Apple's share price, juiced by excitement over the expected release in September of a new iPhone, on Monday closed at US$665.15 for a market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of shares outstanding) of $623.52 billion. That was the biggest market cap of any business in history.

Analysts noted that Microsoft's market cap in 1999 hit $616.34 billion, the previous record, but that adjusted for inflation that number would be $850 billion today. Still, the number Microsoft achieved was at the euphoric high point of the dot-com era and in any case does not diminish Apple's accomplishment.

When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997 the company was close to bankruptcy, but subsequently a series of hit products including the iPod, iPhone and iPad made it into a consumer electronics powerhouse and breathed new life into the Mac family.

But while Apple is riding high, other tech manufacturers are looking at a slump.

On Thursday, IDC said that it expects than last year. Midyear shipments dipped as consumers worried about the uncertain economy and postponed purchases to evaluate Windows 8 and Ultrabook products, IDC said. The PC market is expected to grow by only 0.9 percent this year, down from 1.7 percent last year.