With the recent $2.57, or 1.2 percent, rise in the shares of the iPhone and Macintosh computer maker, Apple Inc., the shares of the company touched a record high of $211.61 on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Monday.

The latest hike in the Apple's shares - the sixth consecutive day of increase, which follows a recent report that sales of Apple's devices have soared during Christmas holidays - marks a more than twofold increase in the company's share prices this year, as against a 61 percent rise for the S&P 500 information-technology index.

Going by the statistics put forth by research firm Flurry Inc., there was a 51 percent month-on-month increase in software downloads for Apple's devices during December; thereby indicating that sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch leaped notably during the holiday season.

Flurry spokesman Peter Farago said that Apple downloads continued to grow at astounding rates during the month, with iPod Touch devices apparently having "flooded the market over Christmas."

Further noting that the one percent worldwide market share of the 2007-launched iPhone gives the device abundant chances of future growth, analyst Brian Marshall, of San Francisco's Broadpoint AmTech, said in a report: "Despite the enormous success of the iPhone since inception in July 2007, we strongly believe the device is still in its infancy."