“Apple was recently crowned the most valuable public company in history. But in order to keep that title, its next iPhone, expected to go on sale next month, will have to be a huge hit,” Rachelle Dragani reports for MacNewsWorld.
“That could very come to pass. A report from FBR Market’s Craig Berger predicted the upcoming phone could sell as many as 250 million units over its lifecycle.,” Dragani reports. “Other rumors hold that Apple will also debut a so-called iPad mini next month — a 7-inch tablet that would be similar in display and ability to the iPad but would be more the size of Amazon’s Kindle Fire or Google’s Nexus 7. Apple may announce the mini tablet along with the iPhone upgrade, but the product is not expected to hit shelves until closer to the holidays.”
Dragani reports, “Optimism over Apple’s upcoming products and its potential in China were two of the main factors contributing to the company’s recent ascent on the stock market. Apple became the largest U.S. company ever this week, bypassing Microsoft’s record market capitalization of US$616.34 billion in 1999.”
The Cupertino company had already topped Exxon Mobil to have the largest market value of any publicly traded company, but Apple’s latest milestone is a reminder of what put it on top, said Trip Chowdhry, senior analyst for Global Equities Research… That emphasis on innovation came as a result of Steve Jobs’ leadership and vision, said Chowdhry. Although that type of thinking is still a key tenet of business at Apple, the current leadership also needs to pay attention to another of his principles, he explained: the need to put users and innovation ahead of shareholders. While becoming the country’s largest company is a significant accomplishment, making market milestones a priority needs to be avoided, lest another company overtake Apple the same way it surpassed Microsoft, he said.”
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