Apple is well known for its innovative line of products, including the iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad.

It is a multinational company based in California and established by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976. Apple began by creating its first personal computer, the Apple I, which was handmade by Wozniak.

The company was previously called Apple Computer, Inc from its incorporation on January 3, 1977. Later on, the organization changed its name to Apple, Inc in January 2007 to re-establish the company’s image as a creator of an expanded line of products, in addition to its traditional market for personal computers. Apple also has subsidiaries including Braeburn Capital and FileMaker Inc.

Apple has already established a wide customer base for laptops, desktops and other consumer electronics. They are currently dominating in the digital music player industry, grabbing a broad market share from its competitors across the world. The company has already sold around 220 million units of iPods, its popular portable music player. The iPhone, Apple’s mobile communication device, is sold in more than 80 countries.

Its success can be rooted from the company’s focus and investment on aggressive marketing campaigns, unique advertisements, product innovation and aesthetic improvements. Apple was named “the most admired company” in the United States by Fortune Magazine in 2008, and as “the most admired company in the world” in 2009.

The article in Fortune, despite Jobs’ ups and downs, Apple products like the iPhone and iPod are incredibly popular tools.

After leaving the company for six months in the early part of the year to receive a liver transplant, Jobs, 54, is back heading the 34,000 employees that run his empire.

According to Fortune, “In the past 10 years alone (Jobs) has radically and lucratively reordered three markets — music, movies, and mobile telephones — and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown.”

”He is the rare businessman with legitimate worldwide celebrity,” the article goes on.

Jobs’ company was worth about $5 billion in 2000, but today it is worth about $170 billion, making Apple is slightly more valuable than Google, according to Fortune.

Read about “How Jobs transformed Apple.”