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Coming off the heels of yet another successful Apple launch debut, its increasingly clear that Apple

is on top of their game in a way like no other. Which other company could turn an ordinary press
conference into a live global event?
The secret lies beyond their product line and design standards; it lies beyond even Steve Jobs
emphatic adherence to Apples core philosophy, which is that the user doesnt always know what
they want.
Looking at the companys latest product lines and revenue models, Id be a fool to call them anything
less than what they are, which is:

A design firm

A media platform

A publishing company

A software powerhouse

A computer builder

A movement

Break down each of these bullets individually and youll find a company at the top of their respective
industry, but combine them into a single entity and youve got the recipe for building one of the most
influential businesses of all time.

So how did they do it?


Rather than tell you how I think they did it, I thought instead Id turn to their fans on Twitter, who
helped me uncover 7 of the greatest marketing lessons that Apple brings to the table.

1. Ignore Your Critics


As an entrepreneur, youll hear a lot of people tell you that you need to reach out and figure out what
people want, which means listening to your critics, often times more patiently than youd like.
Apple decides to flip the script and instead focus on building what they want to build, no matter the
perceived cost. When Steve Jobs debuted the iPad, the critics stood in line, throwing every insult
they could muster. The critics said that the iPad would fail. The numbers say otherwise.

Each and every time Apple decided to innovate, they were laughed at. They prevailed anyway.
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.
- Albert Einstein

2. Turn the Ordinary into Something Beautiful

For quite some time, PC fans enjoyed the work of buying their own parts and building their own tower
systems. At the same time, PC makers were building standard hardware for standard applications.
Apple would have none of that.
Theyve been pioneering not only the features of standard operating systems and computer systems,
but simultaneously reinventing the design standards as well. As a result, we have the gorgeous iMac,
the beautiful new Macbook Air, and who could forget, the amazing iPhone 4.
Where others focus on one aspect of the equation, Apple focuses on the entire product, and it
shows.

3. Justify Your Price

Were in a time when pricing strategies are all over the place. People dont know what to charge, and
in many cases, prefer to race to the bottom instead of pricing strategically to a market that can bear
the cost.
Once more, Apple ignores the standard by not only pricing their technology more than 2x what their
competitors charge, but doing so without blinking. How can they get away with it?
Well, the answer is twofold:
1. They build beautiful products for an audience that loves them passionately.
2. They justify their price with features and benefits that cant be matched.
Since weve already hit point 1, lets work on #2.
No other computer can match the display of a 27 iMacit simply cant be done.
No other software can match what iTunes brings to the table.
No laptop is as thin as the Macbook Air.
No software is more intuitive, no product more valuable than the Apple product. Any other
smartphone looks like it was developed by rookies when compared to an iPhone 4. You simply
cannot compare the two.
Critics will play on the fact that the core features are the same, and they might be, but thats not the
point. The point is that Apple is the Rolls Royce of the technology and design world, and their
customers will gladly pay a premium because of it.

4. Communicate in the Language of Your Audience


It makes no sense to talk about things like megabytes, gigahertz, and processing power to
customers that simply dont care about technical jargon.
Take a look at any Apple product page and youll find that though they do discuss product
specifications and technical information, its hidden behind the benefits that their audience is truly
after.

Instead of display resolution, youll see phrases like edge to edge glass, retina display, and LED
backlighting.
Sure, the jargon is there for those that need it, but its presented in a way that makes you want to
learn about megapixels, rather than shy away from them. The art is in the copy, not in the features.

5. Extend the Experience


Have you ever heard of an unboxing? I hadnt either until recently, when I learned that not only was I
not the only one keeping Apple packaging post-sale, but that there are legions of people that record
the actual process of unwrapping their newly purchased Apple products.
Do a search on YouTube and youll find hundreds of Apple unboxings, each from different users from
across the globe. Its pretty crazy right?
No one tells these people to video their experience, but they do it because the process is so Zen that
you cant help not to.
Apple does this by making sure that the experience doesnt end at the cash register. They take great
care in designing a user experience from browsing to unwrapping, which relies on incredible
packaging and installation procedures.
By reducing installation to the lowest common denominator, they make buying new products a snap,
and by spending as much time on designing packaging as they do on the products themselves,
theyve ensured that the box matches whats inside.
As a result, theyve built an experience that is nearly impossible to match.

6. Build a Tribe
Its no secret that Apple has built one of the most hardcore fan bases of any product and of any time.
Theres a reason theyre called fanboys.

But who cares, right? Most of the chatter is out of jealousy more than anything, but Apple doesnt
really care. They know that they serve an elite audience, and rather than back away from that fact,
they embrace it.

7. Become The Name

You dont buy tissues, you buy Kleenex.


You dont buy MP3 players, you buy an iPod.
You dont buy a smartphone, you buy an iPhone.
Have you noticed what theyre doing here? Apple isnt content with being a leader in sales alone,
they want to own the market itself, which explains why theyve engineered iTunes as the major music
provider that it is, and why the iPad, having the luxury of being the first, has now set the trend for
future tablet devices.
From here on out, everything will be compared to the iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iTunes. Sadly, this sort
of thing is tough to duplicate, but its not impossible. You need to have one of two things:

1. A clear head start in terms of being first to market.


2. A USP that differentiates your product in a way that makes people wish it were first.
The iPhone wasnt the first phone, but they engineered it to be so unique that you couldnt help but
think it was. The iMac isnt the first all in one, but it became the only one that mattered.
Its not so much the marketing angle that matters as it is the way that people identify with that angle.
Take a look at any Steve Jobs product release and youll watch as he tells you why every other
product in the market pales in comparison to what hes created.
You know what? We believe him.

Telephone prehistory[edit]
Mechanical devices[edit]

A 19th century acoustic 'tin can', or'lover's' telephone

Before the invention of electromagnetic telephones, mechanical acoustic devices existed for
transmitting speech and music over a distance greater than that of normal direct speech. The
earliest mechanical telephones were based on sound transmission through pipes or other physical
media.[1] The highly similar acoustic tin can telephone, or lover's phone, has been known for
centuries. It connects two diaphragms with a taut string or wire, which transmits sound by
mechanical vibrations from one to the other along the wire (and not by a modulated electrical
current). The classic example is the children's toy made by connecting the bottoms of two paper
cups, metal cans, or plastic bottles with tautly held string. [1][2]
Among the earliest known experiments were those conducted by the British physicist and
polymath Robert Hooke from 1664 to 1685.[1][3] An acoustic string phone made in 1667 is attributed to
him.[4]
For a short period of time acoustic telephones were marketed commercially as a niche competitor to
the electrical telephone, as they preceded the latter's invention and didn't fall within the scope of its
patent protection. When Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent expired and many new
telephone manufacturers began competing for customers, acoustic telephone makers quickly went
out of business. Their maximum range was very limited, but hundreds of technical innovations,
resulting in about 300 patents, increased their range to approximately a half mile (800 m) or more
under ideal conditions.[2] An example of one such company was the Pulsion Telephone Supply
Company created by Lemuel Mellett in Massachusetts, which designed its version in 1888 and
deployed it on railroad right-of-ways.
Additionally, speaking tubes have long remained common, including a lengthy history within
buildings and aboard ships, and can still be found in use today.[5]

Electrical devices[edit]
Main article: Electrical telegraph

The telephone emerged from the making and successive improvements of the electrical telegraph.
In 1804 Catalanpolymath and scientist Francisco Salva Campillo constructed an electrochemical
telegraph.[6] An electromagnetic telegraphwas created by Baron Schilling in 1832. Carl Friedrich
Gau and Wilhelm Weber built another electromagnetic telegraph in 1833 in Gttingen.

Bell prototype telephone stamp


Centennial Issue of 1976

The first ever electrical telegraph was constructed by Sir William Fothergill Cookeand entered use on
the Great Western Railway in England. It ran for 13 mi (21 km) from Paddington station to West
Drayton and came into operation on April 9, 1839.
Another electrical telegraph was independently developed and patented in the United States in 1837
by Samuel Morse. His assistant, Alfred Vail, developed theMorse code signaling alphabet with
Morse. America's first telegram was sent by Morse on January 6, 1838, across 2 miles (3 km) of
wiring.
During the second half of the 19th century inventors tried to find ways of sending multiple telegraph
messages simultaneously over a single telegraph wire by using different modulated audio
frequencies for each message. These inventors includedCharles Bourseul, Thomas Edison, Elisha
Gray, and Alexander Graham Bell. Their efforts to develop acoustic telegraphy in order to
significantly reduce the price of telegraph messages led directly to the creation of the telephone,
the speaking telegraph.

Invention of the telephone[edit]


Main article: Invention of the telephone
Credit for the invention of the electric telephone is frequently disputed, and new controversies over
the issue have arisen from time-to-time. Charles Bourseul, Antonio Meucci, Johann Philipp
Reis, Alexander Graham Bell, and Elisha Gray, amongst others, have all been credited with the
telephone's invention. The early history of the telephone became and still remains a confusing
morass of claims and counterclaims, which were not clarified by the huge mass of lawsuits to
resolve the patent claims of many individuals and commercial competitors. The Bell and Edison
patents, however, were commercially decisive, because they dominated telephone technology and
were upheld by court decisions in the United States.

Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices.

Johann Philipp Reis, 1860, constructed prototype 'make-and-break' telephones, today


called Reis' telephones.

Alexander Graham Bellwas awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876.

Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water microphone in Highland Park, Illinois.

Tivadar Pusks invented the telephone switchboard exchange in 1876.

Thomas Edison, invented the carbon microphonewhich produced a strong telephone signal.

The modern telephone is the result of work of many people. [7] Alexander Graham Bell was, however,
the first to patent the telephone, as an "apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds
telegraphically". Bell has most often been credited as the inventor of the first practical telephone.
However, in Germany Johann Philipp Reis is seen as a leading telephone pioneer who stopped only
just short of a successful device, and as well the Italian-American inventor and businessman Antonio
Meucci has been recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives for his contributory work on the
telephone.[8] Several other controversies also surround the question of priority of invention for the
telephone.
The Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell telephone controversy considers the question of whether Bell
and Gray invented the telephone independently and, if not, whether Bell stole the invention from
Gray. This controversy is narrower than the broader question of who deserves credit for inventing the
telephone, for which there are several claimants.
The Canadian Parliamentary Motion on Alexander Graham Bell article reviews the controversial
June 2002 United States House of Representatives resolution recognizing Meucci's
contributions 'in' the invention of the telephone (not 'for' the invention of the telephone). The same
resolution was not passed in the U.S. Senate. thus labeling the House resolution as "political
rhetoric". A subsequent counter-motion was unanimously passed in Canada's Parliament 10 days
later which declared Bell its inventor. This webpage examines critical aspects of both the
parliamentary motion and the congressional resolution.

Invention of the telephone exchange[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (February 2013)
In the era of the electrical telegraph, post offices, railway stations, the more important governmental
centers (ministries), stock exchanges, very few nationally distributed newspapers, the largest
internationally important corporations and wealthy individuals were the principle users of such
telegraphs.[9] Despite the fact that telephone devices existed before the invention of the telephone
exchange, their success and economical operation would have been impossible on the
sameschema and structure of the contemporary telegraph. Prior to the invention of the telephone
exchange switchboard, early telephones were hardwired to and communicated with only a single
other telephone (such as from an individual's home to the person's business).
A telephone exchange is a telephone system located at service centers (central offices) responsible
for a small geographic area that provided the switching or interconnection of two or more individual
subscriber lines for calls made between them, rather than requiring direct lines between subscriber
stations. This made it possible for subscribers to call each other at homes, businesses, or public
spaces. These made telephony an available and comfortable communication tool for everyday use,
and it gave the impetus for the creation of a whole new industrial sector.
The telephone exchange was an idea of the Hungarian engineer Tivadar Pusks (1844 - 1893) in
1876, while he was working for Thomas Edison on a telegraph exchange.[10][11][12][13] The first
commercial telephone exchange in the world was opened at New Haven, Connecticut with 21
subscribers on 28 January 1878,[14] in a storefront of the Boardman Building in New Haven,
Connecticut. George W. Coy designed and built the world's first switchboard for commercial use.
Coy was inspired by Alexander Graham Bell's lecture at the Skiff Opera House in New Haven on 27
April 1877.[14]
In Bell's lecture, during which a three-way telephone connection with Hartford and Middletown was
demonstrated, he first discussed the idea of a telephone exchange for the conduct of business and
trade. On 3 November 1877, Coy applied for and received a franchise from the Bell Telephone
Company for New Haven and Middlesex Counties. Coy, along with Herrick P. Frost and Walter
Lewis, who provided the capital, established the District Telephone Company of New Haven on 15
January 1878.[14]
The switchboard built by Coy was, according to one source, constructed of "carriage bolts, handles
from teapot lids and bustle wire." According to the company records, all the furnishings of the office,
including the switchboard, were worth less than forty dollars. While the switchboard could connect as
many as sixty-four customers, only two conversations could be handled simultaneously and six
connections had to be made for each call.[14]

The District Telephone Company of New Haven went into operation with only twenty-one
subscribers, who paid $1.50 per month. By 21 February 1878, however, when the first telephone
directory was published by the company, fifty subscribers were listed. Most of these businesses and
listings such as physicians, the police, and the post office; only eleven residences were listed, four of
which were for persons associated with the company.[14]
The New Haven District Telephone Company grew quickly and was reorganized several times in its
first years. By 1880, the company had the right from the Bell Telephone Company to service all of
Connecticut and western Massachusetts. As it expanded, the company was first renamed
Connecticut Telephone, and then Southern New England Telephone in 1882.[14]The site of the first
telephone exchange was granted a designation as a National Historic Landmark on 23 April 1965.
However it was withdrawn in 1973 in order to demolish the building and construct a parking garage.
[14]

In 1887 Pusks introduced the multiplex switchboard, that had an epochal significance in the

further development of telephone exchange.[15]

Early telephone developments[edit]


Main article: Timeline of the telephone
The following is a brief summary of the history of the development of the telephone:

A French Gower telephone of 1912 at the Muse des Arts et Mtiers in Paris

1667: Robert Hooke invented a string telephone that conveyed sounds over an extended
wire by mechanical vibrations. It was to be termed an 'acoustic' or 'mechanical' (non-electrical)
telephone.

1753: Charles Morrison proposes the idea that electricity can be used to transmit messages,
by using different wires for each letter.[16]

1844: Innocenzo Manzetti first mooted the idea of a "speaking telegraph" (telephone).

1854: Charles Bourseul writes a memorandum on the principles of the telephone. (See the
article: "Transmission lectrique de la parole", L'Illustration, Paris, 26 August 1854.)

1854: Antonio Meucci demonstrates an electric voice-operated device in New York; it is not
clear what kind of device he demonstrated.

1861: Philipp Reis constructs the first speech-transmitting telephone

28 December 1871: Antonio Meucci files a patent caveat (No. 3353, a notice of intent to
invent, but not a formal patent application) at the U.S. Patent Office for a device he named
"Sound Telegraph".[17]

1872: Elisha Gray establishes Western Electric Manufacturing Company.

1 July 1875: Bell uses a bi-directional "gallows" telephone that was able to transmit "voicelike
sounds", but not clear speech. Both the transmitter and the receiver were identical membrane
electromagnet instruments.

1875: Thomas Edison experiments with acoustic telegraphy and in November builds an
electro-dynamic receiver, but does not exploit it.

1875: Hungarian Tivadar Puskas (the inventor of telephone exchange) arrived in the USA.

6 April 1875: Bell's U.S. Patent 161,739 "Transmitters and Receivers for Electric Telegraphs"
is granted. This uses multiple vibrating steel reeds in make-break circuits, and the concept of
multiplexed frequencies.

20 January 1876: Bell signs and notarizes his patent application for the telephone.

11 February 1876: Elisha Gray designs a liquid transmitter for use with a telephone, but does
not build one.

7 March 1876: Bell's U.S. patent No. 174,465 for the telephone is granted.

10 March 1876: Bell transmits the sentence: "Mr. Watson, come here! I want to see
you!" using a liquid transmitter and an electromagnetic receiver.

30 January 1877: Bell's U.S. patent No. 186,787 is granted for an electromagnetic telephone
using permanent magnets, iron diaphragms, and a call bell.

27 April 1877: Edison files for a patent on a carbon (graphite) transmitter. Patent No. 474,230
was granted on 3 May 1892, after a 15-year delay because of litigation. Edison was granted
patent No. 222,390 for a carbon granules transmitter in 1879.

6 October 1877: the Scientific American publishes the invention from Bell - at that time still
without a ringer.

25 October 1877: the article in the Scientific American is discussed at the Telegraphenamt in
Berlin

12 November 1877: The first commercial telehone company enters telephone business in
Friedrichsberg close to Berlin[18] using the Siemens pipe as ringer and telephone devices build by
Siemens.

1877: The first experimental Telephone Exchange in Boston.

1877: First long-distance telephone line

1877:Emile Berliner invented the telephone transmitter.

28 January 1878: The first commercial US telephone exchange opened in New Haven,
Connecticut.

1887: Tivadar Pusks introduced the multiplex switchboard.

1915: First U.S. coast-to-coast long-distance telephone call, ceremonially inaugurated by


A.G. Bell in New York City and his former assistant Thomas Augustus Watson in San Francisco,
California.
See also: History of telecommunication

Early commercial instruments[edit]


This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this
section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (January 2008)
Early telephones were technically diverse. Some used liquid transmitters which soon went out of
use. Some were dynamic: their diaphragms vibrated a coil of wire in the field of a permanent
magnet or vice versa. This kind survived in small numbers through the 20th century in military
and maritime applications where its ability to create its own electrical power was crucial. Most,
however, used Edison/Berliner carbon transmitters, which were much louder than the other

kinds, even though they required induction coils, actually acting as impedance
matching transformers to make it compatible to the line impedance. The Edison patents kept the
Bell monopoly viable into the 20th century, by which time telephone networks were more
important than the instrument.
Early telephones were locally powered, using a dynamic transmitter or else powering the
transmitter with a local battery. One of the jobs of outside plant personnel was to visit each
telephone periodically to inspect the battery. During the 20th century, "common battery"
operation came to dominate, powered by "talk battery" from the telephone exchange over the
same wires that carried the voice signals. Late in the century, wireless handsets brought a
revival of local battery power.
The earliest telephones had only one wire for both transmitting and receiving of audio, and used
a ground return path, as was found in telegraph systems. The earliest dynamic telephones also
had only one opening for sound, and the user alternately listened and spoke (rather, shouted)
into the same hole. Sometimes the instruments were operated in pairs at each end, making
conversation more convenient but also more expensive.

Historical marker commemorating the first telephone central office in New York State (1878)

At first, the benefits of a switchboard exchange were not exploited. Instead, telephones were
leased in pairs to the subscriber, for example one for his home and one for his shop, who must
arrange with telegraph contractors to construct a line between them. Users who wanted the
ability to speak to three or four different shops, suppliers etc. would obtain and set up three or
four pairs of telephones. Western Union, already using telegraph exchanges, quickly extended
the principle to its telephones in New York City and San Francisco, and Bell was not slow in
appreciating the potential.
Signaling began in an appropriately primitive manner. The user alerted the other end, or the
exchange operator, by whistling into the transmitter. Exchange operation soon resulted in
telephones being equipped with a bell, first operated over a second wire and later with the same
wire using a condenser. Telephones connected to the earliest Strowger automatic exchanges
had seven wires, one for the knife switch, one for each telegraph key, one for the bell, one for
the push button and two for speaking.

Rural and other telephones that were not on a common battery exchange had hand cranked
"magneto" generator to produce an alternating current to ring the bells of other telephones on
the line and to alert the exchange operator.
In 1877 and 1878, Edison invented and developed the carbon microphone used in all
telephones along with the Bell receiver until the 1980s. After protracted patent litigation, a
federal court ruled in 1892 that Edison and not Emile Berlinerwas the inventor of the carbon
microphone. The carbon microphone was also used in radio broadcasting and public address
work through the 1920s.

1896 Telephone (Sweden)

In the 1890s a new smaller style of telephone was introduced, the candlestick telephone,
packaged in three parts. The transmitter stood on a stand, known as a "candlestick" for its
shape, hence the name. When not in use, the receiver hung on a hook with a switch in it, known
as a "switchhook." Previous telephones required the user to operate a separate switch to
connect either the voice or the bell. With the new kind, the user was less likely to leave the
phone "off the hook". In phones connected to magneto exchanges, the bell, induction coil,
battery, and magneto were in a separate bell box called a "ringer box." In phones connected to
common battery exchanges, the ringer box was installed under a desk, or other out of the way
place, since it did not need a battery or magneto.
Cradle designs were also used at this time, having a handle with the receiver and transmitter
attached, separate from the cradle base that housed the magneto crank and other parts. They
were larger than the "candlestick" and more popular.
Disadvantages of single wire operation such as crosstalk and hum from nearby AC power wires
had already led to the use oftwisted pairs and, for long distance telephones, four-wire circuits.
Users at the beginning of the 20th century did not placelong distance calls from their own
telephones but made an appointment to use a special sound proofed long distancetelephone
booth furnished with the latest technology.

Around 1893, the country leading the world in telephones per 100 persons (teledensity) was
Sweden with 0.55 in the whole country but 4 in Stockholm (10,000 out of a total of 27,658
subscribers).[19] This compares with 0.4 in USA for that year.[20]Telephone service in Sweden
developed through a variety of institutional forms: the International Bell Telephone Company(a
U.S. multinational), town and village co-operatives, the General Telephone Company of
Stockholm (a Swedish private company), and the Swedish Telegraph Department (part of the
Swedish government). Since Stockholm consists of islands, telephone service offered relatively
large advantages, but had to use submarine cables extensively. Competition between Bell
Telephone and General Telephone, and later between General Telephone and the Swedish
Telegraph Dept., was intense.
In 1893, the U.S. was considerably behind Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Norway in
teledensity. The U.S. became the world leadership in teledensity with the rise of many
independent telephone companies after the Bell patents expired in 1893 and 1894.

20th century developments[edit]

Old Receiver schematic, c.1906

A German rotary dial telephone, theW48

Top of cellular telephone tower

By 1904 over three million phones in the U.S.[21] were connected by manual switchboard
exchanges. By 1914, the U.S. was the world leader in telephone density and had more than
twice the teledensity of Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Norway. The relatively good
performance of the U.S. occurred despite competing telephone networks not interconnecting. [22]
What turned out to be the most popular and longest lasting physical style of telephone was
introduced in the early 20th century, including Bell's model 102 telephone. A carbon granule
transmitter and electromagnetic receiver were united in a single molded plastic handle, which
when not in use were placed in a cradle in the base unit. The circuit diagram[23] of the model 102
shows the direct connection of the receiver to the line, while the transmitter was induction
coupled, with energy supplied by a local battery. The coupling transformer, battery, and ringer
were in a separate enclosure from the desk set. The rotary dial in the base interrupted the line
current by repeatedly but very briefly disconnecting the line 1 to 10 times for each digit, and the
hook switch (in the center of the circuit diagram) permanently disconnected the line and the
transmitter battery while the handset was on the cradle.
Starting in the 1930s, the base of the telephone also enclosed its bell and induction coil,
obviating a separate ringer box. Power was supplied to each subscriber line by central office
batteries instead of the user's local battery which required periodic service. For the next half
century, the network behind the telephone grew progressively larger and much more efficient,
and after the rotary dial was added the instrument itself changed little until Touch-Tone signaling
started replacing the rotary dial in the 1960s.
The history of mobile phones can be traced back to two-way radios permanently installed in
vehicles such as taxicabs, police cruisers, railroad trains, and the like. Later versions such as
the so-called transportables or "bag phones" were equipped with a cigarette lighter plug so that
they could also be carried, and thus could be used as either mobile two-way radios or as
portable phones by being patched into the telephone network.

In December 1947, Bell Labs engineers Douglas H. Ring and W. Rae Young proposed
hexagonal cell transmissions for mobile phones.[24] Philip T. Porter, also of Bell Labs, proposed
that the cell towers be at the corners of the hexagons rather than the centers and have
directional antennas that would transmit/receive in 3 directions (see picture at right) into 3
adjacent hexagon cells.[25][26] The technology did not exist then and the radio frequencies had not
yet been allocated. Cellular technology was undeveloped until the 1960s, when Richard H.
Frenkiel and Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs developed the electronics.
On 3 April 1973 Motorola manager Martin Cooper placed a cellular phone call (in front of
reporters) to Dr. Joel S. Engel, head of research at AT&T's Bell Labs. This began the era of the
handheld cellular mobile phone.
Meanwhile the 1956 inauguration of the TAT-1 cable and later international direct dialing were
important steps in putting together the various continental telephone networks into a global
network.
Cable television companies began to use their fast-developing cable networks, with ducting
under the streets of the United Kingdom, in the late 1980s, to provide telephony services in
association with major telephone companies. One of the early cable operators in the UK, Cable
London, connected its first cable telephone customer in about 1990.

Women's usage in the 20th century[edit]


The telephone was instrumental to modernization and labour. It aided in the development of
suburbs and the separation of homes and businesses, but also became the reason for the
separation between women occupying the private sphere and men in the public sphere. [27] This
would continue to isolate women and the home.
Women were regarded as the most frequent users of the telephone. As a means of liberation, it
enabled women to work in the telecommunications sector as receptionists and operators. The
autonomy was celebrated as women were able to develop new relationships and nurture preexisting ones in their private lives. Social relations are essential in the access and usage of
telephone networks.
Both historically and presently, women are predominantly responsible for the phone calls that
bridge the public and private sphere, such as calls regarding doctors appointments and
meetings.[28] This emphasizes the telephones impact on the social lives of women in the
domestic sphere, reducing both isolation and insecurity.

21st century developments[edit]


See also: IP telephony

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this
section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (February 2013)
Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, also known as Internet telephony or Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP), is a disruptive technology that is rapidly gaining ground against traditional
telephone network technologies. In Japan and South Korea up to 10% of subscribers switched
to this type of telephone service as of January 2005.
IP telephony uses a broadband Internet service to transmit conversations as data packets. In
addition to replacing the traditional plain old telephone service (POTS) systems, IP telephony
also competes with mobile phone networks by offering free or lower cost service
via WiFi hotspots. VoIP is also used on private wireless networks which may or may not have a
connection to the outside telephone network.

Apple Reports Record First Quarter Results


Highest-ever revenue & earnings drive 48% increase in EPS
Growth led by record revenue from iPhone, Mac & App Store
CUPERTINO, CaliforniaJanuary 27, 2015Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2015
first quarter ended December 27, 2014. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion
and record quarterly net profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share. These results compare to
revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago
quarter. Gross margin was 39.9 percent compared to 37.9 percent in the year-ago quarter.
International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarters revenue.
The results were fueled by all-time record revenue from iPhone and Mac sales as well as record
performance of the App Store. iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million also set a new record.
Wed like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar
to an all-time high, said Tim Cook, Apples CEO. Our revenue grew 30 percent over last year to $74.6
billion, and the execution by our teams to achieve these results was simply phenomenal.
Our exceptional results produced EPS growth of 48 percent over last year, and $33.7 billion in
operating cash flow during the quarter, an all-time record, said Luca Maestri, Apples CFO. We spent
over $8 billion on our capital return program, bringing total returns to investors to almost $103 billion,
over $57 billion of which occurred in just the last 12 months.
Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2015 second quarter:

revenue between $52 billion and $55 billion


gross margin between 38.5 percent and 39.5 percent
operating expenses between $5.4 billion and $5.5 billion
other income/(expense) of $350 million
tax rate of 26.3 percent

Apples board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.47 per share of the Companys common
stock. The dividend is payable on February 12, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of
business on February 9, 2015.
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2015 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m.
PST on January 27, 2015 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq115. This webcast will also be
available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the
Companys estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), and tax
rate. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and
uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the
Companys reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the
Companys products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company
to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and
technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions,

changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Companys
gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Companys need to order or commit to order
product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or
at all, of certain components and services essential to the Companys business currently obtained by
the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Companys dependency on
manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or
cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Companys international
operations; the Companys reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the
potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of
others; the Companys dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of
the Companys products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the
Companys sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and
employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could
disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of other legal proceedings.
More information on potential factors that could affect the Companys financial results is included from
time to time in the Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations sections of the Companys public reports filed with the SEC, including the
Companys Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2014, and its Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended December 27, 2014 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and
professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store.
Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the
future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

NEWS ANALYSIS: Microsoft Windows Phone 8 is launching soon. And the software
giants mobile operating system might just be more popular than its predecessor.
Microsofts Windows Phone 8 was announced back in June and immediately made an
impression. The operating system, which will launch later this year, comes with a host of
improvements, including a better Start screen, near-field communication support and
new mapping features that are designed to help folks not only find out where theyre
going, but also locate points of interest.
Microsoft expects Windows Phone 8 to perform even better on the market than its
predecessor. Of course, thats not all that difficult. Customers who found more to like in
Apples iPhone and Android largely ignored Windows Phone 7. Windows Phone 8,
therefore, has put Microsoft at a crossroads. Either the operating system will drive
Microsoft to success or push it even farther down the mobile ladder.
So far, it appears that Windows Phone 8 might just help Microsoft achieve success. The
operating system is by no means perfect and it too early to tell how well Windows 8
devices will actually sell, but as of this writing, it appears to be a winner.
Read on to find out why Windows Phone 8 could be a success when it launches later
this year.
1. The home page is a great improvement
Microsoft delivered a new Start screen with Windows Phone 8 that allows for easy
control of tiles and the ability to see more information in the opening pane. With the new
addition, it should make it much easier for users to navigate and find information.
2. Vendors are lining up
Vendors are quite happy to jump on the Windows Phone 8 bandwagon. At IFA in Berlin,
Samsung announced its first Windows Phone 8 device. Nokia is expected to offer up its
own handsets running the operating system next week. Others will follow soon. Vendors
are lining up to get their hands on Windows Phone 8.
3. The Samsung case will help
Apples victory over Samsung could be a boon for Windows Phone 8. The victory could
make Samsung warm a bit more to Microsoft and Windows Phone and prompt other
Android vendors to at least consider the Microsofts mobile OS to hedge their market
bets. Believe it or not, Microsoft might prove to be the largest benefactor of Apples
$1.05 billion victory over Samsung.
4. Nokia is still a threat
Nokia might be down, but its definitely not out. And the companys brand is still valued
quite highly among consumers in emerging markets. Considering that Nokia and
Microsoft are bedfellows with Windows Phone, its possible that the companys

handsets could help Windows Phone 8.


5. Microsofts control is important
Microsoft has made the smart decision, like Apple, to fully control the design of its
operating system. By doing so, it curtails the varied experiences customers get in the
Android ecosystem where multiple editions of operating system run concurrently on
different phone models. It also allows Microsoft to maintain stronger security, since it
controls the code. Its a smart idea.
6. The designs look solid
When it comes to design, both Microsoft and its vendor partners appear to be spot-on.
The operating system is well-built, easy to navigate and seems to anticipate user
demands. Samsungs Windows Phone 8-based device, the ATIV S, is downright
beautiful. Its nice to see Microsoft and its vendors partners actually go for strong design
for once.
7. The apps are coming
Although Microsoft got off to a late start with mobile apps, the company has quickly
made some inroads. As more people buy Windows Phone, therell be a much better
chance of its platform catching up to Google Play and Apples App Store. Its not always
considered, but apps and the growth of application marketplaces is extremely important.
8. Its nice to see new mapping
Microsofts new mapping features in Windows Phone 8 could very well be its best
addition. Thanks to help from Nokias mapping services, the operating system will now
offer built-in turn-by-turn navigation in many countries, more detailed maps, and the
ability to store those maps offline. In some ways Windows Phone 8s mapping is better
than anything Apple or Google are offering in their own operating systems.
9. A similar view across operating systems
Microsoft has made the smart decision to deliver a very similar experience across
Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. By doing so, it might be able to attract more
Windows 8 customers to its mobile operating system, since theyll feel right at home
with its design. Windows 8 might just be the Trojan horse Microsoft is counting onand
everyone is forgetting about.
10. Strong NFC integration
The future of the mobile market resides with near-field communication. That technology,
which allows for mobile products to wireless communicate with other devices, is a key
component in Windows Phone 8. According to Microsoft, users will be able to make
mobile payments and use the NFC features built into its operating system for a host of

other uses. Itll be a nice addition.


source:eweek

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