Model Airplanes

It was a decade ago today when Apple introduced the first iPhone to more than a little bit of skepticism. The then-unprecedented pricing, starting at $499. The all-touchscreen design, forgoing the physical keyboard that dominated the “smartphones” of the day. The fact that Apple had never built a phone before. Even Steve Jobs wasn’t talking too big, suggesting Apple might sell 10 million over 18 months, just a few percent of total cell phone sales back then. But with all the question marks, there was a sense that something special was brewing.

A decade of iPhone (Photo credit: Apple)

The dominant smart device of the device was Research in Motion’s Blackberry. And company founder Mike Lazaridis asked simply: “How did they do that?” He was blown away by the amount of computing power Apple had squeezed into the iPhone, which though small by today’s standards had a then-astounding large 3.5-inch touchscreen. It was powerful enough to display videos, download maps, and act as a replacement for Apple’s iconic iPod music player. Jobs himself called it three products in one, “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device.”

Less noted that day was a subtle change in how the company branded itself. It changed its name from Apple Computer to just plain Apple. In retrospect, that wasn’t a signal of a reduced emphasis on computers, but rather an acknowledgement that nearly everything Apple makes has a computer inside it. Calling the

Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2017/01/09/iphone-at-10-the-smartphone-disrupted-everything-but-still-some-has-jobs-to-be-done/

SEATTLE (The Seattle Times/TNS) – Boeing delivered 748 jets last year, fourteen fewer than in 2015, but still enough to leave it well ahead of rival Airbus in 2016 production.

However, overall sales for the year slumped despite a year-end rush that saw it book 202 net orders in December, according to data released Friday.

Boeing’s final 2016 tally was 668 net orders, exactly one hundred fewer jets sold than in the previous year.

In a message to employees Friday, the new chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAlister, discussed a series of milestones achieved during the year.

He cited the first flight of the 737 MAX and its international debut at the Farnborough Airshow in England; the delivery of the five hundredth 787 Dreamliner and in South Carolina the start of final assembly of the latest Dreamliner model, the 787-10; and the opening of the 777X Composite Wing Center in Everett, Wash.

At list prices, the total value of Boeing’s 2016 net orders would be $94 billion. According to market pricing data from aircraft valuation firm Avitas, the real value after standard sales discounts is estimated at about $44 billion.

The fact that the 668 jet sales total lags the 748 jet delivery total means that Boeing’s backlog of unfilled orders drops by eighty, the first time it’s fallen in seven years.

Airbus won’t release its corresponding order and delivery figures until later this week,

Article source: http://hamodia.com/2017/01/08/boeing-sees-jet-sales-fall-still-outpaces-rival-airbus/