Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Awarded Tech Emmy at Consumer Electronics Show

Samantha Lile

12 years ago

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may not have attended the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but its presence was hard to miss. Not only were there hundreds or Apple peripheral products showcased in the iLounge pavilion, but Cupertino was also awarded an Emmy at the event’s highlight, held at the Bellagio ballroom Jan. 11.

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has honored innovations in technology and engineering since 1948, with awards “presented to an individual, company, or to a scientific or technical organization for developments and/or standardization involved in engineering technologies which either represent an extensive improvement on existing methods or are so innovative in nature that they materially have affected the transmission, recording, or reception of television.”

This year, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was given a technical Emmy for the best “eco-system for real time presentation of TV content to mobile devices without the use of specialized television hardware.” Although it’s still unclear exactly what device or system earned Apple the award, most media now speculates the company’s cloud infrastructure won the honor. Apple’s iCloud service allows users to access television, movie, music and literary content from a computer or Apple device. Although impressive, the Emmy isn’t Apple’s first. It has been honored in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 for its technological contributions.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) earned its first tech Emmy in 2001 for the creation of Firewire, a high-speed technology used to connect digital devices such as camcorders and cameras to desktops and portable computers. Developed in the mid-90s, by 2001 Apple incorporated FireWire into every computer it sold.

In 2002 Apple was honored by the Academy for the contributions its Final Cut Pro software made to the film editing genre. Hailed by the industry for its power and ease of use, Final Cut Pro enabled film editor to produce their own work and news publishers to significantly cut costs.

Apple (AAPL) again won Emmys for its streaming technology in 2005 and 2006, but the tech giant has not been limited to technical awards from the Academy. In 1998, the company won the second-ever Emmy for Outstanding Television Commercial, thanks to its now-famous “Think Different” campaign. The ad, which was narrated by Richard Dreyfus, featured black-and-white clips of notable 20^th Century figures including Albert Einstein, Mahatma Ghandi, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Neither the Academy nor Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has verified the 2013 award was given for iCloud. Do you agree with the speculation?