[3] Thus the outlook of the US’s economy is significant important for the future of the company. This part will focus on the discussion of the country’s GDP growth and monthly CPI change to understand the future economic prospect.
The global and U.S. economies correlations between each other are very strong. In most of the cases, it is the U.S. economy is driving the global growth. Chart 2.3 is a US GDP annual percentage change; it shows that the US economy was suffering a continuous slow down since 2005. It is estimated by IMF that the US GDP growth in 2008 is only 0.5 percent, down 77.3% compared with 2007.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce), IMF
To make things even worse, the economists believe that the U.S. economy has entered into a recession period considering its fourth-quarter GDP growth of only 0.6 percent in the last year and an unnerving job loss in January, the biggest since 2003.[4] The reason for such slow down is not only because of the financial market crisis but also the growing inflation. From chart 2.4, it can be seen that the US CPI month percent change has increased from 4.3% in January 2008 to 5% in July this year.
Source: Bureau of Labour Statistics (U.S. Department of Labour)
In conclusion, it is reasonable to predict that the U.S. market will shrink under the shadow of a great recession. Such circumstances will make a mountainous negative influence on both computer sales and other investment which the company is about to produce this year.
2.3 Euro Area and UK Economy
The gather sales of Apple in Euro zone contain 22.74% of its total in 2007. Traditionally, Apple’s products are welcomed by most of the Europeans by its unique innovation and product features. The Euro Area GDP growth, however, is expected by IMF to go down to 1.4 percent in year 2008[5]. The reason for such decrease is believed to be mainly affected by the US economy since there is a immense tie between the two economies. Besides, the increasing inflation in these Europe countries is also affecting its growth.
UK is one of the major economies in the Euro zone and it is also a very distinguished market for Apple Inc. Like any other major European countries, Britain’s economy is closely related to the United States. The tiring, down of US economy in the recent years is already making Britain suffers from a low rate of growth. Besides, UK’s internal market’s demand is also decreasing. Studies found by IMF suggests that Britain’s GDP growth is expected to go down from 3.1 in 2007 to 1.6 in 2008 as it is showing in chart 2.5.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook 2008, PP242
At the same time, the UK’s CPI has gone up sharply this year. Chart 2.6 shows that the CPI monthly percent change has increased from 2.2% at the beginning of this year to 3.8% in June. Along with the impact of global credit crisis, it is reported that the bursting of UK’s housing bubble has also caused many internal problem of its economy. According to Halifax, Britain’s housing price has dropped by 9 percent since August 2007.[6] Since the UK’s retail businesses are going down and consumer confidence is falling, it is difficult to image how consumers will be likely to spend for their recent iPod this year.
Source: Office for National Statistics (UK Statistics Authority)
2.4 Japanese Economy
Japan has only taken 5% of Apple’s 2007 total net revenues; it may have dinky influence on the company. Here the discussion on this country is exiguous since the country’s economy condition has been kept going worse for a long period of time. According to IMF, the Japanese GDP will continue to go down from 2.1 in 2007 to 1.4 in 2008.[7] Under the global economy influence and the domestic low consumption needs. The Japanese economy is still far from recover.
To Apple, the Japanese market, unlike any others, has a much more competitive market situation along with a reducing demand. The local company, such as Sony, has already launched similar products, such as carefully designed PC, portable music device and mobile phone, in compete with Apple. The company will be difficult to increase its sales in Japan this year.
2.6 Conclusion
The above macro economy analysis shows that the world economy is depressed and facing a tall recession in year 2008. These facts will lead consumers find themselves with less disposable or discretionary income which will eventually cause them not to employ worthy consumption on luxury products[8]. Companies such as Apple will be largely influenced by the reluctant consumption needs. However, Apple has better positioned itself in the market; the introduction of new iPhone with a relatively cheap price is reflecting a very good sales strategy to accelerate consumption. Apple has successfully sustained a better profit rate in the last three years despite global economy slow down. We beget it may continue to do so in this year. However, there is no company can always increase its profit while the national GDP is decreasing.
Chapter 3 Industry Analysis
3.1 Introduction
Apple has expanded its products range from computer to software, portable music scheme and mobile phone since it changed its name from Apple Computer Inc to Apple Inc. However, chart 3.1 shows that Apple’s Mac computer takes up 42% of the company’s 2007 net sales. This indicates that the computer hardware manufacture business is dominating Apple’s business.
Source: Apple 10K FY2007 Annual Relate PP 42
Further more, iPod is almost a monopoly in the portable music device market and iPhone only takes up 1% of the total net sales in 2007. For analyse purpose, the industry analysis share will be focused on the computer industry. Only companies which are doing computer business will be discussed in both the industry overview and Porter’s five analyses. It is believed that such narrow in analysing the company’s industry is more accurate and effective by the author.
3.2 Industry Overview
According to a technology research firm Gartner Inc, it forecasted that the PC sales will reach 297 million units in 2008 while the 2007 sales figure are 264 million units[9]. Despite the global economic recession, global PC sales growth is in a marvelous rate. Compared with last year, it is a 12.5% growth. The growth is believed to be a combination of improvements in both technology and design for the laptops, and the laptops are becoming the driving forces of PC sales, according to Market Watch.
However, the global computer industry’s competition is also very intensifying. According to another market research firm, IDC, the world’s top five PC vendors are including HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba.[10] Although Apple did not step into either of the vast five, it has successfully gained a third place in the U.S. PC vendor market in the second quarter of 2008. From chart 3.2, it can be found that Apple’s market share is 8.5% in US. This result is even higher than two of the top five world players rated in 2007.
Source: ExtremeTech.com ‘Apple Climbs Into Third Place in U.S. PC Market’,
July 17, 2008
3.3 Porters’ Five Forces Analysis
The Five forces analysis can be used to identify the most essential aspects of competition in the consumer electronic industry; it was first developed by Michael Porter at the Harvard Business School (Porter 1980). It consists five parts of major forces to explain the structure of competition in an industry, which are the intensity of rivalry among existing firms, the threat of new entry, the threat of substitutes, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers.
3.3.1 Rivalry among existing firms
The PC and portable music player markets are two most important market segments for Apple Inc. These are all well developed and highly competitive markets. Firms enthusiastic in this market are all big names, such as Dell, HP Compaq, Gateway, and Apple. The competition has driven the PC ticket down which eventually hurt the profit of everyone in this market. However, Apple has sustained a better market position by continuing invest in R&D. Its name and innovative construct has long been attracting customers which helped Apple to gain a higher trace for its product.
Apple’s portable music player is facing very little competition since it is controlling the most innovative design and technology in its product. Their products are now almost dominating this market. It is reported that iPod and its related products take up 58 percent of market shares compared with Sony Walkman’s 23 percent market share even in the Japanese market.[11]
3.3.2 Threat of Modern Entrants
The personal computer market is a very well established market with very large companies in it, such as Dell, HP Compaq, and Lenovo. There are basically two considerable barriers for new entries which are extremely difficult to obtain. First, the begin up of such a company requires an enormous capital investment. The large economies of scale and price war in the personal computer market require new firms to hold a massive investment to keep itself active in comparing heed and technology strength with others. Second, the giant firms in the PC market are all having its own copyright for patents and technologies which made new entries difficult to follow.
The big names either protect them from others or asked the new entries to pay a copy right fee to do so. If they don’t want to buy it from the exiting firms, the company needs to invest in Research and Development to develop their own. However, such technology reach requires not only a great capital investment but also a long time period.
3.3.3 Threat of Substitute Products
Apple’s products are full of competition. Its computer and iPod player are a rapidly growing industry among the market. Companies like Lenovo, Thinkpad uses different series of its product to hide different kinds of needs towards customers. For example, the R Series of ThinkPad is for everyday computing, T series has a premier performance, X series has a Thinnest and lightest feature for business travellers.[12] Dell also specified its product for different user purpose, such as solutions for Home, Small & Medium Business, Sizable Business, Public Sector, Partners.[13] All this can be seen as a substitute of Apple’s computer products since it almost section the same feature with Apple’s product range.
However, Apple has sustained a better state by offering consumers a different operating system, OSX Operating Systems, while others rely on Microsoft Windows Operating Systems. The OSX Operating Systems is wholly owned by Apple. It means Apple can differ the software packages and overall functionality from the other companies. The unique feature of its product also helped Apple to obtain a greater valid from users. It enables Apple’s product stay in an innovative and brand conscious among various competitors. In the other face, such unique operating system has diminutive Apple with some other targeting consumers who are familiar with Microsoft’s Windows operating system. These customers may found it is unnecessary for them to give up a well established habit to follow another note modern system.
For the portable music market, Apple’s iPod, which is based on hard-disk, is inevitably facing a massive competition. There are many alternatives for consumers to choose, such as Sony’s mp3 and other flash memory featured is an alternative for iPod. However, Apple’s product has a better storage and design compared with the Sony’s mp3. Other portable music procedure such as radio, CD player is not in comparable with iPod, because iPod is the leading technology and brand in the current market. But these products are always cheap and easy to be found in the market while iPod is only available in some big town or over internet, which is quite limited to cover the majority of potential customers.
Since iPod is taking a big section of the portable music market, it can be concluded that it faces little competition compared with the computer piece. However, Apple may experience difficulties in keeping its unique feature in the market without a spacious price advantage in the future.
3.3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyer
Apple’s OSX Operating System is the only alternative operating systems available for spend if consumers want to avoid using Microsoft products. This enables Apple to nick the bargaining power of buyers, since there are no other options for the buyers if they prefer to use the products from Apple. At the same time, Apple had actually restrained itself from opening the system to other PC manufactures. It is still argued by some analyst that the reason for Apple not to be as big as Microsoft is mainly because they did not give the copyright of their operating systems to other firms.[14]
All the products of Apple have been retailed by many ways to the whole world market at the same time with almost an identical price. By adopting such marketing strategy, the number of products sold during the new products launch is always pretty high. For example, Apple had sold 270,000 units of the newly launched iPhone 3G in its first week.[15] It is estimated that Apple will sell 5.1 million units in its fiscal fourth quarter, according to Mike Abramsky, of RBC Capital Markets. The popularity of Apple’s products will effectively affect the buying volume of its products and leave very little bargaining power of buyer. Especially the Online store and dispute stores worldwide have consistently helped Apple to earn sale in an efficient time manner.
3.3.5 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Apple has been obtaining supplies from a large number of vendors to assemble its products[16]. In most of the cases, Apple does not only use a single supplier but a number of them. For example, Apple’s computer storage devices including brands like Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Western Digital, and Seagate. By having a verity of choices to decide which components to chose, Apple is able to negotiate the product more efficiently. This strategy will also enable Apple away from a sudden short of certain components.
However, some key components are always difficult to maintain if manufactures decided to produce the common products instead of the customized one. The Intel® microprocessors are an example of how Apple is trying to keep this customized supply.[17] Based on efficient communication with the vendor, Apple uses product introduction plans, strategic inventories, coordinated product introductions, internal and external manufacturing schedules and levels to ensure the availability of such components.[18] It has been proved to be an efficient method for both sides. By customizing key components, Apple’s products are more flexible in terms of size and weight which gives them a better position in the market place.
3.4 Conclusion
There are certain limitations for five forces analysis. It can not give a certain prediction of sure industry but a record of it. Because the assumption is focusing mainly on computer industry, products like iPhone are not considered during the analysis. This might be giving an inaccurate explain of the competition picture of Apple Inc.
Nevertheless, the above analysis showed that the computer industry is very competitive. Besides, due to the expect recession of world economy and inflation across the world, the performance of the business can be worse this year. Both of the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers are comparatively strong despite Apple’s inconvenience to increase its bargaining power. The constant price war and quick innovation in the personal computer industry has made companies become more and more difficult to get abnormal earnings. Apple is not likely to keep its high profits due to this constrain in the advance future.
Chapter 4 Brand Valuation
4.1 Introduction
“If this business were split up, I would give you the land and bricks and mortar, and I would take the brands and trademarks, and I would fare better than you”[19]
John Stewart (Former CEO of Quaker)
Trace value is an intellectual property that every business holds. It is regarded almost the same as the value of plant and machinery today. However, the values of such ‘intangible assets’ are very unstable compared with the above normal physically existed. Today, there are many arguments on the impact of brand valuation to a High-Tech firm’s value. Apple’s imagination, innovation and differentiation brand name and other trade marks have produced far more value for the company. According to chart 4.1, Apple’s brand value has increased from 9,130 million US dollars to 11,037 US million dollars, and has been listed in the top 100 price name companies in 2007 by Interbrand. It is a 21% increase in such intangible assets to Apple Inc.
Chart 4.1 Apple’s Imprint Value
Source: Interbrand, Best Global Brands 2007
At the same time, Apple’s intangible asset has more than doubled from year 2006 to 2007 according to their balance sheet. Thus it is valuable to understand the valuation process of such brand name. This literature review is dilapidated to get to know the various ways to measure a firm’s brand value in order to get a clearer represent of Apple’s trace value.
4.2 Literature Review
4.2.1 Background of Notice Valuation
Although impress valuation has been studied by John Murphy since 1989, but there is relatively few studies can be found in this area. Because the valuation of brand is not an exact science, it usually involves some exercising of so called professional judgment. The judgment is dependent on three very separate areas, including the law, accountancy and finance, and Marketing. Ideally, According to John Murphy (1989), any brand valuation methodology must have fervent the following three concepts:
* “follow fundamental accounting concepts
* allow for revaluation on a regular basis
* be estimable for both own-developed and acquired brands”[20]
The most celebrated brand valuation methodology till now was developed by a brand consultancy firm, named Interbrand. The company had published the first of its study for brands valuation in 1990; the book is named
World’s Top Brands. Interbrand’s scrutinize on brand valuation is very popular in the US, Europe and Australia. It is often applied when dealing with mergers and acquisitions, brand strategy development and brand licensing, fund-raising in these geographic areas.[21]
Interbrand believes that the value of a brand is mainly dependent on its economic assist. They use five steps to approach the intrinsic value of a brand. As it can be found on graph 4.2, this valuation methodology is including segmentation, financial analysis, demand analysis, price strength analysis, and the calculation of net present value of the brand earnings respectively.[22]
Graph 4.2 Interbrand’s Tag Valuation Steps
Sources: www.interbrand.com
The segmentation of the brand step is the first step, it is to put the sign into a product category and then geographically separate the product by different features. Graph 4.3 shows an example of how brand segmentation works. During the step in financial analysis, the map is focusing on the brand earning and uses Economic Value Added (EVA)[23] to determine it. The role of brand index (RBI)[24] and Brand Strength Score (BSS) [25]will then be calculated in the following two steps. Based on a five years earning forecast, the final NPV value will be calculated by assuming a discount factor. An example can be found in appendix 3. This final value will show the intrinsic value of a brand.
Graph 4.3 Brand Segmentation
Sources: www.interbrand.com
Generally speaking, there are three methods in valuing an ‘intangible asset’, which is including cost, earnings and market advance. The Interbrand’s valuation methodology can be considered as an earning arrive in valuing notice names. Economically, the value of a sign name or trade sign would be related to the loss in profit when such name is not allowed to be in spend for the current holder.[26] This method can be considered as a cost based method to value a note. Market value of a brand is through reference to market transactions involving similar brand names.[27]
4.2.2 Are Brand Valuation Matter When Valuing High-Tech Companies?
High-Tech companies often have a higher value for its designate name, such as Microsoft, Apple and Dell. These are all among the top 100 brand name of 2007 according to Interbrand’s report. A proper valuation model is important to understand why the values of such companies are so high.
The Interbrand’s valuation methodology is the most practical one as it has already adopted by industries. It measures the impress by its earning ability rather than a pure assumption. As long as the brand and trade marks are providing an extra income to the company, it is reasonable to recognize a value on the price.
However, many companies are quite reluctant while listing their brand values to their balance sheet. Even more, most of the accounting regulations in the world does not recognize brand name and trade marks as an asset in the balance sheet. Another reason is due to the unstable of brand value. For example, an air service company’s brand value can be simply destroyed by one single air atomize.
4.3 Conclusion
Although a company’s brand value can be measured according to the above mentioned three methods. There are mild some obstacles in these brand valuation. The most distinct one is that it has quite different results when applying with different valuation methods.[28] Second, all of the measurements are based on some assumptions stated by those professional rather than industry standards. For example, the Interbrand’s valuation is dependent on a assumption that the company will grow forever with a ratio sometimes even higher than the national GDP growth. Thrid, stamp value is a very unstable value, once the products of the company are found unhealthy to human beings, like the iPod case (mentioned in the company analysis), the value of the price and trade marks will become a nightmare for business.
Chapter 5 Company Analysis
5.1 Introduction
This chapter is a business study of Apple Inc itself. It will be started by a brief discussion of the company’s corporate governance and business strategy. Then, the PEST and SWOT analysis will be added to derive an opinion of the company’s business environment and future growing opportunity. In the last part, Apple’s financial situation, such as profitability, cash flow management, investment ratio will be discussed.
5.2 Corporate Governance
According from Apple’s webpage, the corporate governance fragment, Apple said, it conducts its business with ethically, honestly manner and in full compliance with all laws and regulations.[29] Apple requires not only all the member of its staff but also the business partner it deals with to have a high ethical standards. This business attitude is considered to be a key component to the success of Apple Inc.
There are currently seven members in the company’s Board of Directors. Their paramount duty is to oversee the CEO and other senior management staff’s operation. The Board of Directors consists of three committees, which are including Nominating and Governance Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, Compensation Committee. The existing of these three committees will help to ensure the company’s daily management. All of its members have met with the criteria for independence established by the NASDAQ Stock market. This is quite typical as a public listed corporation in the United States. It can be found from the company’s competitors who fraction some identical committees.
Michael Bush (2008) has wrote that the connection between Apple and Steve Jobs is unlike any other brand and CEO relationship in the US or even the whole world, Apple’s success is mainly contributed from this man’s wisdom and technological innovation.[30] Steven P. Jobs is one of the directors and Chief Executive Officer of the company. He is also a co-founder of Apple Inc. Mr. Jobs re-joined Apple in 1997 and his continued leadership is considered to be critical to Apple. Since he re-joined Apple, Mr. Jobs entire compensation is only $1 annual salary. However, Apple has awarded him with a grant of 5 million shares of restricted stock in March 2003 and an aircraft as an executive bonus in 1999. Apple’s Mix of Equity, Cash Incentives and Salary compensation policy is effective in attracting entrepreneurial, creative executives and promoting the management’s long-term commitment to Apple.
5.3 Business Strategy Analysis
5.3.1 General Business Analysis
Apple is a leading company in the personal computer industry. It is the only company which controls both the operating system and hardware of personal computer. Now it has expanded its market to not only personal computing, portable digital music but also mobile communication equipment and its related computer software. This business strategy has enabled Apple to have greater economies of scale to compete with other companies. William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder (2005) said in its economics book that the production relationships with economies of scale lead to long-run average cost curves that decline as output expands.[31] Apple has been constantly invested in research and development to deliver its unique innovative products and technologies with a rapid update.
The company is aimed to bring the best available digital life to students, educators, creative professionals, business, government agencies, and consumers.[32] Digital lifestyle is a new concept built just after computer came into our society. It brings an ease and comfort lifestyle to consumers.[33] Apple sells its product via several distribution methods, including but not limited to retail stores, online stores and exclusive contractors worldwide. The company has been increasing the number of its retail stores year on year worldwide. According sources from its company’s webpage, it has over 200 retail stores worldwide now. All of these are located in the traffic centre and give Apple a greater image to publics. It believes that such direct contact with targeted customers is an efficient way to communicate with.
The author also paid a visit to one of Apple’s Stores in Edinburgh. Unlike other computer store, Apple’s store enable a greater function to consumers, it brings not only the real product but also the all the necessary function to its potential customers. For example, the author has tried to watch Youtube[34] from iPhone in Apple’s Edinburgh store while others do not normally enable internet function with its products in stores. The author believes such experience helped him to finally purchase one of their products in the store.
5.3.2 Competitive Business Analysis
Apple’s competitive strategy is, however, not focused on the cost-leadership as most of its competitors are all trying to reduce both the cost and price. The company paid more attention on the differentiation strategy since the market is tubby of identical products. Its unique operating system, Mac OS X, accompanied with powerful graphics and audio technologies, plus the customized components, it enables Apple to give its customers a completely different experience compared with other low-cost computer.
More important, Apple has created itself with an image as the industry leader in technology innovation, and had technology fans all over the world. The name of its brand, a multi-colour apple logo, has became an unmistakable icon and famous for its innovative products and popular designs. Further more, the recent introduced mobile device, iPhone, is believed to be the next generation of its kind. This is an example of how innovation changed the way business organized. All the other companies are all seem busy to catch up with the path of Apple.
5.4 PEST Analysis
5.4.1 Introduction
With the help of PEST analysis, it is possible to gain an understanding of Apple’s business potential, future market situation and the direction of its operation. The political, economic, social and technological factors are four components of PEST analysis. Considering the PEST analysis is powerful and covering lots of factors in identifying SWOT factors, the SWOT analysis will be simplified in the next part to show a graph recount of the list of factors involved in both of the above analysis.
5.4.2 Political Factors
Apple’s business operation is currently performed all over the world. According to Chart 2.2 (it can be found from page 8 of this dissertation), there are around 52% of the company’s net sales in 2007 coming from countries outside America.[35] War, terrorism, geopolitical uncertainties, public health issues may affect the company’s business greatly. All these events are far beyond the company’s ability to control.
Further more, Apple has outsourced its components, product manufacturing, transportation and logistics management to many third-party manufactures to lower operating costs. Many of these third-party manufactures are located outside the U.S.A. For example, the final assembly of the company’s products is being performed in countries such as Cork, Ireland, Korea, China and Czech Republic.[36] The manufacturing or logistics in these countries might be interrupted by political events. Once it is delayed by such political events, Apple may not be able to deliver its products to its customers on time. Such events will damage the credit image of the company to both consumers and retailers.
5.4.3 Economic Factors
The overall global economy outlook is not as good for this and the following. The raise of oil and food prices has lead inflation to the world economy while the consumers’ income has not been much reduced. Since consumers are also facing a greater risk of being unemployed, it will push them to exhaust less in consuming luxuries goods, like update their current computer or to buy a current iPhone. This will have a quite big influence on Apple’s retail business.
The exchange rate between dollars and other currencies like euro and pounds sterling has fallen sharply since the credit crunch and the housing market problem in the US. The following chart 5.1 tells the weakening of the dollars against the euro as of 4-July-2008.
Chart 5.1: USD to EUR
Source: yahoo.com
Considering the US economy will continue going down this year, the exchange rate might be falling further down. However, Apple has used foreign exchange forward and option positions to hedge the currency movement’s risk. The forward and option position means Apple has purchased its foreign currency in a fixed price well ahead they actually receive such income. The adverse effect of the exchange movements can be minimized by such financial instruments. Indeed, the continual depreciation of the US currency had increased Apple’s revenue and other receivables in the overseas market so far.
5.4.4 Social Factors
Health safety and environmental protection are becoming more and more an important issue in countries which the company is operating its business. A variety of regulations and laws may adversely affect the company’s financial condition and operating results by requiring a great disposal or recycling of Apple’s products. Particularly, there are now various countries within Europe and Asia, certain Canadian provinces and clear states within the U.S adopting such regulations to against companies like Apple Inc.[37] Certain products of the company is actually face health issues because of the invent scrape. It is reported that the improper expend of iPod may lead to hearing loss for users.[38]
5.4.5Technology Factors
The market for PC, portable music player, mobile phone and other consumer electronic products are subject to not only huge competition but also fast technological changes. The short product life, frequent introduction of new products and the continual improvement in product performance and design requires the company to continue invest in the research and development in order to stay in the top of the industry. Apple’s control over the entire production procedures of personal computer and the continual innovation on iPod and iPhone is a clear advantage over its competitors. Others have to simply follow its path. In the other hands, the increasing cost on R&D causes Apple to spend its capital reserve compared with its competitors. For example, Dell uses Microsoft’s operating system in all of its products while Apple installs its own brand operating system. But as a leading company in the industry, it might be worth to keep its advantage in such cases.
5.5 SWOT Analysis[39]
The SWOT analysis is simplified in this table and details of each discussion can be found from 5.4 PEST analysis.
Strengths
- Customer Loyalties
- Innovation
- Product Diversification and Differentiation
- Current Mac OS X operating system
- World market capacity
Weakness
- Awful Product Quality Control
- High Price
- Lack of market consideration when launching new product
- Zero Dividends Policy
Opportunities
- Novel stake in the mobile phone industry
- Entry to the emerging economy
Threat
- Strong competition in the technology market
- Substitute products are widely available in the market
5.6 Financial Analysis
5.6.1 Capital Structure and Liquidity Analysis
There are 882 million shares outstanding for Apple Inc, the majority of the outstanding shares are owned by institutional investors, which takes up 65% of the total. Large institution ownership helps the company to maintain a smaller risk of being taken over, at least in a short run basis. It also means the company will be continue growing without fare for stock market change, as these big institutions don’t usually sell their stocks once the market goes down, and they are always being referred to long term investors.
Apple’s debt to equity ratio is being kept zero in the most recent three years. Debt to equity ratio is the percentage of the proportion of all borrowing, such as long-term loan, bank overdrafts to total capital employed or the amount of equity, it also known as gearing ratio.[40] The zero rate of such ratio means that the company prefers to use its own money instead of borrowing to invest in its business. Thus the company’s interest coverage is also zero as it is shown in table 5.2. Interest coverage is an important ratio to measure Apple’s ability to meet required interest obligations.[41] The zero rate of its kind has minimized the risk in borrowing a high debt to finance its business, but the company may lose the advantage of financial leverage.[42] Alternatively, the zero gearing ratios or debt to equity ratio can help the company to net long term debt with more flexibility in the future. Zero long term debt also means the company has a solid financial reserve to facilitate its risk. As it is shown in table 5.2, Apple’s current ratio and hastily ratio are kept higher than two in the most recent three years. Thus the company is considered to have a solid short-term financial strength. It is reasonable to occupy that Apple’s ability to meet its financial obligation is high and it can easily find debt to finance its business with, probably a lower borrowing cost.
Table 5.2 Financial Health
Year:
2005
2006
2007
Financial Strength
Gearing Ratio
0.00
0.00
0.00
Interest Coverage
0.00
0.00
0.00
Current Ratio
2.96
2.25
2.36
Quick Ratio
2.91
2.21
2.34
Source: Apple Inc FY 10K Annual Report
5.6.2 Cash Flow Analysis
It can be found from the chart 5.3 that Apple’s net sales have been continuously increasing in the last three years. However, the revenue of this company is increasing in a decreasing rate, as it is shown in table 5.6; such growth rate has decreased from 38.7% in 2006 to 24.3% in 2007 according statistics from Apple’s financial represent.
Source: Apple Inc 2007 10K FY Annual Report PP 56
At the same time, Apple’s net income has increased from 1,328 million USD in 2005 to 3,496 million USD in 2007. Chart 5.4 shows that the net income is more than doubled in just three years. Moreover, the rate of increase of such net income is 75.8% in between 2006 and 2007. The increased net income is largely contributed by a good cash management skill since the company is suffering from a continual slowing rate of sales growth
Source: Apple Inc 2007 10K FY Annual Represent PP 56
According to table 5.5, Apple’s cash and cash equivalents growth, end of each year, is fairly stable. Despite a negative results from investing activities, both of Apple’s cash generated by operating activities and financing activities have more than doubled. More than half of Apple’s changes in operating activities are contributed by changes in operating assets and liabilities while the other half is from increased net income.
Table 5.5 Apple’s Cash Flow Activities (USD in Million)
Year:
2005
2006
2007
Cash generated by operating activities
Cash generated by investing activities
Cash generated by financing activities
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the year
Source: Apple Inc 2007 10K FY Annual Characterize PP58
As it is shown in Apple’s consolidated cash flow statements in 2007, the most significant change is in purchasing assets; such activity’s cash flow has increased from a negative 1,040 million USD in 2006 to a positive 81 million in 2007. Most of the reason in explaining the increased cash creep in financing activities is the continual excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation and fewer repurchases of common stock compared with 2006. The company’s stock bonus paid to its management is an indispensable factor here.
Since Apple is an aggressive company in producing leading technology in the IT industry. Apple’s last year’s investment in purchases of short-term investments and some payment for acquisition of intangible assets are both largely increased. The growth in such investment leads the cash generated by investing activities made a loss of total 3,249 million USD in 2007.
Despite the increasing investment for technology and other intangible assets, Apple has maintained a continuing increase of cash and cash equivalents at the end of every year. This is quite helpful in keeping a superb financial health of this company. Because the zero gearing ratio and high current ratio has kept the company away from liquidity risk and sufficient fund left in every year is obedient for further investment needs. This financial management strategy has enabled the company a greater ability in investing new technology and borrowing debt as well.
5.6.3 Key Financial Ratio Analysis
The revenue growth of Apple has been increasing in a decreasing rate since it hits a 10 years high in 2005, dropped to 24.3% in 2007. However, the company’s 5-Year annual average sales growth rate is calm as high as 33.12% while the industry is only 28.13%. Table 5.6 shows Apple’s gross margin has increased from 29.0% in 2006 to 34.0% in 2007, it is reasonable to expect the company’s sales to be increased in this year. Indeed, the latest financial quarter shown that the company has achieved 42.7% of sales growth while the industry only did 34.90% in the same period. This is believed to be resulted from the surging Macintosh revenues.[43] The introduction of iPhone 3G in July this year will also help sales to grow in the remaining financial periods.
Table 5.6 Profitability and Management Efficiency
Year:
2005
2006
2007
5 Yr.Avg
5 Yr.Avg (Industry)
Management Effectiveness
Return on Equity (%)
17.9
19.9
24.1 ↑
19.84
10.90
Return on Assets (%)
11.5
11.6
13.8 ↑
12.03
5.82
Growth Rates
Sales Growth (%)
68.3
38.7
24.3 ↓
33.12
11.23
Growth Margin (%)
29.0
29.0
34.0 ↑
30.33
29.48
Net Profit Margin (%)
9.5
10.3
14.6 ↑
9.96
4.80
Source: Thomson Reuters
Further more, Apple’s management efficiency has slightly improved in the last three years, as it is shown in table 5.3, both of the ROE and ROA has increased to a new high. Table 5.3 also suggests that the five year average industry management effectiveness figures are only half of what Apple has made.
Table 5.7 shows that both of Apple’s P/E (price to earning) ratio and EPS (earning per share) have done a very good result in 2007 compared with its major competitors. The price earning ratio for Apple is 50.5 while the same earning on S&P 500 is only 16.5. Apple’s P/E ratio is also higher than the major competitor, such as HP and Dell, which can be found from table 5.4. The company’s earning per share is also higher than the competitors did in 2007. High P/E and EPS ratio might indicate Apple’s stock return will be better compared with others.
Table 5.7 Valuation Ratio
Year:
2005
2006
2007
Apple Inc
[46]
4.13%
Cost of Equity (5 Year Avg. Industry)[47]
10.90%
Market Premium
6.77%
Beta (Bloomberg)
1.11081
Cost of Equity/WACC
11.65%
Source: Bloomberg.com
Formula 6.2
Cost of Equity=Risk Free Rate + Beta × Market Premium[48]
6.2.1 Limitations of DCF Model
There are certain limitations on the result of DCF model. The model is based on several key assumptions, such as the cost of equity, beta, market rate of return and the future growth rate. These ratios are all pre-determined in an industry average basis. It may execute different results by changing the value of the assumptions. Second, the model ignores the potential risk associate with the company once they failed to accomplish such results or even over perform in the future earning. Thus the result of this model may be imprecise under these circumstances.
6.3 P/E Multiple Model
Price earning multiple business valuation models can provide a benchmark for business valuation. As table 6.3 indicated, The P/E multiple is from YAHOO technology industry average PE ratio, EPS was calculated by the estimated net income of 2008 financial year dividing the number of shares showed in Apple’s most unique financial report. The estimated share value is equal to the industry average PE ratio multiplied by the estimated earning per share.
Table 6.3 P/E Multiple Model
P/E Multiple Model
P/E Multiple (Industry Avg.)
19.49
885.875706
Fraction Value
US$96.12
Source: yahoo.com
According to the formula 6.4, Apple’s target share value is equal to USD 96.12 while its current share price is USD 162.12 (as of 25/07/2008). This result shows that Apple’s present share sign might be over valued based on P/E multiple model.
Formula 6.4
Allotment Value=P/E Multiple × Estimated EPS[49]
6.3.1 Limitations on P/E Multiple Model
There are two important factors in this model were being estimated, including PE multiple and earning per share. The estimated EPS was calculated by dividing the 2008 estimated net income with total shares outstanding. Both of the variables in formula 6.4 might be imprecise since it is based on a series of assumption which can be found in appendix 1. Investors should beware that the price arrived by this model is only marvelous for being an additional consideration of the previous model.
6.4 Important factors which may influence the results of the above calculated
Although this dissertation does not include much discussion on the mobile industry, and Apple’s iPhone business section is only taking a small scale of Apple’s overall sales performance in 2007, the new iPhone 3G product’s sales performance is quite grand when it is launched this year. There can be a significant change in Apple’s overall revenue based on iPhone 3G’s sales results and share brand can be significantly increased in this case. While there are a lot of expectations over iPhone’s business results, it also should be noted that the product has several complaints. The new iPhone 3G does not seem to fulfil its promised performance and network connectivity expectations.[50]
Chapter 7 Conclusion and Recommendation
7.1 Introduction
According to the investment analysis of Apple Inc, it is very risky to invest or hold Apple’s shares. Both of the discount cash pace and P/E multiple models have proved that the company is overvalued by the market. Further more, the US economy is running into a recession period. Such slow down will not be changed in year 2008.
The technical analysis is also suggesting that Apple’s stock price will go down. As chart 7.1 indicated, Apple’s most unique stock effect and the ten weeks moving average price are both moving like a double top pattern.
Chart 7.1 Apple’s Stock Mark Change
Price as of July 25, 2008 USD 162.12
Source: yahoo.com
This is a very typical technical pattern which suggesting the price will soon move down by creating an “M” pattern. The 30 week appealing average price, as shown in chart 7.1 is also suggesting that the price has kept itself for the same trend for more than two months.
Chart 7.2 shows that both the S&P500 and Apple’s stock price are moving in a downward trend. Based on the above analysis and the evidence collected in the whole witness, the final recommendation on this company is to SELL!
Chart 7.2 Apple’s two years stock price compared with the S&P 500
Source: yahoo.com
7.2 Limitations of the Study
It is always difficult to tell what will happen exactly in the future. Although a comprehensive eye has been done on this company, there are still some limitations in it, such as time constraints on the research and the unavoidable bias estimate of the model itself. Thus it is important to know each valuation model or fundamental model’s advantage and disadvantage, which will be clearly stated in each chapter. Readers should then be aware of the study results are actually based on many assumptions, for example, the cost of equity in analysis the future share price of the company is an estimate using average industry cost of equity ratio.
Appendices
Appendix 1
Apple Inc
Estimation USD in Million
Fiscal Years Ending 9/30
13931
19315
24006
31207.8
37449.36
43066.76
49526.78
56955.8
EBIT
Operating Profit Margin
13.03%
14.59%
20.86%
20%
15%
15%
15%
15%
480
829
1512
1872.468
1685.221
1938.004
2228.705
2563.011
26.45%
29.42%
30.19%
30%
30%
30%
30%
30%
2008E
2009E
2010E
2011E
2012E
Terminal
DCF Model
Free Cash Flow
4369.092
3932.183
4522.01
5200.312
5980.359
5980.36
PV (Free Cash Flow)
3913.20
3154.40
3249.04
3346.53
3446.94
119607.17
Total
136717.2795
Shares Outstanding
Source: www.interbrand.com
Bibliography
Apple’s Website, News Piece ‘
Apple to Use Intel Microprocessors Beginning in 2006′:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html
Apple Inc
10K 2007 Annual Report
Apple’s Corporate Web Page: www.apple.com 25 July, 2008
Abratt, Russell, Bick, Geoffrey (2003), ‘Valuing Brands and Brand Equity: Methods and Processes’ Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship
Business week, ‘
Economists say UK economy in trouble’, July 15, 2008
Brad Miser (2002), Mac OS X and the Digital Lifestyle, Thomson Course Technology PP268
Catherine Tremblay, (2008) ‘A How-To Guide to Assessing Brand Value’, brandchannel.com
Dell Corporate Website: http://www.dell.com/ 25 July, 2008
David Logan Scott (2003), ‘Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today’s Investors’, Houghton Mifflin Reference Books PP192
Financial Times (London, England) Thursday London Edition2 “
Macs surge shields Apple from recession fears” April 24, 2008
Graham Mott (2008), ‘Accounting for Non-Accountants: A Manual for Managers and Students’, Kogan Page Polishers PP102
Geoffrey A. Hirt, Stanley B. Block (2004), ‘Managing Investments’, Mc Graw-Hill Professional, PP149
Interbrand www.interbrand.com 25 July, 2008
IMF,
World Economic Outlook, APR 08, PP241
John McCormick (2007), Cio Zone, ‘
The Top 5 PC Vendors For 2007′, http://www.ciozone.com/index.php/Server-Technology-Zone/The-Top-5-PC-Vendors-For-2007.html
Judy Mottl, (2008), ‘iPhone Lawsuit: Woes Ahead for Apple, Carriers? ‘, Internetnews.com
John Murphy (1989), Brand Valuation, Establishing a true and fair view, Hutchinson Business Books, PP32
Jeffrey A. Dubin (2006) ‘Valuing intangible assets with a nested logit market share model’ PP 24
Lenovo’ Thinkpad Website: http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad/25 July, 2008
Market Watch: ‘
Gartner raises 2008 outlook for PC sales’ http://www.marketwatch.com/
Matt Haig (2006), Brand Royalty: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive $ Survie, Kogan Page Publisher, PP107-112
Market Watch, ‘More excitement greets Apple’s new iPhone’, July 11, 2008 Friday
Michael Bush, ‘Why Apple must tell its story; With fortunes so tied to Jobs, marketer needs to lay out succession plan’, from Advertising Age, July 28, 2008
Newsweek, ‘
Not Made In Japan; once upon a time, the country was a leader in technology. Now it’s struggling to find its place in the digital age. Can an entrenched corporate culture change? ‘ February 25, 2008 U.S. Edition
Reuters Finance, http://www.Reuters.com 25 July, 2008
Simon Benninga, Benjamin Czaczkes (2000), ‘Financial Modeling’, MIT Press PP35
Sunday Times (South Africa) ‘
No need for Slit wrists, it’s objective a cycle’, August 03, 2008 Business Times Edition
Nasdaq Finance, Nasdaq.com 25 July, 2008
The Econommic Times, ‘
iPods leading to a new generation of deaf young adults’, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
THE KOREA HERALD, ‘Recoupling’ Could drag down global economy’ February 22, 2008 Friday
U.S. Department of Treasury, http://www.ustreas.gov/,
10 Year Treasury bond Rate, July 25, 2008
Yahoo Finance www.yahoo.com 25 July, 2008
Wendy Lomax, Adam Raman (2006), ‘
Analysis and Evaluation: Analysis And Evaluation”, Butterworth-Heinemann, PP55
William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder (2005), Economics: Principles and Policy, Thomson South-Western, PP 135
[1] From Reuters.com
[2] IMF, World Economic Outlook, APR 08, P241
[3] Apple Inc 10K 2007 Annual Report PP42
[4] THE KOREA HERALD,
‘Recoupling’ Could slither down global economy’ February 22, 2008 Friday
[5] IMF, World Economic Outlook, APR 08, P241
[6] Businessweek, ‘Economists say UK economy in trouble’, July 15, 2008
[7] IMF, World Economic Outlook, APR 08, P241
[8] Sunday Times (South Africa) ‘No need for Slit wrists, it’s just a cycle’, August 03, 2008 Business Times Edition
[9] Market Watch: ‘Gartner raises 2008 outlook for PC sales’ http://www.marketwatch.com/
[10] From: http://www.ciozone.com ‘The Top 5 PC Vendors For 2007′,
[11] Newsweek, ‘Not Made In Japan; once upon a time, the country was a leader in technology. Now it’s struggling to score its place in the digital age. Can an entrenched corporate culture change? February 25, 2008 U.S. Edition
[12] Lenovo Website: http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad/
[13] Dell Website: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx? c=uk&l=en&s=gen
[14] Matt Haig (2006),
Brand Royalty: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive $ Survie, Kogan Page Publisher, PP107-112
[15] Market Watch, ‘More excitement greets Apple’s new iPhone’, July 11, 2008 Friday
[16] Apple’s 10K FY07 PP 11
[17] Apple’s Website, News Portion ‘Apple to Use Intel Microprocessors Beginning in 2006′: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html
[18] Op. cit PP 11
[19] Wendy Lomax, Adam Raman (2006), ‘Analysis and Evaluation: Analysis And Evaluation”, Btterworth-Heinemann, PP55
[20] John Murphy (1989),
Brand Valuation, Establishing a true and comely view, Hutchinson Business Books, PP32
[21] From www.interbrand.com
[22] From www.interbrand.com, Sign Related Services, The Key to unlock the benefits from your brand assets
[23] Economic Value Added or EVA is an estimate of true economic profit after making corrective adjustments to GAAP accounting, including deducting the opportunity cost of equity capital.
[24] The role of brand index or RBI is multiplied with the EVA, yields the heed earnings
[25] Brand Strength Score or BSS explains how strong the effect is compared with its competitors on the basis of seven factors (i.e. market, stability, mark leadership, trend, brand support, diversification, and protection)
[26] Jeffrey A. Dubin (2006) ‘
Valuing intangible assets with a nested logit market allotment model’ PP 24
[27] Catherine Tremblay, (2008) ‘
A How-To Guide to Assessing Brand Value’, brandchannel.com
[28] Abratt, Russell, Bick, Geoffrey (2003), ‘
Valuing Brands and Brand Equity: Methods and Processes’ Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship PP2
[29] From Apple’s Corporate Web Page: www.apple.com
[30] Michael Bush, ‘
Why Apple must tell its story; With fortunes so tied to Jobs, marketer needs to lay out succession plan’, from Advertising Age, July 28, 2008
[31] William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder (2005),
Economics: Principles and Policy, Thomson South-Western, PP 135
[32] From Apple’s website, company introduction, www.apple.com
[33] Brad Miser (2002),
Mac OS X and the Digital Lifestyle, Thomson Course Technology PP268
[34] Youtube is a online video sharing website, detail can be found from youtube.com
[35] Apple 10k FY: PP 12
[36] opt cit PP 17
[37] Apple 10K FY07 PP23
[38] The Econommic Times, ‘iPods leading to a new generation of deaf young adults’, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
[39] SWOT analysis is primitive to resolve a company’s ability to compete against other businesses that sell similar products or services in the same marketplace and to the same target customers.
[40] Graham Mott (2008), ‘
Accounting for Non-Accountants: A Manual for Managers and Students’, Kogan Page Polishers PP102
[41] David Logan Scott (2003), ‘
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms for Today’s Investors’, Houghton Mifflin Reference Books PP192
[42] Financial leverage is the extent to which a company finances the acquisition of its assets by means of debt: that is, a company that borrows money to acquire assets engages financial leverage.
[43] Financial Times (London, England) April 24, 2008 Thursday London Edition2 “Macs surge shields Apple from recession fears”
[44] TTM=Trailing 12 Months
[45] Appendix 2
[46] U.S. Department of Treasury, http://www.ustreas.gov/, 10 Year Treasury Bond Rate, July 25, 2008
[47] From Yahoo Finance www.yahoo.com
[48] Simon Benninga, Benjamin Czaczkes (2000), ‘
Financial Modeling’, MIT Press PP35
[49] Geoffrey A. Hirt, Stanley B. Block (2004), ‘
Managing Investments’, Mc Graw-Hill Professional, PP149
[50] Judy Mottl, (2008), ‘
iPhone Lawsuit: Woes Ahead for Apple, Carriers? ‘, Internetnews.com
[51] July 27, 2008 Stock Price, from Nasdaq.com
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Filed under Small Business Phone Numbers by on Feb 19th, 2011. 
It’s hard to believe that only around fifteen years ago, Apple, Inc. was at its nadir. The operating system wars were long over; Microsoft’s “quick and dirty operating system”, aka MS-DOS, was replaced by Windows 95, essentially bringing the long war to a seeming conclusion, and Apple had lost. Hope came from an unlikely place: Steve Jobs, who, as The Apple Museum relates had left Apple in 1985 following a bloody boardroom tussle. Since leaving Apple, Jobs had started up the Next computing company, while Apple’s fortunes continued to sour. Finally, in 1997, Apple bought Next, and Jobs returned in a small way; the following year, Jobs took over. By 1999, BusinessWeek reported that thanks in part to Jobs, Apple was on the rebound. Further successes followed, including the massively successful iPod that monopolized the industry and sold 100 million devices by 2007, according to Engadget.
Apple is once again a hot property, and the lean times of the 1990s seem to be behind them. That said, Apple is a corporation like any other, and it’s made its fair piece of mistakes—more of its fair share, in fact, considering that Apple has consistently attempted to be the trendsetter in the technology world. But all gambles are risks, and sometimes Apple lost big. Here are ten of their worst products and worst failures (in no particular order, because it’s tough to play favorites with horrible things.)
1. The Lisa (1983)
The idea: Create an affordable, approachable and cutting-edge computer for the rest of us.
What happened: Apple created the massively unaffordable Lisa. At about $10,000, the Lisa would be pricey today, but factoring in inflation, what cost ten gargantuan in 1983 would cost around $21,000 today (do the math yourself at the Inflation Calculator.) While the Lisa was cutting-edge, commercializing Xerox PARC’s graphics-based user interface, the GUI (the foundation of all modern computing), the Lisa’s price made its only audience businesses, who weren’t willing to switch to an untested format. Other problems included its nonstandard floppy disk drives, and despite attempts to burnish the Lisa’s image, it was essentially distrusted by the public. Lisa’s failure, however, informed the now-classic 1984 inaugurate of the first Macintosh, which was the success the Lisa never was. According to Infoworld, by mid-1985 the microscopic Mac that could comprised 20% of the personal computer market, and its more affordable and modular design caused Apple to dump the Lisa in 1986, by which point the Mac was recognized as the better product.
2. The G4 Cube (2000)
The idea: Push the limits of computer get, and hopefully sell the public on that design.
What happened: The gain was the lawful triumph of design over utility. Apple has always been known as favoring stylish designs—it had produced the fabulously expensive (and futuristic-looking) 20th anniversary Mac, but that had always been intended as a limited product. The G4 Cube, however, was supposed to be a big current product, released with grand aplomb. It was a critical darling at first, but that didn’t stop it from being scrapped less than a year later. The problems, as MacWorld reported, were great in number. First off, it was expensive, and consumers looking for power would pick a PowerMac G4 instead. Secondly, its dinky enclosure meant that its expansion options were severely limited. With a bad price point and no clear niche in the Apple computer lineup, the product was doomed to failure. It has a spiritual successor of sorts in the small Mac Mini, but even that computer is easier to upgrade and doesn’t lack audio input.
3. The Windtunnel (2002)
The idea: Release a new generation of PowerMacs. Simple, right?
What happened: Apple released the mirrored drive door (MDD) PowerMac G4 in August 2002. The computers were certainly snazzy; unfortunately, as users soon realized, the computers were unbearably loud. So loud, in fact, that one manufacturer created special cases that you could stick your computer into to carve down on the noise. When you consider that a significant chunk of Apple’s consumer base were and are audio professionals who have to hear things for a living, you can imagine how this problem transcends mere annoyance. Fans dubbed the machines “windtunnels”, Wired reported, and it took an uprising of disgruntled PowerMac users to force Apple to prefer steps such as software updates and replacement options to alleviate the issues.
4. The Newton (1993)
The idea: Create a small, portable personal data assistant (PDA).
What happened: First off, “shrimp” in this case is very much relative: just look at this narrate comparing a Newton to an iPhone. Yikes! The Newton pioneered many useful features that we now take for granted, but its ungainly size, poor battery life and screen essentially doomed it. First released in 1993, the Newton product line lasted until early 1998, earning itself something of a cult status, but not powerful else. Ultimately, the Newton’s advances in handwriting recognition would influence Palm in its Palm Pilot, which became the successful PDA everyone thinks of when they hear the name.
5. The Pippin (1995)
The idea: Create a hybrid personal computer-gaming system with online capabilities.
What happened: Once again, the Pippin was an Apple product that was revolutionary, but never ended up being the device that popularized its technology. Unable to invent the Pippin on its own Apple partnered with Bandai to release the product in 1995 and 1996. It boasted a 14.4 kbits modem for internet connectivity, a feature no other game console on the market had, but unfortunately its high price and the glut of more-supported systems (including the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, and Nintendo 64) led to its lickety-split demise. Apple hasn’t dipped its toes in gaming waters since.
6. The Hockey Puck Mouse (1998)
The idea: Hey, this new computer looks quirky, let’s make the mouse quirky too!
What happened: Apple created what CNET called one of the worst tech products of all time, and even Mac fanboys like myself will admit that it is quite possibly the worst pointing device created by man. The round, hockey-puck shaped mouse was difficult to hold for those with puny hands, and its entirely circular develop made it nearly impossible to exclaim which part of the device was supposed to point up. As CNET points out, however, the iMac and its abysmal mouse helped standardize adoption of USB peripherals, which everyone will agree is a good thing. Still, was it worth it?
7. Apple Hi-Fi (2006)
The idea: Apple can make computers, Apple can make music players. Why not speakers?
What happened: Apple stepped on its own toes and got burned. From a business standpoint, it’s hard to say what Apple was thinking. By the release of the Hi-Fi in 2006, the iPod was the dominant digital music player, and dozens if not hundreds of companies were producing speakers with integrated iPod docks. Why would Apple want to threaten a booming industry that helped push adoption of its product? But try they did with the Hi-Fi. Its problems were many: it was pricey, which didn’t mesh with its integrated and compact design. The iPod jutted out of the top of the system exposed, making it easy to damage. The iPod Hi-Fi disappeared September 2007, and as TUAW noted, few missed it.
8. Copland (1991)
The idea: The next-generation Apple operating system.
What happened: Apple tried to create a superior successor to the MacOS, but after years of work, they had miniature to show for it. Eventually the whole project was scrapped by 1994. To be fair, Copland might have been a failure, but it was also a blessing in disguise of sorts; having failed at producing their own operating system, Apple shopped around, leading them to buy Nextstep OS, bringing Jobs back to Apple to head their resurgence.
9. Macintosh TV (1993)
The idea: Fuse a Mac and a television set! What could go wrong?
What happened: It seems premature to declare the AppleTV a failure, but there’s no doubt that the Macintosh TV was one. It was released in 1993 and scrapped the next year. To be fair, it did start the computers-in-black trend, and its all-in-one design makes it a crude forerunner to the iMac, but beyond that it failed to tag. The product was expensive, and couldn’t display television shows in a window. Only 10,000 were ever produced.
10. Mac Clones
The idea: Fight Windows-equipped Intel machines by licensing the Mac brand to other companies.
What happened: Apple nearly killed itself. The clone idea was a arrangement for Apple to increase its diminishing market penetration in the 1990s: before then, they had strictly quashed attempts to reverse-engineer their products. It’s not surprising that now that have the same policies, because the fling was a disaster. The clones turned out to be edifying products, so much so that they undercut Apple’s rather poor and pricey offerings. It’s hard to believe, but at the time Macs weren’t known as excellent or even stylish machines, and so Power Computing’s clones began to match the popularity of Dell while undercutting Apple at the same time. When Jobs took over, he halted the clone projects and Apple eventually swallowed Power Computing up. Macworld has an excellent documentation of what they dub “The Clone Wars“.
Honorable Mentions
While this is of course a selective list, we can’t forget many other smaller failures over the years. Apple seemed to have bad luck when partnering with other companies. For example, the Motorola ROKR functioned as a slow cousin to the iPod; Apple had much greater success with a music player-phone combo with its own iPhone. Software is also home to some of Apple’s big stinkers, including “eWorld”, a barely-advertised internet community.
While that’s a big list, it’s by no means comprehensive. Got some favorite flops that I have missed? Sound off in the comments!
References
*Foljanty, Lucas. “The Apple Museum | Steve Jobs“. The Apple Museum. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
*Burrows, Peter (1999). “Can Apple Take its Game to the Next Level? “. BusinessWeek. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
*Blass, Evan (2007-04-09). “Apple Sells 100 millionth iPod“. Engadget. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
*McGeever, Christine (1985-06-03). “Apple’s Lisa Meets a Unpleasant End“. Infoworld. Retrieved via Google January 28, 2010.
*Honan, Matthew (2001-07-01). “Requiem for a Cube“. Macworld. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
*Allee, Alex (2003-01-16). “Don’t Exertion, Your G4 is Supposed to Be That Loud“. MacObserver. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
*Kahney, Leander (2003-02-26). “Mac User Fights for Quieter Life“. Wired. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
*Schramm, Mike (2007-09-05). “Bye-Bye Hi-Fi“. TUAW. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
*Myslewski, Rik (2008-05-23). “Reliving the Clone Wars“. Macworld. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
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Filed under Small Business Phone Numbers by on Dec 17th, 2010.
Hyderabad (pronounced ˈhaɪdərəbɑːd or ˈhaɪdrəbæd in English, Telugu: హైదరాబాద్ pronunciation), once known as Bhagya Nagaram (City of Fortune), is the capital city and most populous city of the Indian location of Andhra Pradesh. The city of Hyderabad has grown to merge surrounding urban nodes taking its estimated population to around 7 million. The city thus has been classified as an A-1 status city joining the list of other A-1 cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.
Hyderabad is known for its rich history, culture and architecture representing its current character as a meeting point for North and South India, and also its multilingual culture, both geographically, culturally and intellectually. Also known as The City of Nizams and The City of Pearls, Hyderabad is today one of the fast developing cities in the country and a modern hub of Information Technology, ITES, and Biotechnology.
Hyderabad has become a preferred conference venue in India as well as the world, with many conferences and meetings taking region in the city. The city is home to the world’s largest film studio, the Ramoji Film City as well as the second largest film industry in the country, the Telugu Film Industry known popularly as Tollywood. The city is also known to be a sporting destination with many national and international games conducted here. The people here are called Hyderabadis. The city is regarded as a blend of traditionality with modernity.
Etymology: Theories explaining the origins and etymology behind Hyderabad’s name differ. A celebrated theory suggests that after founding the city, Quli Qutb Shah fell in like with and married a local Banjara girl known as Bhagmathi or Bhagyavathi naming the city, Bhagyanagaram. Upon her conversion to Islam, she changed her name to Hyder Mahal and thus the city was named Hyderabad (literally, “the city of Hyder”).
History: Hyderabad’s history dates back to 500 BC, as proved by the discovery of numerous Iron Age sites belonging to that era.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty the ruling family of the Golconda, previously a feudatory of Bahmani sultanate that declared independence in 1512, founded the city of Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591; to relieve a water shortage the dynasty had experienced at their old headquarters at Golconda. He also ordered the construction of the Charminar, the iconic monument of the city, in 1591, reportedly in gratitude to the Almighty for piquant the plague epidemic before it did irreversible damage to his new city.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb captured Hyderabad in 1687 and during this short Mughal rule. But the Mughal-appointed governors of the city soon gained autonomy. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, who was granted the title Nizam-ul-Mulk (“Governor of the country”) by the Mughal emperor, defeated a rival official to establish control over Hyderabad. Thus began the Asaf Jahi dynasty that ruled Hyderabad until a year after India’s independence from Britain. Asaf Jah’s successors ruled as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The rule of the seven Nizams saw the growth of Hyderabad both culturally and economically.
Hyderabad became the formal capital of the kingdom and Golconda was almost abandoned. Huge reservoirs, like the Nizam Sagar, Tungabhadra, Osman Sagar, Himayat Sagar, and others were built. Seek work on Nagarjuna Sagar had also begun during this time; the actual work was completed by the Government of India in 1969. The wealth and grandeur of the Nizams is demonstrated by the fabled Jewels of The Nizams which is a tourist attraction.The state was richest and the largest among the princely states of India.The land area of the state was 90,543 mi² its population in 1901 was 5,00,73,759. It enjoyed an estimated revenue of £9,00,29,000.
After the Indian independence in 1947, under the terms of independence from the British, the Nizam wanted to either remain independent or accede to Pakistan. India, then, implemented an economic blockade and forced Hyderabad state to sign a Standstill Agreement with the Indian Union. On September 17, 1948, more than a year after India had gained independence, the Nizam signed the Instrument of Accession to the Indian Union in the aftermath of Operation Polo.
On November 1, 1956, the states of India were reorganized on linguistic grounds. The territories of the State of Hyderabad were divided between newly created Andhra Pradesh, Bombay state (later Maharashtra), and Karnataka. Hyderabad and the surrounding areas were added to Andhra Pradesh, based on the Telugu speaking community. Thus, Hyderabad became the capital city of the current spot of Andhra Pradesh.
After becoming the capital, the city slowly started to shun the shadow of a princely state and accept importance politically, geographically and economically. People from various parts of the state started settling and investing here. Since ’90s the city has transformed itself hugely to acquire the present form, thanks to liberalisation. This brought many changes in lifestyle, culture. It saw the makeshift of Telugu filmdom from Chennai to Hyderabad. The growth in IT sector and construction of International Airport witnessed rise in various other fields like realestate in 2000s.
Geography and climate: Situated on the Deccan Plateau, Hyderabad has an average elevation of about 500 metres above sea level (1640 ft). Most of the area has a rocky terrain and some areas are hilly. There is a lot of cultivation in the surrounding areas with paddy fields and other crops which are grown.
The original city of Hyderabad was founded on the banks of river Musi. Now known as the historic Mature Town, home to the Charminar and Mecca Masjid, it lies on the southern bank of the river. The heart of the city saw a shift to the north of the river, with the construction of many government buildings and landmarks there, especially south of the Hussain Sagar lake. The rapid growth of the city, along with the merging of Secunderabad, 12 municipal circles and the Cantonment has resulted in a large, united and populous area.
Hyderabad has a tropical wet and dry climate with hot summers from late February to early June, the monsoon season from late June to early October and a warm winter from gradual October to early February. Hyderabad gets about 32 inches (about 810 mm) of rain every year, almost all of it concentrated in the monsoon months. The highest temperature ever recorded was 46 o C (115 F) while the lowest recorded temperature was 10 o C (50 F).
Demographics: The city’s population in 2001 was 5.7 million and it has reached over 7 million in 2009 making it one of the most populous cities in India, while the population of the metropolitan area was estimated above 9 million. Hinduism is the most widely practiced religion in the city. Muslims constitute about 40% of the population, making Hyderabad’s Muslim community the largest in Andhra Pradesh.[9] Muslims have big presence across the city and especially they are densely concentrated in and around Old City. Christians constitute a slight amount of the city’s population. Churches are located across the city and the popular ones are in Abids area.
Though Telugu is the principal language of the city, Hindi and Urdu are also used around the city especially among the North Indians settled there. English has a strong presence among the educated people. The city has a considerable Marathi, Malayalee and Sikh population.
The Telugu spoken here has assimilated many Urdu words into it. Similarly, Urdu spoken here is also unique, with influences of Telugu and Marathi, giving rise to a dialect sometimes called Hyderabadi Urdu or Deccani. The official language, Telugu, varies a little across the state but the core language remains the same.
Administration: The city is administered by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), whose titular head is the Mayor of Hyderabad who has few executive powers. In the past, the mayor was chosen by the legislative body of the corporation, but just before the last elections, the state government modified the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, to stipulate that the mayoral election be held directly and simultaneously with the corporation elections. The real executive power of the corporation is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an IAS officer appointed by the Andhra Pradesh state government. The Mayor and the Corporation legislative body can and have been in the past dismissed by the state government. For several years elections had not been held for the corporation. Recently the corporation completed its stout term and elections are due to the GHMC and for the post of Mayor.
A large part of the twin city Secunderabad and some parts of Hyderabad itself come under the jurisdiction of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) owing to a gigantic presence of military units. It provides basic infrastructure like roads, parks, water and other municipal needs to the public residing here.
The city is divided by the state police into Hyderabad Police and Cyberabad Police which approach under the state Home Ministry and are headed by Police Commissioners, who are IPS officers. Basheerbagh, houses important government offices such as the Police Commissioner’s office, Police Control room, Income tax Commissioner’s office, Central Excise and customs office, Central Reservation office etc. The city is divided into five police zones, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Hyderabad and Cyberabad commissionerates.
The GHMC is in charge of the civic needs and the infrastructure of the city. Hyderabad is divided into 150 municipal wards, each overseen by a corporator. The corporators of the administration are elected through accepted vote, and almost all the political parties field candidates.The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are in three districts, Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medak. The administration of each district is headed by a District Collector who is in charge of property records and revenue collection for the Central government. The district collectors also oversees the elections held in the city.
Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), a planning agency headed by the Chief Minister along with a Commissioner has been formed to undertake developmental activities in a jurisdiction of above 6,250 km².
Hyderabad is the seat of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and also has two lower courts – the Microscopic Causes Court for civil matters and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The High Court and Legislative Assembly-Council are heritage buildings built by Nizam.
Hyderabad voters send 24 members to the Assembly, whose constituencies come under 5 Lok Sabha segments, in respect to the delimitation of constituencies coming into force w.e.f. 2009 general elections.
The new Assembly segments and their respective Lok Sabha segments are: Amberpet, Jubilee Hills, Khairatabad, Musheerabad, Nampally, Sanathnagar, Secunderabad under Secunderabad LS seat; Bahadurpura, Chandrayanagutta, Charminar, Goshamahal, Karwan, Malakpet, Yakutpura under Hyderabad LS seat; Kukatpally, Lal Bahadur Nagar (LB Nagar), Malkajgiri, Quthbullapur, Secunderabad Cantonment, Uppal under Malkajgiri LS seat; Maheswaram, Rajendranagar and Serilingampally under Chevella LS seat and Patancheru under Medak LS seat.
Economy: Hyderabad is the financial and economic capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the largest contributor to the state’s gross domestic product, situation tax and excise revenues. The workforce participation is about 29.55 percent. Starting in the 1990s, the economic pattern of the city has changed from being a primarily service city to being one with a more diversified spectrum, including trade, transport, commerce, storage, communication etc. Service industry is the major contributor, with urban workforce constituting 90% of the total workforce.
Hyderabad is known as the city of pearls, lakes and, lately, for its IT companies. The bangles market known as Laad Bazaar is situated advance Charminar. Products such as silverware, saris, Nirmal and Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, fresh Bidri handcrafted items, lacquer bangles studded with stones, silk-ware, cotton-ware and handloom-based clothing materials are made and traded through the city for centuries.
Hyderabad is a major centre for pharmaceuticals with companies such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Matrix Laboratories, Hetero Drugs Limited, Divis Labs, Aurobindo Pharma Minute, Lee Pharma and Vimta Labs being housed in the city. Initiatives such as Genome Valley, Fab City and the Nano Technology park are expected to create extensive infrastructure in bio-technology.
Like many Indian cities, Hyderabad has witnessed a remarkable growth in the real estate business, thanks to a predominantly information-technology-driven boom in the 1990s and the retail industry growth over the last few years which have spurred hectic commercial activity. A number of mega malls have come up or are being built in the city. Real estate expect in the suburban and rural areas surrounding Hyderabad has gone up exponentially leading to reckless increase in prices over the past few years.
The retail industry in Hyderabad is on the rise. Many International and national brands have set up retail chains here. The city has multiple CBDs (Central Business district) spread across the city. Major business/commercial districts are Abids-Kothi-Nampally areas, Ameerpet-Punjagutta-Somajiguda, Banjara Hills, Charminar area, Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally, Patny-Paradise-Karkhana areas, etc. For the advancement of infrastructure in the city, the government is building a skyscraper business district at Manchirevula with a 450 m supertall APIIC Tower at its centre, which upon completion may be the tallest building in India.
Information Technology Industry: Hyderabad city is today known for its IT and IT-enabled services, pharmaceuticals and entertainment industries. Many software firms, call centres, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, dealing with IT and other technological services were set up in the 1990s making it one of the major regions for call centre setups, technology development and KPO hubs in India. The development of a township with state-of-the-art facilities called HITEC City prompted several IT and ITES companies to dwelling up operations in the city. An aggressive promotion of growth in this dwelling has led civic boosters to call the city “Cyberabad”. Hyderabad has also been referred to as the second Silicon Valley of India next to Bangalore.
There have been extensive investments in digital infrastructure within the city promoting the setting up of several campuses by a vast array of companies within the city. This list includes several multinational corporations having established their development centres in the city. The major areas where such campuses have been location up are Madhapur, Kondapur, Gachibowli and Uppal.
Hyderabad is the south asian home to many Fortune 500 Corporations, majority of them are related to IT or BPO services industry. Microsoft (the largest R&D campus outside the US), Computer Associates, Amazon, GE, IBM,AMD, Accenture, Google, Motorola, DuPont, Deloitte, Oracle Corporation, Dell, Franklin Templeton, Qualcomm, Agilent, ADP, UBS AG, Rockwell Collins, Bank of America, CSC, Verizon, Convergys, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, Virtusa, are some the Fortune 500 companies that have significant presence in Hyderabad. Honeywell opened a fresh R&D centre at Nanakramguda, which is situated on the verge of Gachibowli.
Indian IT giants such as Satyam, Infosys, Wipro, Patni Computer Systems, Cognizant Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Four-Soft Ltd, ICICI Bank, Cybage, Polaris, Infotech Enterprises, Avineon, Apollo Health Street, Zavata Inc and Mayur’s group of industries also have set up their development centres in the city.
Transport
Road: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation[14] runs a fleet of 19,000 buses, the largest in the world. Hyderabad has the third largest bus station facility in Asia, with 72 platforms for 89 buses to load passengers at a time. Officially named as the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, it is locally known as the Imlibun Bus Station, making trips across the state and to some parts of South India. Jubilee Bus Station at Secunderabad runs buses to various parts of the place. Buses plying in and around the city provide major commutation for city dwellers.
The yellow colored Auto Rickshaw usually referred to as an “auto”, is the most widely used transport/ taxi service and has flag down minimum fare of Rs 12 for first 1.5 km and then Rs 7 per km. Radio Taxis and cabs by private players have provided an easy depart in the city.
Hyderabad is connected to the rest of the country by National Highways—NH-7, NH-9 and NH-202.Hyderabad is well connected to remaining parts of the dwelling. Like other cities, Hyderabad suffers from traffic congestion. Completion of the Inner Ring Road and construction of the Outer Ring Road encircling Hyderabad city is also underway and is touted to make travel in the city easier. Many flyovers and undepasses are also being constructed to ease traffic congestion in the city.
Rail: Hyderabad has a light rail transportation system cum suburban railway system known as the MultiModal Transport System (MMTS) which offer connectivity between rail and road transport for the facility of the commuters. MMTS provides connectivity to all major parts of the city, and is a suitable alternative for those who want to avoid road traffic.
The South Central Railway headquarters are located at Secunderabad. Secunderabad is one of the biggest railway junctions in the Indian Railway map. The three main railway stations are Secunderabad Railway Set, Hyderabad Railway Station (Nampally) and Kachiguda Railway Station, providing connectivity not only within the city but also to the rest of the spot and country. A moden railway terminal is being planned to be constructed near HITEC City railway residence to facilitate passengers in the western parts of the city.
Air: There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of passengers leading to increased air traffic. The Airport at Begumpet was unable to cope up with the situation and was shut down on 22 March 2008. The new state-of-the-art Rajiv Gandhi International Airport opened on March 2008 by Sonia Gandhi at Shamshabad, southwest of the city. The airport has the second longest runway in India next to Delhi and caters to the high passenger and cargo transits. The airport runs flights to all important destinations, both domestically and internationally.
An elevated expressway, named after PV Narasimha Rao, at a length of 11.633 km is being constructed from Mehdipatnam to Aramgarh for providing dedicated high speed travel to the airport. Once completed it will be the longest flyover in India. A proposal for extending the MMTS to the new airport is under consideration. There are three wide roads leading to the novel airport from the city and modern taxis can shuttle passengers between the city and the airport. The Nehru Outer Ring Road between Gachibowli and Shamshabad will also serve as an expressway to the airport.
Culture: The City has evolved into a cosmopolitan society due to the heavy presence of the Information technology Industry while maintaining ancient culture and traditions. Historically, Hyderabad has been the city where distinct cultural and linguistic traditions of North India and South India meet. Hyderabadis, as residents of the city are known, have developed a distinctive culture which is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim traditions.
Women of all cultures and faiths in Hyderabad typically wear either the passe Indian dress, the sari, or, increasingly, the Salwar kameez especially among the younger population. The traditional Hyderabadi garb for females are the Khara Dupatta and the Shalwar Qamis, and for the males, it is the Sherwani. This is one of the more visible cultural attributes of Hyderabad. One of Hyderabad’s public carnivals is the annual immersion of Lord Ganesh idols after the 10 day Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations on Ananta Chaturdashi (locally known as the Ganesh Nimajjanam). It is a spectacular event and attracts many foreigners every year. Bonalu is a vernacular festival that is noted with great fervour. Another is the procession of Muharram which takes place every year 10th Muharram (1st month of Islamic calendar). While this event is mourned throughout the Shia Muslim world, the old city of Hyderabad, known as ‘Charminar’ is distinguished for its grand procession in which participants sacrifice their possess blood by hitting on their heads, chest and back with sharp edge weapons (knives, swords and knives attached to chains).
Cuisine: Hyderabadi cuisine is a blend of Mughal and Persian cuisine. Hyderabadi Biryani is an iconic dish of the site. Other native preparations include Qubani ka meetha, Double ka meetha, Phirni (a sweet vermicelli porridge eaten during the festival of Deepawali), Nahari Kulche also known as paya and Haleem (a meat dish traditionally eaten during the holy month of Ramzan), Kaddu Ki Kheer(A sweet porridge made with sweet guard), Sheer Qorma(a sweet liquidy dish cooked with vermicelli and milk), Mirchi ka saalan, Bagaare Baigan, Khatti Dal, Khichdi and Khatta, Til ki chutney, baigan ki chutney, Til ka Khatta, Aam ka Achaar, Gosht ka achaar, PeosiIndian sweets are known for their ghee-based items. Famous sweet shops include the traditionally made Pullareddy Sweets. Widely found on street-corners are Irani café’s that offer Irani chai, Irani samosa and Osmania biscuit.
The Western junkfood, Italian, Mexican and Chinese cuisine are all popular in the city along with typical Andhra and other South Indian cuisine. The city also has some of the best pubs in South Asia and is increasingly becoming a favourite destination for Trance Music.
Hospitality: Hyderabad has some of the best hotels meeting all ranges of people. Some of the 5 star hotels are ITC Kakatiya Sheraton, Taj Krishna, Taj Deccan, Hotel Novotel Hyderabad, Hyderabad Marriott, Tulip Manohar, Hotel Ista etc.; 4 star hotels like Hotel Greenpark, Hotel Peppermint, Hotel Kasani GR etc.. Hotel Novotel Hyderabad Airport at Shamshabad is the newly built hotel for passengers coming from various countries to Hyderbad. Many hotels are in the pipeline in view of the increasing demand in this sector.
Education and research: Hyderabad is an important seat of learning in India. It is surrounded by hundreds of engineering colleges.The city is home to three central universities, two deemed universities, and six state universities. Among them is the Osmania University, established in 1917, which is the seventh oldest university in India and the third oldest in South India.[20] Important institutions for technical education such as International Institute of Information Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University are located in this city. Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, a well known educational institution in the field of Agriculture is located on the outskirts of the city. Valuable medical institutions such as the Gandhi Medical College, Osmania Medical College and several other private medical colleges such as Deccan College of Medical Sciences are located in Hyderabad.Birla Institute of Technology and Science-(BITS Pilani) has established its branch campus at Shamirpet. IIT has started off its temporary campus at Hyderabad.
The Indian School of Business, a top ranking business school which attracts students from all over the world is show at Gachibowli, Hyderabad. Hyderabad Central University, National Academy of Legal Studies & Research, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Maulana Azad National Urdu University and English and Foreign Languages University, Indira Gandhi National Originate University, Flytech Aviation Academy are other well-known universities which are present in the city.
Hyderabad has various research institutes such as the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), National Geophysical Research Institute(NGRI), IRISET for railway signal engineering and ICRISAT. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with DRDL and DERL has research centres in Hyderabad to develop communication and radar systems and for the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Nuclear energy sector has a strong presence with three organisations under Department of Atomic Energy (India) including the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
Media
Film Industry: Hyderabad is home to the second largest film industry in India, Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood which produces approximately 150 movies every year. Saradhi Studios, Annapurna Studios, Ramanaidu Studios, Ramakrishna Studios, Padmalaya Studios, Ramoji Film City (the largest Film Studio in the India) are some of the considerable film studios in the city. The first Hyderabad International Film Festival (HIFF) was organised in 2007 by the Hyderabad Film Club and Andhra Pradesh Film Directors Association.The largest IMAX 3D Theater in the state is Prasads IMAX along with 4D Simulator at Hyderabad, India. Adlabs Goldspot, PVR Cinemas, Cine Planet, BIG Cinemas and Talkie Town are some other multiplexes in Hyderabad. In the year 2009, 17 multiplexes are going to open including one by the Maducon group at Kukatpally.
Arts & Theater: Ravindra Bharati located at Saifabad, is an principal and well known center for theatre and performing arts in the city. Many artists from around the world beget here regularly. Lalithakala Thoranam, Shilpakala Vedika are also similar centers for arts and theatre. State-of-the-art Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC) or simply HITEX is the first of its kind in South Asia and is now one among the world’s great convention centers.
Electronic Media: The radio industry has expanded with a number of private and government owned FM channels being introduced. The FM radio channels that broadcast in the city include AIR Vividh Bharathi FM (102.8 MHz), AIR Rainbow FM (101.9 MHz), Radio Mirchi FM (98.3 MHz), Radio City FM (91.1 MHz), Big FM (92.7 MHz), S FM (93.5 MHz) and AIR Gyan Vani FM (107.6 MHz). State-owned Doordarshan transmits two terrestrial television channels and one satellite television channel from Hyderabad. Some prominent private regional television channels broadcasting from Hyderabad are ETV, Gemini, Teja, Maa TV, ETV Urdu, Vissa, ETV2, TV9, Zee Telugu, NTV, TV5, RTV, Bhakthi TV, Samskruthi.
Print Media: Hyderabad has three print media groups that publish several newspapers and magazines in English, Telugu and Urdu. The major Telugu dailies include the Eenadu, Saakshi, Vaartha, Andhra Jyothi, Andhra Prabha, Andhra Bhoomi, Praja Shakthi. The major English dailies are The Deccan Chronicle, Business Standard, The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Economic Times. Hyderabad publishes more number of Urdu dailies than any other Indian city. The major Urdu dailies are The Siasat Daily, The Munsif Daily, The Etemaad, Rehnuma-e-Deccan, Rozanama Rashtriya Sahara and The Daily Milap.
Communication Services: Hyderabad is covered by a large network of optical fibre cables. There are four fixed telephone line operators in the city: BSNL, Tata Indicom, Reliance and Airtel. There are seven mobile phone companies in which GSM players include BSNL, Vodafone, Idea, Airtel; CDMA services offered by BSNL, Virgin Mobile, Tata Indicom and Reliance currently, with Spice Telecom soon to launch its services.
Sports: Cricket and hockey are the most popular sports in the city. Hyderabad Sultans won the inaugural Premiere Hockey League championship in 2005. The city took pride in hosting National Games and Afro-Asian Games. Hyderabad 10k Run is a marathon event conducted every year.
The earliest stadium built in the city is the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. Formerly known as Fateh Maidan, it was, till recently, the city’s only stadium that could conduct International cricket matches. The first cricket match played here was on November 19, 1955. The stadium is currently being used to conduct ICL matches. The recent Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal has a capacity of approximately 55,000 spectators and is being enhanced to have world class facilities. It houses an ultra-modern gymnasium along with a swimming pool. Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers franchise in the Indian Premier League was bought by Deccan Chronicle for USD 107 million. Notable players include Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, VVS Laxman, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris, RP Singh, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma and Chaminda Vaas.
The city houses the Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex, the G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium at Gachibowli for hockey and football and a sophisticated Velodrome for cycling at Osmania University. The city has state-of-the-art venues for gymnastics, archery and sepak takraw, shooting at Saroornagar Indoor Arena and University of Hyderabad respectively. The Aquatics Complex Stadium at Gachibowli, with a capacity of 3000 spectators hosts swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized events. Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 2500 spectators and wooden flooring with temperature control. SAAP Tennis Complex has a central court that holds 5000 spectators and has seven courts with synthetic surface. Water games like rowing, yachting, kayaking and canoeing are conducted at Hussain Sagar lake. The city also has five Go-Karting tracks and a Paint Ball Field. There are venues for table-tennis, basketball, equestrianism, boxing, weight-lifting with world class facilities.
The city is well known for Horse racing. The Hyderabad Run Club formerly known as the Nizam Race Club is located at Malakpet. The Hyderabad accelerate club attracts jockeys from all over the country by conducting various derbys/events here. Deccan derby, a popular annual event is a regular feature here. The winter races also were conducted here recently. Badminton is played in various parks.
Tourist Attractions
- Charminar – the major landmark in Hyderabad with four graceful minarets located in the old city. It is built as a memorial for plague victims. Charminar in most occasions is used to report the city and the dwelling and is hailed as a unique Deccan monument. It is in the midst of Charkaman.
- Falaknuma Palace – Built by an Italian architect through one of the Paigah nobles, Nawab Viqar al-Umra’, complete in Italian marble. It’s a beautiful and magnificent share of architecture with Louis XIV-style decor, a lavish Mughal ambience, Italian marble staircases and ornate fountains. It has now been undertaken by Taj group to develop this as Heritage Hotel.
- Golconda Fort – Once abandoned by Qutub Shahis, Golconda Fort is one of the most magnificent fortress complexes in India. Seated on a hill on one side and spiraling fort on the other, it’s location and internal design made it one of the strongest forts in the world.
- Chowmahalla Palace- It was the seat of Asaf Jahi dynasty, where the Nizam entertained his official guests and royal visitors. Initiated in 1750 by Nizam Salabat Jung and designed along the lines of the Shah’s palace in Isfahan, this actually consists of a group of palaces each used as a Durbar Hall. It has now been aesthetically renovated and is also venue for conferences.
- Salar Jung Museum – The museum houses the largest one-man collection of antiques in the world. Collections includeThe Veiled Rebecca and other immense collection of artifacts dating back to a few centuries. A mere day isn’t enough to cover the whole museum.
- Taramati Baradari – It is Located near Golconda on the way to Gandipet. It was built by a Qutb Shahi sultan. Newly added structures are the venues to many conferences. Similar structures like Premavati and Bhagmati can be seen from here.
- Mecca Masjid – a stone-built mosque, which lies immediate southwest of Charminar. Remarkable for its architecture, size and its royal splendor, this is one of the most beautiful mosques in Hyderabad. It is famous for its symmetry and the gateway bricks that are believed to be from Mecca.
- Birla Mandir – a Hindu temple made of white marble located on top of a hill overlooking the city.
- Birla Science Museum – The science centre is another beautiful structure, reflecting the advances made in science and technology. The interior décor matches the architectural exterior of the centre built over 10,000 sq ft (930 m2). The centre is host to a number of divisions such as the Planetarium, the Science Museum, and the centre for Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences.
- Public Gardens – Located adjacent to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, the gardens host the Horticulture department of Andhra Pradesh, the place museum of history and archeology and a sprawling park. Beside this is the Lalithakala thoranam, which is a venue for various cultural activities.
- Ravindra Bharati – The stage for all performing arts, especially for those enhancing the state and Indian cultures. Shows are held almost every evening throughout the calendar year which include musical and dance performances, drama, award ceremonies and special events of the government.
- Birla Planetarium – The Planetarium is another magnificent building with a big dome resembling that of the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur and some of the earliest government structures in New Delhi. A special attraction are the shows which unveil the mysteries of the cosmos and the origins of the universe, comets, eclipses, unidentified flying objects and the clash of titans. The latest addition is the Dinosaurium, which houses a collection of dinosaur egg fossils. The highlight of the museum is a mounted Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis, the remains of a 160 million old dinosaur.
- Purani Haveli – The official place of the Nizam.
- King Kothi Palace – The last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan lived here.
- Qutub Shahi Tombs – Home to various Tombs dedicated to Rulers of Qutub Shahi dynasty, located at Shaikpet, near Golconda Fort. These are an example of Deccan architecture with mammoth minarets, huge domes, sparkling marble designs and multiple inner passages.
- Paigah Tombs – These are recently discovered series of mausoleums with unique geometrical sculptures which were no where found in the world. These are located at Chandrayanagutta. Paigahs were noblemen under the reign of Nizams.
- Lumbini Park – This is one of the popular parks in the city. The main attraction of this park was the Musical fountain. It is now replaced by the 1500 seater Laserium, the first of its kind in the state. Boat rides take you across the lake to give you a closer inspect of the Buddha.
- Ananda Buddha Vihara – It is a Buddhist tourist destination. Located at posh Mahendra Hills, it houses meditation hall, a museum and rest houses for monks etc.
- Hussain Sagar – It is a man-made lake is also famous for the 19-metre tall Buddha statue on a platform island called Rock of Gibraltar in the middle of the lake, and for the Tank Bund which consists of beautiful gardens and statues of famous personalities. Boating and water sports are a regular feature here. Tall monolithic Buddha statue erected in the middle of the lake adds charm to this lake.
- Nehru Zoological Park – This zoo is the largest in India by area, houses a large variety of animals, birds, nocturnal species, aquatic and amphibian species. Located close to this is the Mir Alam Sagar, which is proposed to be converted into an Aquarium along the lines of Sentosa, Singapore. Its original feature is the 21 in-built masonry dams that are jewel shaped, which were built in 1806 by the then prime minister Mir Alam.
- Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy Botanical Gardens – These gardens located at Kondapur are spread across a sprawling area of 130 acres (0.53 km2), housing different varieties of herbs, plants, trees etc. These gardens provide a complete visual treat to the eyes with water bodies, meadows and rich grasslands – nature at its best. Night Safari Park is adjacent to this.
- Chilukuru Balaji Temple – It is the temple of Lord Sri Venkateshwara. Located around 23 km from Mehdipatnam.
- Necklace road – This popular boulevard lies on the other side of the lake, linking the IMAX theatre and Sanjivaiah park. This has become the-place-to-be for the Hyderabadis in the evenings. This strip provides a scenic atmosphere with lush lawns and long rows of flower beds. Eat-Street,Water Front are popular restaurants located on this strip. The latest addition to this strip is the Jala Vihar, a mini water world designed to soothe your senses.
- NTR Gardens – This leisure spot is located beside the IMAX theatre. Situated on 36 acres (150,000 m2) of land adjoining the Hussain sagar, these gardens provide of entertainment and recreation to families and youth alike. It also houses a memorial of Late Shri N.T.Rama Rao, former Chief Minister. It is renowned for its creative design which includes tree-top restaurants and architecture.
- Osman Sagar, Gandipet – A man-made lake, the largest in Hyderabad. The lake is a major drinking water source to the city. Abutting the lake are lush gardens that provide an ideal ambience for a holiday.
- Himayat Sagar – It is the twin lake to Gandipet lake. It comes along the way on Outer Ring Road enroute to airport which is a beautiful notion.
- Laad Bazaar – Also called Chudi Bazaar is on the west of Charminar, and known for its radiant bangles, jewelry and pearls.
- Lotus Pond – A beautiful garden built around a pond situated in Jubilee Hills, said to have been designed by an Italian designer. This garden is currently maintained by the Municipal Corporation. It is also home to a few rare species of birds.
- Durgam Cheruvu – Also called The Secret Lake it is a peaceful boulevard near the bustling Madhapur.
- Shilparamam- Located opposite Cyber towers, HITEC city, it is an arts and crafts village which was conceived with an idea to create an environment for the preservation of traditional crafts such as sculpting wonders from stone, weaving in cotton, silk and gold thread, Dhaka muslin, Kondapalli toys, Bankura horses, gudda-guddis of Punjab, temple arts and a motley of Indian arts and crafts. Cessation proximity to this is the Shilpakala vedika, a conference hall built with exquisite ethnic decor as well as with all state-of-the-art facilities.
- Sanghi Temple – A temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara graces a promontory overlooking Sanghi Nagar, near Ramoji Film City.
- Ramoji Film City (RFC) – It is the world’s largest integrated film studio cum theme park, at nearly 3,000 acres (8 km²). It is also one of Asia’s most popular tourism and recreation centres. Recently, it has made its way to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest film studio in the world. Opened in 1996, it is about 20 min. drive from Hyderabad on Vijayawada Highway.
- Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park – A sanctuary for Peacocks and Anteaters along with many other species including Monkeys and Snakes, the sanctuary is the green place of the richest area of the city, Jubilee Hills.
- Mahaveer Harina Vanasthali Park – Located near posh locality of Vanasthalipuram, previously it is a hunting (shikari) spot for Nizams it is now a picnic spot for the city people. Nischalvan Eco-tourism project is located here.
- Mriganavani wildlife sanctuary – A sanctuary for deer and leopards, it is located enroute to Chilkur. The Outer Ring Road passes over (flyover) through this national park which is a thrilling experience.
- Anantagiri Hill station – Located near Vikarabad, just 2 hour drive from Hyderabad, it is the place where River Musi originated. It is an exotic hill station far away from hustle and bustle of the city, providing trekking, camping and many adventures to do. Added to this are many up coming hill resorts where you can spend a happy weekend or vacation. In one word to say it is the Araku Valley of Hyderabad.
Besides, many resorts like Pragati Green Meadows, Golkonda Spa cum Resort, Lahari Resorts, Alankrita Resorts, Dream Valley and recreation spots like Treasure Island, Runway 9, Ocean Park, Mount Opera, Dhola-ri-Dhani make Hyderabad an ideal destination for tourists.
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Filed under Small Business Phone Numbers by on Aug 21st, 2010.