Apple silently bought up a massive $23.5 billion of its own shares off the open market in the March quarter, taking advantage of the "full panic mode" agitated by analysts and financial news sites who bizarrely wondered aloud for weeks when exactly Apple might "kill" the most advanced, commercially successful smartphone it has produced yet.

On Thursday, Apple paid its shareholders of record (as of November 13th) a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, totaling $3 billion in dividends on its outstanding shares for the quarter, on stock that has appreciated 46.5 percent so far in 2017.

On May 18th, Apple will pay its shareholders of record (as of May 15th) a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share. Apple will pay out $3 billion in dividends on its outstanding shares for the quarter, on stock that has appreciated 34.4 percent so far in 2017.

iPhone loyalty is at its strongest point in the U.S. since 2012, and despite numerous obstacles in China, Apple has managed to reclaim a position as the bestselling smartphone brand in that region, according to a new December-quarter research report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Apple on Tuesday announced that iBooks Texbooks and iTunes U Course Manager, two education-oriented products from the company, are expanding into new markets around the world, including Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

Apple's iOS App Store remains by far the most profitable place for mobile developers to sell their applications, but Android's Google Play has managed to increase its share of revenue significantly over the last six months.

A record quarter for the iPad was the stand-out performance of Apple's third quarter of fiscal 2012. Following Tuesday's earnings release, the company held a conference call with analysts and the media, and notes of interest follow.

Apple's current iPhone models were the three best-selling smartphones in America in 2011, with the iPhone 4 beating out the legacy iPhone 3GS and new iPhone 4S to become the biggest seller of the year.

Samsung posted record preliminary quarterly profits on Friday, largely due to continued growth in smartphone sales, though it also saw a boost from several one-time gains.

Apple's iPhone 3G is exciting more than just tech-savvy consumers wanting to play with the latest gadget. Worldwide, mobile service providers are fighting tooth and nail for the right to sell the new iPhone because of its ability to attract new customers and sell them on data service plans, which providers have previously found to be a difficult sell.