The fourth quarter and yearly numbers for the PC market in 2011 have been released and Apple finished its year off as it began, on top. Apple (News - Alert) shipped over 62.8 million mobile PCs in 2011 in total, up a huge 132 percent from the previous year. A large amount of the increases came from tablet sales as they represented 80 percent of Apple’s mobile PC shipments.

Overall, it was a good year for one of the world’s most successful companies. Many predicted the technology giant would topple at the end of 2011 after CEO Steve Jobs (News - Alert) passed away last fall. So far so good though, as new CEO Tim Cook believes the company may part with some of its cash, possibly to pay dividends to stockholders.

The idea has gotten mixed review from critics as the Jobs was not one to let go of the company’s cash so easily, which may be a good lesson for Cook to think about. The last time Apple was paying dividends was in 1995 when the company was in deep trouble.

Two years later in 1997, Microsoft (News - Alert) came to the rescue with a $150 million infusion to keep Apple afloat, and the company appointed Jobs as the CEO to lead it out of destitution.  

It seems that Jobs may have had the right idea. The company began to take off a few years later and its now one of the most powerful in the world. Overall, it may be wise of Cook to rethink his proposed dividend, with Apple’s recent patent fights with Google (News - Alert) and the government attempting to further regulate privacy on personal devices, the money may come in handy after all. 2012 has just started and a lot could happen to a company that was seemingly headed into a transition at the end of 2011.