NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Technology

State of the Apple Nation

Herald online
12 Nov, 2009 02:26 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Every now and again, I like to look at the state of Apple. With billions in the bank, Apple seems to be in a stronger position than ever. Steve Jobs has been declared CEO of the Decade, Apple computers have been selling well in Europe and the iPhone has made Apple more profit than Nokia.

Not too bad, you might say, in a worldwide recession.

Steve Jobs was made "CEO of the Decade" by Fortune Magazine, which has published an extensive treasure-trove of data on America's "most enigmatic" business leader (in 9to5Mac's words).

Fortune says "In the past 10 years alone he [Jobs] has radically and lucratively reordered three markets - music, movies, and mobile telephones - and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown."

And since Apple has knocked the cellphone giant Nokia of its profit perch, it would be easy to assume Apple was all about the iPhone and no longer about computers.

But that's simply not true.

Nokia can still claim the largest global market share, but Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has overtaken it as the world's most profitable handset vendor in the third quarter of 2009, according to Strategy Analytics. Not bad for a one-handset offering.

Meanwhile, however, the iPhone has become vulnerable to the first widely recognised iPhone malware, written by an Australian student as a prank. Only 'jailbroken' iPhones are susceptible, but it means the iPhone security door has been forced open a little bit. Symantec has been talking about that.

This malware has a name that should evoke fear in anyone with any taste and a memory of the 1980s: think 'ghastly, disturbing, tasteless and insidious' - yes, it's called the 'Rick Astley worm'.

Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple's iPhone operating profit came in at US$1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2009, while Nokia recorded US$1.1 billion in operating profit. But Nokia is still very powerful - it has has 37.9% market share after all, Telephony Online says.

Nokia's profit margin for its handset division has been shrinking during the entire 2009 global economic downturn, while the handset-maker has also been facing pressure from Google Android devices and other new high-end smartphone offerings.

But Apple has just released new iMacs and a new MacBook, too. Based on Seeking Alpha's Discounted Cash Flow analysis of the notebook PC businesses of Apple, HP and Dell, the site has estimated Apple's notebook business is more valuable than that of HP and Dell combined. The analysis puts Apple's notebook value at US$22 billion, but HP's at US$12 billion and Dell's at US$6.

Meanwhile Wired magazine has said  Apple's 13-Inch Pro is "now every bit as impressive as its big bros" in an article lauding its features, which make it "pound for pound one of the most impressive laptops on the market today".

The Mac business is also making waves in Europe. Windows and other PC sales in the UK were down 2.4 per cent, and were also down in Western Europe. But Apple's market share has grown, despite Macs being 'higher-priced in a down economy'.

The new European sales figures for the third financial quarter of 2009 were released by research firm Gartner last week. The data showed Apple's market share of computer sales in the UK increased from 3.8 per cent in 3Q 2008 to 5 per cent in 3Q 2009.

In the three-month frame, Apple shipped 165,000 Macs in Europe, representing 26.6 percent growth from the year before, behind Acer's 35.3 per cent growth (but everyone else's sales declined).

Meanwhile, software giant Adobe, which started out as a Mac software maker with revolutionary desktop publishing software, but which switched to cover Windows as well many years ago, has announced it's laying off another few hundred workers  - the 680 pink-slipped represent a cut of 9 per cent. The job cuts will be worldwide. Adobe already cut hundreds of jobs last December.

Microsoft should be buoyant on strong sales of Windows 7, which Microsoft's partner group manager, Simon Aldous, has admitted owes a lot to Apple's OS X (in an interview with PCR Online). No surprise there.

That may be so, but Apple's OS is still a lot more secure, either intrinsically or because its market share is still considered small. SophosLabs reported in its security blog that a test Windows 7 system on a clean PC was affected by 80 per cent of viruses it threw at it, reported the Independent newspaper in Britain.

US analysts are now asking if Apple is a worrying blip on Microsoft's radar, in a report on Reuters. The article looks at the differences and profit margins of both companies. The same article notes that Google may be another worrying radar blip.

All in all, it has been a fantastic year for Apple against all expectations.

- Mark Webster mac.nz

Pictured above: The Astley worm on an iPhone - "Never gonna give you up..."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Technology

Herald NOW

Herald NOW: Tech Talk with Noel Leeming: June 10 2025

Premium
Telecommunications

3G shutdown delay, watchdog fields multiple complaints

09 Jun 01:02 AM
Business

Horror, budgeting and tracking meteor showers: Kiwi app makers score global wins in Apple competitions

08 Jun 09:22 PM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Technology

Herald NOW: Tech Talk with Noel Leeming: June 10 2025

Herald NOW: Tech Talk with Noel Leeming: June 10 2025

How Generative AI is being used by Kiwis. Video / Herald NOW

Premium
3G shutdown delay, watchdog fields multiple complaints

3G shutdown delay, watchdog fields multiple complaints

09 Jun 01:02 AM
Horror, budgeting and tracking meteor showers: Kiwi app makers score global wins in Apple competitions

Horror, budgeting and tracking meteor showers: Kiwi app makers score global wins in Apple competitions

08 Jun 09:22 PM
Premium
NZ EV market rebounds strongly, but Tesla struggles to catch the wave

NZ EV market rebounds strongly, but Tesla struggles to catch the wave

05 Jun 02:47 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP