Apple has hired some surprising executives recently which not only show Tim Cook’s leadership style, but also his vision for Apple’s future.

January 2011 featured many more patent lawsuits. In case you missed them, here’s a handy list of the most important new lawsuits and updates on old ones, including companies such as Samsung, Motorola, Elan Microelectronics and Kodak.

Following the recent success of Walter Isaacson’s biography on former Apple CEO Steve Jobs comes another more corporately-focused book on the company that Jobs co-founded and brought so much success to throughout his adult life. Inside Apple by Adam Lashinsky brings to light Apple’s (and Jobs’ as well, to a lesser extent) business side and how the company operates instead of the personal coverage that Isaacson’s biography brought.

The numbers are getting so huge for Apple that I can’t even wrap my head around them anymore. Apple announced today the results for its fiscal 2012 first quarter, which ended December 31st, 2011. If you were worried about how the company would fare without Steve Jobs at the helm, record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion ($13.87 per diluted share) should help allay your fears.

Appletell recently reported on a rumor concerning Apple purchasing Anobit, a maker of flash controllers. While Israeli media reported the purchase for as much as $500 million on December 20th, Apple declined to comment at the time. In an email to Reuters, Apple confirmed they did, in fact, purchase Anobit without verifying the purchase price.

Appletell recently reported on the rumor that Apple is going to open stores-within-a-store in 25 Target locations with the possibility of expanding across the country if they do well. Target has confirmed this will happen, but they may take a different form.

On Thursday, January 19th at 10 a.m. EST, Apple will hold an event at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City to make an education announcement. According to 9 to 5 Mac, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue will likely announce new iBook or textbook products or services. This makes sense since Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson he wanted to disrupt the school textbook industry.

Not everyone is fortunate to live in areas that have a large enough population to warrant an Apple store being built. You can always buy online, but what if you want to see the product before you make your purchasing decision? If there’s a Target nearby, you may be in luck; Apple is rumored to be opening a store-within-a-store inside Target at certain locations later this year.

In the past, it’s been fun to hear former CEO Steve Jobs’ subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) digs on the competition, and to see if any hints are provided regarding unannounced products or refreshes. It’ll be interesting to hear what approach new CEO Tim Cook takes now that it’s pretty much his show after the passing of Jobs in October of last year.

In addition to China, the iPhone 4S will also be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.