Apple Doing Well

Image via CrunchBaseDaily Mail: Apple is now bigger than Microsoft and Google combined - and worth more than the gross domestic product of Sweden

- The tech giant's stock is worth more than the market capitalisations of rivals Google ($196.8bn) and Microsoft ($256.1bn) combined.
- Apple's profits recently passed $1 billion a week and the company now sells a million iPhones a day.
- Apple's stock is worth more than the gross domestic product of Sweden - $458 billion.
- Apple is worth more than all the gold in the American Federal Reserve - $350 billion
- and all the illegal drugs in the world, $321 billion
- sold 37.04million iPhones - its flagship product - and 15.43million iPad tablets, doubling from a year earlier.
- its war chest of cash and securities to almost $100billion - more than enough to plug December's U.S. budget deficit.
- Apple's iPhone business is now bigger than the whole of Microsoft .... The company's smartphone division generated $24.4 billion of revenue in the quarter up until December, whereas the whole of Microsoft generated $20.9 billion in the same quarter.

Clearly Apple is an iPhone, iPad company like Microsoft used to be a Windows, Office company.

Related articles

• Apple is now worth more than Microsoft and Google combined (dailymail.co.uk)
• Apple now worth more than Google, Microsoft combined (currentindiaaffairs.wordpress.com)
• Microsoft + Google = Apple - SlashGear (slashgear.com)
• Apple Now Worth Than Microsoft And Google Put Together (cultofmac.com)
• Apple Now Worth More Than Microsoft, Google Combined (business.time.com)
• Apple's iPhone business makes more money than the whole of Microsoft (buzzom.com)
• Motorola 'demands' 2.25% of all iPhone, iPad sales (fiercewireless.com)
• Apple is now worth more than the GDP of Sweden (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
• Apple Employee: The New iPad's Screen Is 'Truly Amazing' (AAPL) (businessinsider.com)
• Apple's iPhone Business Alone Is Now Bigger Than Microsoft (businessinsider.com)

Apple Is Being Unreasonable

Apple Inc. (Photo credit: marcopako )FOSS Patents: Apple requests U.S. preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus based on four high-power patents
The Verge: Apple seeks to ban Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, but it's really going after Android 4.0
CNet: Apple seeks U.S. ban on Galaxy Nexus
The Next Web: Apple moves to ban the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the U.S., attacking Android 4.0 with 4 tough patents
Electronista: Apple's new Samsung lawsuit targets Siri-like search, more
Phandroid: Apple at it again, file injunction request against Galaxy Nexus

This reminds me of the Cold War. The Soviets would threaten to obliterate America. The Americans would threaten to obliterate the Soviet Union. They went back and forth for decades. Finally they came to their senses and started talks to dismantle their nuclear weapons, much of them. But first they achieved Mutually Assured Destruction. As in, both would disappear if either carried out the threat.

Instead of the big companies engaging in such Cold War style drama it would make sense for them to come together and take the lead on software patent reform. Things in that department have been crazy for a while. And the big companies themselves have suffered much. Patent trolls have milked the big companies over long years.

For Apple to get offended by Siri like services would be equal to Google saying the search box is theirs and theirs alone. No, it isn't.

Apple right now is acting Soviet.

Software patent wars are energy that needs to go into innovation. There is plenty of work for the industry to do.