Apple's Tim Cook talks iPad, retail expansion plans

Macworld - Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook sang the praises of the forthcoming iPad, outlined the company's plans for retail expansion, and gave an overview of the company's other products during a wide-ranging talk before investors at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The Apple COO didn't have anything new to announce during his half-hour-long conversation with Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey. But Cook's comments do offer some insight into Apple's approach as it enjoys record revenue and sales.

Just a month ago, Apple reported its best-ever quarterly performance, thanks to record Mac and iPhone sales. On Tuesday, Cook was particularly effusive in his praise of the iMac, which he called "very key, and we think it will continue to be very key."

The iMac is just one of the products that's helped the Mac outgrow the overall PC market in 20 of the last 21 quarters. Cook noted that market research firm IDC puts the PC market at about 300 million units and compared that to the 10 million Macs Apple sold during its 2009 fiscal year.

"The ceiling [for Apple] is still far off," he said.

Apple is also enjoying strong growth with the iPhone and iPod touch. The latter handheld, in particular, saw its sales double year-over-year in 2009.

"That helps fuel more app sales, which helps fuel more developers, which helps make the [iPhone OS] platform stronger," Cook said.

In talking about Apple's success, Cook focused on the company's efforts to recruit top talent as well as its focus on core products. "This is the most focused company I know of, am aware of, or have any knowledge of," Cook said. "We say no to good ideas every day" so that the company can keep its focus on a small number of areas. Cook took note of the tables conference attendees were sitting at, and pointed out that most of Apple's product line could fit on those tables. "And we had revenue last year of $40 billion," he added.

The iPad dominates

But much of the focus of Cook's talk Tuesday fell on the iPad--not surprising given that the tablet, unveiled last month, is slated to make its debut in March. Cook told attendees at the Goldman Sachs conference that he's been using the iPad for six months now. "The experience is absolutely incredible," he said.

"It's got a number of things that are appreciably better than anything available today," added Cook, as he ticked off the device's browsing, e-mail, and photo display capabilities.

Echoing the same tack taken by Steve Jobs during the iPad launch event in January, Cook contrasted Apple's forthcoming tablet with netbooks--low-cost PCs that offer browsing and e-mail capabilities in a stripped-down laptop. It's Apple's contention--repeated by Cook on Tuesday--that the only thing about netbooks that appeals to consumers is the price, and that the appeal wanes once users have spent any time with a netbook.