2007: A Heady Year for Apple

After three decades of year-after-year innovation, it would be hard to remember any company that has had a better fiscal year than Apple in 2007. It seemed that Apple, Inc. just couldn't do anything wrong: not only did they introduce a large string of new products and new milestones, but almost everything was buzz-worthy.

Let's recap:

• January: the year started off great. Apple introduced the iPod Shuffle, declared its intentions with the iPhone, announced Apple TV, and the iTunes library hit 2 billion songs.
   
• February: a time of peacemaking. Apple makes peace with Apple Corps and Apple and Cisco reach an accord on the iPhone trademark. Both agreements pave the way for later advances.
   
• March: apple TV begins shipping. Not a killer component just yet, but not to be ignored.
   
• April: iPods reach the '1 million sold' milestone. They now dominate the MP3 market and iTunes dominates the music download scene.
   
• May: Apple updates MacBook and introduces iTunes Plus.
   
• June: Apple's iPhone goes live with AT&T. Mac Leopard Operating System (OS) is unveiled.
   
• July: the iTunes library hits 3 billion songs. That's 1 billion more than 6 months previous.
   
• August: the new iMac is introduced and quickly rated 5-star (Source: t3.com). iLife '08 upgrades iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand. iWork '08 sneaks in a spreadsheet.
   
• September: a million iPhones are on the street. Apple introduces the new iPod nano, iPod Touch, and reduces the price on iPhone.
   
• October: Mac Leopard OS ships 2 million copies in the first weekend.
   
• November: Apple release Final Cut Express 4 (movie authoring software).
   
• December: Stock market applauds Apple's performance by boosting shares to $200.96 (from $76.77 one year earlier). (Source: yahoo.com) And if all that wasn't enough, Apple's new 2007 Mac/PC ad campaign was an immediate viral success and the Mac's overall market share was boosted from 2 percent to 8 percent. (Source: technewsworld.com)

That's quite a winning streak for a company that started in a garage 30 years ago. But what's really significant is how in 2007 Apple has wrought a fundamental change in what technology means to the basic non-geek consumer. It's a welcome respite for die-hard, defender-of-the-faith Mac users who for years have been trying to espouse Apple's magnificence. But, like all things in technology, does it mean that Apple is truly on its way to taking its rightful place in the consumer technology market... or merely paving the way for others? Only time will tell... and now that it's 2008, the next MacWorld Expo is right around the corner. ;-)