As Apple gets ready to reveal the iPhone 5 today, the brand that Steve Jobs built has broken into the Top 10 of Interbrand's Best Global Brands ranking for the first time. With a brand value that increased a whopping 58%, Apple is now ranked at #8, up from #17 on last year's list, making it the biggest-rising brand this year.

Part of the rationale for Apple's leap: "great branding meeting great technology to deliver a unique overall experience," according to Interbrand's 2011 report. Looking ahead, "Steve Jobs’ recent resignation has the world curious about the impact on this innovative company as it is unclear how much of the brand’s success was due directly to Jobs’ own vision and control, and how much was due to his team—including new CEO, Tim Cook."

Technology brands dominate this year's list, accounting for seven of the top ten brands (besides Apple, there's IBM, Microsoft, Google, GE, Intel, and HP) and four of the five biggest risers. New entrant HTC, the Taiwanese mobile device-maker that recently shifted from B2B to B2C, makes its debut on the list at #98.

Check out the new 2011 report at BestGlobalBrands.com, and watch Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton's 2011 overview below.Continue reading...

The United States Postal Service is on the brink of financial collapse, reports the New York Times.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz hosts political town hall on Tuesday.

Amazon.com tests a site redesign as founder Jeff Bezos sees spaceship misfire.

American Apparel is in talks to raise up to $160 million in financing.

Apple retains appeal without Steve Jobs, while iconic designer Jonathan Ive stays on.

Baidu launches app store.

China’s Bright Foods looks to Australia for growth.

Cisco is accused of abetting Chinese government in Falun Gong crackdown.

CW marketer Rick Haskins attracts attention with provocative campaigns.

Domino's Pizza wants to be the first fast food joint on the moon (offer only good in Japan).

Glee star Heather Morris criticized for domestic violence-themed photo shoot.

Google Doodle pays tribute to Queen's Freddy Mercury.Continue reading...

So, Steve Jobs has stepped down as CEO of Apple so he can take care of himself as he struggles with health issues -- the full dimensions of which have not been disclosed -- that have worried shareholders and Apple-lovers. He’s leaving behind a zillion contented Apple users around the globe, an army of employees who have given him a 97 percent approval rating (the third-highest CEO) on Glasdoor.com, and a boatload of business execs who are disappointed to see him disappear.

But as Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak points out, Jobs needs some time for himself: "I mean, just your time, everybody wants you day and night, that's what I mean by sacrifices,” Wozniak said, according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog. “It takes so much out of anyone to be under just constant pressure and demands like that. Steve needs now to just have some 'Steve time.' He deserves it."

Jobs plans to stay on in the newly created role of chairman. In an era where CEOs serve routinely as villains, it's rather amazing to witness the emotional outpouring.Continue reading...

Steve Jobs leaves CEO post at Apple, naming Tim Cook his successor and leaving an unparalleled legacy, including the five times he "changed the world" and Apple's iconoclastic ads.

Adidas gets trampled by rugby-shirt scrum in New Zealand.

Apple gains a victory over Samsung in Dutch court's IP ruling.

Delta is said to defer order of small jets.

Macy's, Nordstrom and Victoria's Secret lead retailers in digital implementation, study says. Continue reading...

Apple purchased a 100-acre plot of land from Hewlett Packard last month for $300 million that’s only two miles away from the brand’s main base. So what do you think Steve Jobs is going to do with it?

Right! Build Apple City, a residential area for engineers and developers that will be joined to the main campus via underground tunnels and not allow any harmful emissions to go forth from the site, according to TreeHugger.com.

Spanish newspaper El Economista reports that famed architect Norman Foster has been hired to do the job, partially because of his similar work in Abu Dhabi on Masdar City, a development that will run entirely on solar and other renewable energy sources and serve as the home base for the International Renewable Energy Agency.Continue reading...

Turns out Apple doesn’t own the letter “i” after all.

Having just announced its iCloud computing service, joining its existing iTeam (iTunes, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iWeb) on its lengthy trademark list, Apple is being sued by iCloud Communications, a Phoenix company that provides telephone services via the Internet; a classic David vs. Goliath case.

Apple in no newcomer to trademark disputes, and as befits a Goliath, has always won – or settled, including litigation for the appleimac.com domain name in 1998; the domain name itunes.co.uk in 2005 vs. Cyberbritain Group Ltd; the iPhone trademark in 2007 vs. Cisco Systems; the iPad trademark in 2009 vs. Fujitsu; the iAds name in May 2010 vs. Innovative Media Group, LLC; and (in an ongoing dispute) Amazon over the term “App Store.”

The tech behemoth’s very name itself, was the subject of dispute when Apple Corps, founded by The Beatles, filed a trademark infringement suit in 1978 — a spat that was finally laid to rest with Apple's iTunes deal with The Beatles in November.Continue reading...

Airbus unveils transparent plane concept.

American Airlines to offer Samsung tablet for inflight movies.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is set to become a comic book superhero.

Citi reportedly knew about hacking "weeks" before revealed.

Comcast and Skype partner on HD video calling service.

Facebook IPO could be worth $100 billion, as US privacy groups balk at site's facial recognition — and Mark Zuckerberg may be (says Bill Gates) engaged.

HP executive churn continues.

Lanvin introduces children's collection.Continue reading...

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has a vision for the structure that's going to lift the brand into the iCloud.

The Apple CEO is lobbying for a spaceship-shaped new campus incorporating property formerly occupied by HP that would accommodate up to 13,000 employees, with its own energy source to keep green. “Apple is growing like a weed,” he told the Cupertino, CA, City Council on Tuesday. “And as you know, we’ve always been in Cupertino.” He also reminded the council how much Apple pays in local taxes.

Jobs's famed presentation skills won the day. "Apple is truly a technology of innovation, and our city staff and City Council looks forward to working with you and helping you succeed here in our community," Mayor Gilbert Wong said after — wait for it — pulling out his iPad 2.