For all of those as Mad about technology as we are, you may be interested to learn that Apple are officially the most valuable company in the United States, taking the top spot from Exxon Mobile who have topped the list since 2005. Despite a fall of 2.8% on the stock exchange, Apple still ended trading at $363.69, giving a market cap of $337bn (£209bn) compared to Exxon Mobile’s $331bn after it fell 4.4% on the same day. For many MadBidders, Apple’s dominance over corporate America may not be at all surprising; after all they have systematically released the world’s most innovative technologies since the launch of the first iPod in November 2001. It was the first time in history that a person could travel with over ‘1000 songs in their pocket’, and since then Apple have launched countless other awe-inspiring products such as the iPod Nano, Shuffle, Touch, not to mention the world-class Mac laptops and of course the iPhone and recent second generation iPad. Apples multi-touch technologies coupled with super-speedy internet access and flawless design have marked them as the sexiest technology company around. And that is just the beginning.

Let’s not forget the iTunes store, which single-handedly changed the music and television industry by allowing hundreds of millions of users the ability to purchase high quality mp3s for as little as 99p in a matter of seconds. The iPhone and iPad are responsible for the latest technological phenomenon; the ‘app’. In fact, Apple’s App store is the largest around, with over a hundred thousand apps available for free or paid download, giving consumers and business new opportunities to interact with brands and technology.

The most remarkable part of this story is the astonishing growth that the company has achieved over the last decade. In 1986, Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs (the original creator and CEO of Macintosh) was booted out of the company he built. After a few disastrous years of failed technology coupled with increasing competition from the likes of Microsoft, Jobs was reinstated in 1997 following Apple’s acquisition of ‘NeXT’, a hardware and software company also owned by Jobs, for $429 million. Since then, Jobs has nurtured Apple from a relatively dismal tech company to the largest and most impactful company in the United States.

Apple have always been a very secretive company, and have traditionally safe-guarded their developments in a fashion similar to Willy Wonka. Who knows what they will come up with next? What we do know is that the world is changing, and that companies like HTC and Android are releasing some similarly amazing tech masterpieces.  We at MadBid.com love Apple and we auction, and sell, items including iPhones, iPads and iPods, as well as the various MacBooks. Grab a bargain with us!