysts Fortune contacted, only one placed his expectations above 5.95 million units sold. Nine of them went for a 4.00 - 5.00 million range. Not exactly “low sales”, but perhaps many expected record sales as the iPhone 4.

We have to look at the big picture, and not just the raw numbers. In two quarters, the iPad is already outselling the Mac. 7.46 million iPads are out in the wild, 5 months after its release date.

I think those are the numbers worth to be considered.

Steve Jobs: We still have a few surprises left for 2010

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in the press release for Apple Q4 financial results:

We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings—both all-time records for Apple. iPhone sales of 14.1 million were up 91 percent year-over-year, handily beating the 12.1 million phones RIM sold in their most recent quarter. We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.

A few surprises left might mean a new MacBook Air on Wednesday, or a CDMA iPhone (that runs on Verizon) announcement before the end of the year. Or maybe something entirely new, such a 7-inch iPad model? What about a complete MobileMe revamp?

Truth is, with $20 billion revenue in the last quarter they can pull out whatever surprise they want.

Advertising Age: Apple “Marketer of the Decade”

Advertising Age announced earlier today that it has named Apple “Marketer of the Decade”, a prestigious award to a company that ”influences business models across all media and creates exceptionally brand-loyal consumer base”.

It seems fitting: Apple kicked off the aughts in 2001 with the iPod, an electronic device that went on to disrupt and forever change the music industry; then mid-decade it dropped the iPhone, a mobile device that changed the mobile-phone industry and added the word “apps” to the English vocabulary; and finally, in 2010 it debuted the iPad, a computing device with the potential to disrupt the media, publishing, entertainment and computing industries.

Yes, it has been a golden decade for Apple. And while one can certainly argue that its influence has been overstated – it is No. 56 on the list of Fortune 500 by revenue – Apple’s influence on business models across industries from music and computing to entertainment and advertising, along with its impact on popular culture, media and, of course, marketing, has been indelible.

Apple and its agency, Omnicom Group’s TBWA, make a great case study on the benefits of long-term agency-client relationships. The two have been together since the iconic “1984” Super Bowl spot, although the agency was off the account from 1986 until 1997, which is almost identical to the years CEO Steve Jobs was absent from Apple (1985-1997).

Read more

Wi-Fi LED Lights + iOS App = iParty

This is a whole new use for the iPhone - the iGLO LED Set bundles a WiFi-enabled strip of 120 multi-color LEDs (over 16 feet) with a (free) iOS app to control them. The lights are $299, but imagine all the possibilities! Parties, raves, birthdays, college dorms, a colorful lasso - the possibilities are endless.

Read more