Apple Keeps the Buzz

Shares of Apple(AAPL Quote) soared to a new 52-week high on Tuesday as the company kicked off its annual MacWorld expo amid more evidence that the company's still-hot iPod digital music player is driving strong results.

According to an 8-K filed on Tuesday, Apple sold 1.25 million computers and 14 million iPods during the holiday quarter, which will help the company post revenue of $5.7 billion, well above current Thomson First Call estimates of $5.04 billion.

Apple's stock recently surged up $3.28, or 4.3%, to $79.33 after early published reports from the MacWorld keynote speech by CEO and Chairman Steve Jobs offered more good news: the company is selling 3 million songs a day on its iTunes store and has sold 8 million television shows since mid-October.

And, as is typical of an Apple media event, the company is hardly standing pat: the company announced a deal to place content from the NBC television variety show "Saturday Night Live" on iTunes beginning today and unveiled a new iPod remote control with an FM tuner.

The remote allows users to skip tracks and adjust the volume of their iPod even when it's in a pocket or backpack, and listen to FM radio stations while displaying station and song information on their iPod screen.

The iPod Radio Remote includes a pair of headphones with a shorter cable; it will be offered for $49.