Apple

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) today released results for its fiscal 2014 first quarter (ended December 28th 2013), and while some of the numbers were record breakers for the tech giant, they still fell short of analysts' expectations. This, accompanied by a disappointing Q2 forecast, caused the stock to drop nearly 9% during after hours trading. According to OppTrends, Apple shares were trading for around $502 at 5:43 P.M. EST today.

Apple reported a record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. These are up from revenue of $54.5 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share, for Q1 2012. Gross margin dipped slightly to 37.9, down from 38.6 a year ago. iPhone sales

It is, or at least should be, obvious that making purchases at retail stores with your mobile device, while bypassing store personnel altogether, is going to be the norm at some point in the future. When this will be is the mystery. The technology is already widely used in Japan, South Korea and many countries in Europe. In America however, no clear leader has emerged and things are moving at a much slower pace, but progressing nonetheless. Google has been experimenting with Google Wallet and NFC (near field communication) technology on its Android handsets for some time. Apple has also been gradually building the groundwork for its own mobile payment system and yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal, there was another development in its endeavor.

On Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Senior VP of Internet and Software Services, Eddie Cue, met with other technology industry executives to discuss their interest in making mobile payments for goods and services from mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. The WSJ also reported that Apple has charged executive Jennifer

According to The Wall Street Journal, anonymous sources have indicated that Apple plans to discontinue production of the iPhone 5c and launch two new iPhones with larger displays sometime in late 2014.

There has been much talk about the iPhone 5c sales coming in well below Apple's expectations. This cannot be confirmed however, as Apple does not disclose sales based on iPhone model. Analysts point towards ineffective pricing strategy - the colorful, plastic-backed 5c starts at $100 with a two year contract ($550 without

The biggest news for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and its shareholders last week was the debut of the iPhone in China. On Friday, China Mobile, the world's largest carrier with over 750 million subscribers, began selling the iPhone 5c and 5s. Pre-orders for the devices began in December and reached 1 million. Analysts expect China Mobile to sell anywhere from 10 million to 15 million iPhones this year. You can read more about this here.

The 2013 Q4 numbers also came in last week and, according to market research company NPD Group, Apple saw significant gains. Apple's market share grew from 35% in Q4 2012 to 42% in Q4 2013. NPD also found that smart phone ownership is growing, claiming six out of ten phones, up from 52% last year. As would be

Apple announced today that its 2013 App Store sales topped a staggering $10 billion, with $1 billion coming in December alone. That number reflects the nearly 3 billion apps that iOS users downloaded over the course of the month, making it the App Store's most successful month ever.

Today's press release also noted that app developers have earned in the neighborhood of $15 billion since the App Store's inception. Unsurprisingly, some of the most popular apps of the year included Candy Crush Saga, Puzzles & Dragons, Minecraft, QuizUp and Clumsy Ninja. Some came as surprise successes - Ellen DeGeneres' Heads Up, ProtoGeo’s Moves, Simon Filip’s Afterlight and Kevin