Newton to drop Apple branding
Apple Computer is axing the Apple logo from its mobile communications subsidiary’s products this year in an attempt to appeal to business customers. In two years Apple has shed over 2,000 staff and made losses totalling 1bn.
Newton Inc, with worldwide sales of 127m, is 80 per cent-owned by Apple. It will adopt a new marque based around its name and rays of light coming from a lightbulb. The new logo was developed by San Francisco-based design and ad agency Stone Yamashita.
Roy Bedlow, European marketing manager for Newton Inc, says: “Our customers are different, and the way we will sell to them is different. We sell to a lot of corporations and many ask us to take the Apple logo off. Businesses don’t believe Apple can cater for corporate clients.
“After a lot of internal discussion we felt that a clean break was needed to build this brand.”
Newton manufactures the mobile computer MessagePad 2000 and also licences its technology to other companies. It has developed a separate Newton Technology logo to put on products by other companies which license its software. The idea is similar to Intel’s Intel Inside scheme.
The logos will appear on the company’s livery immediately, and on its machines by the end of the year.