In India to conquer markets, Tim Cook seeks Ganesha blessings
19 May 2016 10:01 PM GMT
Cook was seen with Anant Ambani, the son of RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, at the temple devoted to the deity of wisdom Lord Ganesha.
Sources said the temple visit of Cook was unplanned and so was the chance of meeting junior Ambani. He arrived in the city late on Tuesday night from Beijing and is staying at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the city.
He was seen wearing a light blue shirt and a stole with Sanskrit scriptures, which is generally worn by Hindu devotees. Indian spirituality is not really new to the American company known for cutting-edge scientific innovation. Its famed founder, the late Steve Jobs, had a fling with it over four decades ago, and some accounts say that he had also stayed at the commune of a Hindu ascetic at Haridwar during the trip.
At Prabhadevi’s Siddhivinayak Temple, Cook was accompanied by Sanjay Kaul, the head of country operations for the tech giant, which witnessed its first quarter of dip in sales of its flagship iPhone.
India, however, figures as a bright spot amid the slump and recorded a 56 per cent jump in sales here with the revenue crossing a $1-billion mark for the first time.
While some media reports said he would be meeting Mukesh Ambani, a RIL spokesperson said the company chairman is away in the US.
Apple to open iOS app design & development centre in Bengaluru
US tech giant Apple Inc on Wednesday announced setting up a software laboratory in Bengaluru to support startups and developers working on the company’s iOS platform as its Chief Executive Tim Cook began his maiden visit to India.
Cook, who arrived in Mumbai late last night, is also slated to unveil a development center for maps in Hyderabad tomorrow. His four-day tour of India may also feature a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
The app design and development accelerator or laboratory will open in Bengaluru in early 2017, Apple said in a statement. The company, however, did not disclose the investments. Apple, which is facing slagging sales in the US and Europe, is pushing for opening retail stores in India.
Apple, which has a network of 33 stores in China, is seeking to import and sell refurbished iPhones in India but this proposal is facing opposition from authorities.
Cook had in a recent earnings call stated that he viewed “India as where China was maybe seven to 10 years ago from that point of view, and I think there’s a really great opportunity there.” India is world’s third-largest smartphone market with over 100 million smartphones sold last year.
This is projected to grow 25 per cent this year. But Apple’s iPhone has only a 2 per cent market share. “The company will establish a design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, the home of India’s startup scene.
Tens of thousands of developers in India make apps for iOS (foundation for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch). This initiative will provide additional, specialised support for them,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple’s team will work with developers on best practices, help them hone their skills and transform the design, quality and performance of their apps on the iOS platform, it added. “India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world.
With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we are giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world,” Cook said.
Each week, Apple experts will lead briefings and provide one-on-one app reviews for developers. The facility will also provide support and guidance on Swift, Apple’s intuitive programming language created to build apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch.
Apple CEO drops in at ICICI HQ
Mumbai: American technology giant Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met ICICI Bank’s top brass at the country’s largest private sector lender’s corporate headquarters here.
Cook, whose every meeting is being closely watched here for cues about Apple’s business plans in India, walked into the ICICI Bank Towers in the Bandra Kurla Complex business district here and spent over an hour there, sources said.
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