Apple's Cook: "I've Never Felt Like We've Needed A Social Network"

This week in a chat with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the conference known as D11, Tim Cook took the stage with chat about what Apple needs – and what it does't need – to push forward in our modern mobile market. Suggesting that Apple may be "missing" social networking as it acquires companies (at a pace of 6 or 7 companies a year, according to Cook), Swisher found Cook mentioning iMessage and Apple's Game Center as "some things that are social" that Apple does.

Cook went on to mention that Apple doesn't have a social network, but this is moot because Facebook and Twitter are integrated into iOS. "I've never felt like we've needed a social network", said Cook, but "we're not afraid of large acquisitions."

This line of questioning followed a brief set of questions on cash. Noting that Apple's "piles of money" didn't appear to be doing much, Swisher asked why Apple didn't buy more things with its war chest. Cook responded with the acquisition figure.

Noting that before the year we're in now, Apple was on pace to acquire a company every 60 or 75 days "or so", Cook mentioned that this speed has ramped up significantly. "This year we've already acquired 9 companies." Asked by Mossberg if each of those acquisitions was announced, Cook responded: "only when we have to."

Cook suggested that though they hadn't announced all of the companies they'd picked up so far this year, they may be doing "more of that" in the future. He continued by saying that in acquiring companies, the "key" for Apple is whether or not doing so would help make a great product. So it goes in the world of a product maker – as suggested earlier in the interview by Cook, as it were.

VIA: ABC News

SOURCE: AllThingsD