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Today in Apple history: iPhone 4 owners get Antennagate payout

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Antennagate
No, you weren't holding your iPhone wrong.
Photo: Apple

March 29: Today in Apple history: iPhone 4 owners get Antennagate payout March 29, 2012: Apple settles its “Antennagate” controversy by giving affected iPhone 4 owners the chance to claim a whopping $15 payout. The settlement covers customers who experienced problems with the phone dropping calls due to its cutting-edge design, but were not able to return their handsets (or didn’t want a free bumper from Apple to mitigate against the problem).

While it’s arguable whether a $15 payout was worth filing all the paperwork necessary to claim the cash, the Antennagate story and the subsequent class-action lawsuit generated big headlines at the time.

Today in Apple history: Apple pays to use ‘iPad’ name

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The iPad delivered Apple's
Would an iPad by any other name smell as sweet?
Photo: Apple

March 26: Today in Apple history: Apple buys rights to use iPad name from Fujitsu March 26, 2010: Apple ends a trademark dispute with Japanese multinational Fujitsu over the name “iPad” in the United States.

It comes two months after Steve Jobs first showed off the iPad, and around a week before the tablet will land in stores. As it happens, it’s not the first time Apple battled over the name for one of its new products.

Today in Apple history: iPad gets an eye-dazzling Retina display

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The iPad 3 Retina display was one gorgeous screen.
The iPad 3's Retina display was one gorgeous screen.
Photo: Apple

March 16: Today in Apple history: iPad gets an eye-dazzling Retina display March 16, 2012: Apple introduces the third-generation iPad, its first tablet to come with a Retina display. Marketed as simply “the new iPad,” it’s widely known as the “iPad 3.”

Boasting that beautiful screen and Apple’s then-swanky A5X chip with a quad-core graphics processor, the third-gen iPad quickly becomes a big success. Disappointingly for customers, it will only hang around until October 2012. That’s the shortest lifespan of any iOS product in history, at just seven months.

Today in Apple history: Apple market cap breezes by Walmart

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
At this point, a $200 billion market cap seems almost quaint for Apple.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

March 12: Today in Apple history: Apple overtakes Walmart in value March 12, 2010: Apple passes Walmart and investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in value to take third place in market capitalization among publicly listed U.S. companies.

Apple’s valuation roars past $200 billion as a result of intense excitement over the first-generation iPad. Things look good for the company as it guns for powerhouses ExxonMobil and Microsoft.

Today in Apple history: iPad 2 is the svelte sequel fans hoped for

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iPad 2
The iPad 2 took a leap forward in every way except pricing.
Photo: Apple

March 11: Today in Apple history: iPad 2 is the sequel fans hoped for March 11, 2011: How do you follow up your biggest product debut ever? That’s the question Apple needs to answer as it releases the iPad 2.

Apple’s second-generation tablet boasts a faster dual-core A5 processor inside a lighter build. It’s also the first iPad to feature VGA front-facing and 720p rear-facing cameras.

Today in Apple history: The App Store hits 25 billion downloads

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App store
At 25 billion downloads, Apple marked a major App Store milestone.
Photo: Apple

March 5: Today in Apple history: The App Store hits 25 billion downloads March 5, 2012: Apple reaches a staggering milestone, with 25 billion apps downloaded from the iOS App Store.

The company celebrates the occasion with a giveaway titled the “25 Billion App Countdown.” The lucky 25 billionth app downloader wins an iTunes gift card worth $10,000.

Today in Apple history: CFO Peter Oppenheimer retires from Apple

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Peter
Peter Oppenheimer oversaw a decade of explosive growth at Apple.
Photo: C-SPAN

March 4: Today in Apple history: Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer retires March 4, 2014: Peter Oppenheimer, the Apple chief financial officer who presided over a decade of skyrocketing growth, steps down from the company.

After becoming Apple CFO in 2004, Oppenheimer saw the company’s valuation soar from $8.8 billion to $471 billion. Luca Maestri, current Apple senior vice president and chief financial officer, replaced Oppenheimer in this crucial position.

Today in Apple history: iTunes hits 10 billion downloads

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With iTunes 10 billion downloads milestone, Apple becomes the world's biggest music vendor.
Apple becomes the world's biggest music vendor.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

February 23: Today in Apple history: iTunes hits 10 billion downloads February 23, 2010: The iTunes Store officially passes the 10 billion music downloads mark, reaching a major milestone. The 10 billionth purchase? “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash.

The buyer of the song in question is Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. As part of a “Countdown to 10 Billion Songs” promotion by Apple, Sulcer wins a massive $10,000 iTunes Store gift card — and receives a personal phone call from Steve Jobs for good measure!

Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs wins posthumous Grammy

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Cue
Steve Jobs' death caused an outpouring of support.
Photo: Grammys

February 12: Today in Apple history February 12, 2012: Months after his untimely death, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is honored with a Special Merit Grammy Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of music with the iPod and iTunes Music Store.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, collects the Grammy on behalf of Jobs’ family and “everyone at Apple.”

Today in Apple history: iPad fails to impress Bill Gates

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Bill Gates Fox News
Bill Gates definitely doesn't wish Microsoft invented the iPad.
Photo: Fox News

February 11: Today in Apple history: iPad fails to impress Bill Gates February 11, 2010: With iPad excitement reaching a fever pitch, Steve Jobs’ old frenemy Bill Gates wades in with his own opinion of Apple’s tablet.

The Microsoft co-founder’s view? The upcoming device is kinda meh.

“There’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it,'” Gates tells one interviewer.