The New York Times came up with an analysis regarding Apple's phenomenal success in the retail front and what Sony and other companies could learn from it. Simplicity seemed to be the operative theme.

When Apple launched an ambitious project to open retail stores nationwide back in 2001, it was largely criticized and condemned by traditional business knowledge as a self-defeating move that Apple will regret. It happened in a time when once-mighty retail chains like Gateway were closing down, prompting almost everyone to write off the idea.

It seems, however, that everyone forgot the tremendous knack for innovation that Steve Jobs and the boys at Apple have. Damning the torpedoes and doing away with unnecessary aesthetics and exorbitant store spaces, the retail stores were built at a minimum cost and were designed to be compact, simple yet accessible and loaded with products that sell themselves.

New York times correspondents documented the amazing story and watched as Sony opened its own Sony Style chains which were spacious, trendy and in most cases, virtually desolate with staff outnumbering consumers even on peak days. This scenario was repeatedly observed by NY Times correspondents in various Sony Style outlets located in malls and other good locations.

In contrast, Apple stores always seemed loaded and vibrant with a sense of excitement omnipresent in the expressions of customers. Apple stores were often much smaller than the typical 6, 000 square-feet that Sony Style outlets occupy, yet they're doing far better.

The article hints that bigger isn't always better and sometimes it boils down to product appeal and service quality. There are a lot of things mentioned in the article that Sony can take more of and perhaps adopt, if it isn't too late. Follow the read URL and see what the celebrated paper has to say.

Rob Mead at Tech.co.uk shared some of the "secrets" that were revealed at the Apple shareholder's meeting at Cupertino, California.

Third-party apps for iPhone. First, it seems that the iPhone will be open to third-party applications. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had said that the Apple iPhone wouldn't be open to third-party applications, that it would be a closed system based on Mac OS X (the goal was to make sure that the iPhone wouldn't be buggy). But it now seems that Mac developers are free to make apps for the iPhone.

Leopard delay. Steve Jobs also said that the delay of the launch of the Mac OS X Leopard operating system, the next version of Mac OS X, was partly due to the iPhone. According to Jobs, the issue isn't money; the issue is talent. It seems that Apple has dedicated a lot of time and talent to the iPhone, and there just wasn't enough left over for the Leopard. "I wish developing great products was as easy as writing a check," said Jobs. "If so, then Microsoft would have great products."

The smaller and innovative iPhone. It looks like there's a smaller iPhone on the way. Apple has made an application to the US Patent & Trademark Office for a sleek little device with a display on each side (patent number 0070103454). This "Back-Side Interface for Handheld Devices" has a rather interesting concept:

An electronic device uses separate surfaces for input and output. One of the surfaces (e.g. the bottom) includes a force-sensitive touch-surface through which a user provides input (e.g. cursor manipulation and control element selection). On a second surface (e.g. the top), a display element is used to present information appropriate to the device's function (e.g. video information), one or more control elements and a cursor. The cursor is controlled through manipulation of the back-side touch-surface. The cursor identifies where on the back-side touch-surface the user's finger has made contact.

In other words, the new iPhone is a dual-screen set-up with a touch screen. Hm. That reminds us of the Nintendo DS (over 40 million units sold worldwide).

Apple and the mobile phone market. Jobs also said that Apple really has to look deeper into the mobile phone market. In 2006, there were 135 million MP3 players and 200 million PCs sold. But in that same year, there were 1 billion mobile phones sold. That's a big market to explore.

If Apple thinks that the mobile phone market is worth exploring, then we at QJ.NET wish Apple the best. Several of us love our iPods, and if Apple's iPhone can do for mobile phones what the iPod did for "mobile audio and video," then we don't mind the Leopard delay at all.

During Apple's recent shareholder meeting, Apple CEO Steve Jobs addressed a few issues that were thrown his way. Read on for a few snippets of Jobs' comebacks.

On Leopard's delay. "Leopard will be worth the wait."

On the iPhone. "We're beginners and we have a lot to learn," said Jobs. "The market is large and the opportunities are great. A few of us have been using the iPhone a lot and if you wanted it back, you would have to pry it from our dead hands."

Jobs also said that the company is still deciding whether or not to let third-party developers create software for the iPhone.

On the stock options scandal. "I actually got my options at a higher price, but I didnÂ?t ask the company to reimburse me." As for former Apple CFO Fred Anderson, Jobs said that he had "worked with Fred for many years and I think he's an awfully good guy, but I thought his comments were a little wrong."

On Greenpeace. Jobs also took some time to throw around some criticism of his own. Two Greenpeace representatives were present at the meeting, and although they congratulated Jobs and Apple for their commitment to greener products, Jobs had the following words for the organization:

I think your organization particularly depends too much on principle and not enough on fact. You guys rate people based on what people say their plans are in the distant future, not what they are doing today. I think you put way too much weight on these glorified principles and way too little weight on science and engineering.

It would be very helpful if your organization hired a few more engineers and actually entered into dialog with companies to find out what they are really doing and not just listen to all the flowery language when in reality most of them arenÂ?t doing anything.

ThatÂ?s my opinion.

Some new speculation over at Think Secret has pegged a possible MacBook Pro update for next month. The update is rumored to about the new LED-backlit 15-inch displays and could come within days of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote during the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11.

According to Think Secret, their sources tell them that Apple's order for the displays called on a delivery schedule of mid May. Based on the standard schedule that the company has used in the past, there will be a three to four week window for manufacturing and shipping.

The final date would coincide with Jobs' keynote address on June 11 in San Francisco. Says Think Secret, that's where Apple is likely to announce a new MacBook Pro using a LED backlight display. Think Secret also says that according to the same sources, Apple will be targetting a Q3 rollout of their low-end 13.3-inch laptops.

Come on. Admit it. Sure, you kind of hate the fact that the i-products sell for more than what you usually set aside for gadget-purchasing, or that perfectly-round, one-buttoned little mouse is just begging you to use it as an Office Hockey puck - you love Apple, you love Steve Jobs, and by god, you love that iPod hanging from your waist and lovingly pumping techno or pop or ballads directly into your eardrums.

Don't be shy, we're all friends here - and PC World's one of us, too, and they're more than happy to even write an article about it, entitled '10 things we love about Apple'. And frankly, we're inclined to agree with the list.

Granted, they also have a companion article to it, with an opposite slant - but that's a moot point as far as we're concerned. Let the Apple love shine through. From ogling at the sleek, sublime designs, to marveling at El Jobso's musings in his Secret Diary (fake, yes, but still a riot to read), the list is a must-read to appease the Apple fan that remains in our hearts. Although, to be fair, the companion article makes one think, too - if only Steve could be persuaded to rectify those issues, I'm sure the love will spread even more.

The full article (as well as the companion article, which is at the end of the list) can be perused via the read link below.

As talks between Apple and major music companies ramp up this month, the biggest topic on the floor will no doubt be the issue of DRM-free music. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has long been steadfast on the 99-cent price for a song on iTunes, but now he's willing to go higher in exchange for DRM-free tracks.

"At this point, no one can ignore Apple or what Apple wants, given its position in the marketplace," said Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg. "The fact that they were able to do this deal with EMI puts more pressure on some of the other labels to follow suit."

According to the San Jose Mercury, at least two major recording companies will ask Jobs to "sell a wider variety of content in digital bundles of songs, videos and other multimedia." This from two recording company executives familiar with their companies' plans. Apple already offers bundled tracks, but the companies hope that expanding these offerings can boost revenue.

We're not certain if Apple CEO Steve Jobs is keen on answering Mike's dare to make a regular Mac, because you see, he's quite busy with other more important things. For one, Jobs' busy answering allegations from certain environmental groups about Apple's waste.

And it is also possible that the official is busy counting his total compensation for 2006. Haven't you heard? Financial publication Forbes.com just named Steve Jobs as the highest paid CEO for 2006, as he was able to take home more than US$ 646 million through stock-based compensation. Forbes.com mentioned that exercised stock options are still the main component of pay while changes in the components of executive compensation have occurred throughout the years.

In fact, 48% of the executive pay of the 200 CEOs monitored came from stocks. Mind you, that's an average gain of US$ 7.3 million per CEO. The second highest paid chief executive was Ray Irani from Occidental Petroleum who took home US$ 321.64 million in 2006.

It recently came to Apple Inc. that some environmental organizations are criticizing it for not being a good model in terms of removing toxic chemicals from its new products as well as recycling old products.

CEO Steve Jobs came up then with a press release highlighting his company's plans about the matter. Jobs revealed though that these measures aren't exactly new, and that they've been doing this long before the said complaints made mass media. It's just that he felt the need to inform Apple's consumers and stakeholders because the above mentioned allegations are rather serious.

The list is quite long and the Read link should take to Jobs' complete statement. But some of the most important highlights include:

• Apple completely eliminated the use of CRTs in mid-2006. Dell, Gateway, Hewlett Packard and Lenovo still ship CRT displays today.
• Apple products met both the spirit and letter of the RoHS restrictions on cadmium, hexavalent chromium and brominated flame retardants years before RoHS went into effect.
• Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of arsenic in all of its displays by the end of 2008.
• Apple plans to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of mercury by transitioning to LED backlighting for all displays when technically and economically feasible.
• Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs in its products by the end of 2008.
• Apple recycled 13 million pounds of e-waste in 2006, which is equal to 9.5% of the weight of all products Apple sold seven years earlier.
• We expect this percentage to grow to 13% in 2007, and to 20% in 2008. By 2010, we forecast recycling 19 million pounds of e-waste per year Â? nearly 30% of the product weight we sold seven years earlier.
• All the e-waste we collect in North America is processed in the U.S., and nothing is shipped overseas for disposal.
• Apple products are designed using high quality materials that are in high demand from recyclers.

Steve Jobs has sent out an open letter to customers and shareholders that highlights Apple's plans to be more environmentally friendly. In the letter, the Apple CEO revealed that the company plans to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of mercury in their displays by switching to LED backlighting when technically and economically feasible.

"We plan to introduce our first Macs with LED backlight technology in 2007," he wrote. "Our ability to completely eliminate fluorescent lamps in all of our displays depends on how fast the LCD industry can transition to LED backlighting for larger displays."

According to AppleInsider, not only would switching to LED backlighting help Apple become cleaner and greener, it would also mean more efficient and less power-consuming displays. AppleInsider notes that LED technology is "more efficient at distributing lighting evenly across the entire display surface and offers an increase in color saturation." It also runs cooler and lasts longer than CCFLs.

 

Apple has announced that Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO will be highlighting the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10 A.M. on June 11, 2007, at San Francisco's Moscone West.

It was noted that Apple plans to show developers a "feature complete version" of Mac OS X Leopard, and distribute a beta copy for home use and final testing.

Other activities from Apple at the WWDC 2007 include presentations from Apple engineers about an in-depth look at  Leopard (from its open-source foundation to other innovations like iChat Theater and Dascode), practical hands on sessions, technology labs, and other special events like the Stump the Experts event, and the Apple Design Awards.

Leopard is set to ship come October later this year.