Recession Bites Into Apple

Computer sales surge as new operating system nears debut

(NEWSER) - Sales of Mac computers are booming, boosted by the success of Apple's iPod and iPhone among PC users. Apple will move into third place among computer makers today—behind Hewlett Packard and Dell, reports the New York Times. The surge comes just as Apple is about to release the new Leopard version of its OS X operating system. More»

Holiday iPod sales surge defies Wall Street

(NEWSER) - A late surge in holiday iPod sales boosted Apple quarterly revenue and profits to a record high, reports the Los Angeles Times. Wall Street analysts had predicted a slump of up to 18% in Apple sales, but despite the recession, the company is reporting $1.61 billion in profits on increased revenue of $10.2 billion. Apple shares rose 6% to $82.83 in regular trading, then jumped another 10% after hours. More»

Only iPhone workers will get hefty wage hikes promised by Foxconn

(NEWSER) - Here's one way to avoid paying the hefty raises promised to 300,000 workers at the suicide-plagued Foxconn electronics plant in Shenzhen, China: move most of them to less expensive, remote plants in other parts of the country. Foxconn is apparently keeping the iPhone workers in Shenzhen, but moving Hewlett Packard and other production to Tianjin, Yantai, or Wuhan. The minimum monthly wage in the Shenzhen plant, near Hong Kong, is now 1,100 yuan ($161), China Daily reports, and as low as 900 yuan in the other locations. More»

(NEWSER) - Intel has rolled out a new chip for servers that will more than double the effectiveness of systems but consume no extra power, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Xeon 5500 excels at “virtualization,” allowing multiple operating systems and applications to run on one server—which Intel hopes will attract buyers in a recession. “The Xeon 5500 becomes a cash machine for IT,” an Intel exec said. More»

iPhone style trackpad and better graphics cards spurred by consumer input

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs rolled out redesigns of Apple’s MacBook line today, adding many desired features such as iPhone-type trackpads and better video cards, Ars Technica reports. A new entry into the line of flat-panel monitors was also unveiled. Though prices remain the same for each laptop (except the entry-level MacBook), new manufacturing practices and suppliers promise lighter weights and improved functionality. More»