Apple Now the World's Most Valuable Brand, Knocks Off Coca-Cola

cagraham writes "According to consultancy firm Interbrand's latest 'Best Global Brands' report, Apple is now the world's most valuable brand, with an estimated worth of $98.4 billion. Since Interbrand began issuing the report in 2001, Coca-Cola has previously always claimed the top spot, but fell to third place this year, behind both Apple and Google. Tech companies now make up six of the top ten brands, but only 12 of the top 200. The report comes a week after Apple reported record sales numbers, moving 9 million iPhone 5s and 5Cs during their opening weekend."

Re:Obligatory Steve Jobs quote

[narcc]

That was a bit more powerful in the context of the personal computer revolution.

Today, it sounds empty. A bit more like "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me an sell premium personal electronics?"

Re:Obligatory Steve Jobs quote

[UnknowingFool]

That sounds like sour grapes to me. Apple is one of many companies that has helped change the world with their "electronic devices". Just ten years ago, the average person would have to look up directions at home, or consult a paper map, or stop and ask for directions if they got lost. These days they pull out their smart phone and do the same thing. Sometimes they don't even need to key in anything and just use voice commands.

Re:Obligatory Steve Jobs quote

[gl4ss]

given that the largest manufacturer of phones at the time was already on the market with real gps enabled phones when apple was announcing it's first phone with what fanbois at the time called "virtual gps"...

that's the thing. they didn't invent the smartphone. they didn't invent mapping. had nothing to do with gps. nothing to do with battery technology. nothing to do with chip fabs. everything to do with sweaters and BRAND recognition, so this title is fitting for them.

but just like ford didn't invent the car or the modern assembly line, facts don't stop them from hogging the credit(or fanbois placing credit both on the company and taking credit to buy the products).

so, things would be the same without them. capacitive control chipsets factories would have come online without them too. now where the fuck is my 1 terabyte ipod classic that I'm still waiting for?

Re:Obligatory Steve Jobs quote

[CastrTroy]

Also, my experience is that a phone is no replacement for a proper GPS. I got a proper GPS (Garmin Oregon 450) and the difference between using this and my phone (or any phone I've used) is quite significant. The time to acquire and maintain a signal, the ability to read the screen in sunlight, the ruggedness (+! for actually being waterproof), and many other aspects make the phone seem like a poor substitute. Sure a phone will do in a pinch, but given the option, I'll always bring my actual GPS with me when there's a chance it could be useful. I think the same goes for a lot of other things you can use a cell phone for. Most of them can use the LED as a flashlight, but it's a poor substitute for an actual flashlight. They work as a camera, but I'd rather use a real camera (even a point and shoot) over a phone any day. I still can't comprehend why they can't just put an actual flash on a phone. I think they are kind of like having the ultimate Swiss Army knife [thisiswhyimbroke.com]. Technically it has 87 tools, but in the effort to add more and more tools into the thing, the tools themselves have been all but useless.

Re:Obligatory Steve Jobs quote

[RazorSharp]

Ditto that. Even though I'm on Ubuntu right now for certain pieces of software, if I had intended on doing nothing but browse the net I would have booted into OS X because it's such a seamless experience. Even if I stopped using OS X completely I'd still buy Apple hardware. I have an HP laptop that goes with me in higher risk mobile situations (where there's an increased risk of it being broken/stolen) and damn does it feel cumbersome to use, even when running the same OS and software. I have to type slower, too.

I understand the marketing claims about Apple. My g/f loves her iPhone and when she saw the 5c announcement she got all giddy b/c of the prospect of getting a pink and green iPhone. Then she saw the 5s and it's fingerprint thingy and she was completely sold on that. But I have to admit, I like her iPhone more than any Android I've tinkered around with. I have a dirt-cheap flip phone because I don't text or Facebook or any of that shit those damn kids who won't get off my lawn do (no matter how loud I yell), but if I ever do decide to buy a smartphone it'd probably be an iPhone. It's not like my carrier charges any higher for iPhone data vs. Android data, and data charges are where the real costs are. Sorry Windows Phones, you don't even get my consideration.

Anyway, back to the point, just because some people buy Apple products for the fashionable factor doesn't mean that all people do. The brilliance of Apple products since 2001 has been the ability to package everything a geek wants into something the tech illiterate can use and crave. Nothing epitomizes this more than OS X.