Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Apple Overtakes PC Makers: Industry research firm Canalys says that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is once again the largest maker of personal computers in the world, ComputerWorld notes. Canalys includes tablet computers with screens larger than 7 inches in its analysis, which would include the iPad. By that count, Apple sold 21 million personal computers during the last quarter, including 17 million iPads and 4 million Macs. That was enough to regain the No. 1 position, lost to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) in the first quarter. According to Canalys, Apple has a 19% share of the personal computer market, ahead of HP and Lenovo (PINK:LNVGY), which both sold 13 million PCs during the quarter for 12% market shares.

Fingerprint Tech Acquisition Examined: A New York law firm is investigating AuthenTec’s (NASDAQ:AUTH) board of directors to see if it violated any laws when it agreed to sell the company to Apple, CNET reports. Levi & Korsinsky said it is evaluating the $356 million deal to see if the board breached its fiduciary responsibility to shareholders by accepting Apple’s $8 a share offer. At that price, Apple is paying a 58% premium over the price that AuthenTec shares traded at prior to news of the deal becoming public. The law firm will also look at whether the board solicited any competing offers. AuthenTec develops fingerprint security technology. Analysts have speculated that Apple might use that technology for a secure payment system in upcoming versions of the iPhone.

Early Troubles Plagued the iPhone: Apple head designer Jon Ive says Apple almost abandoned the iPhone “multiple times” during its development process, CNN reports. Speaking at a business event in the U.K., Ive said early iPhone prototypes presented so many technical challenges that the design team nearly couldn’t resolve them. Getting the sensor to deactivate the screen while a user was holding the phone to his ear proved a major hurdle, Ive said. He noted that Apple often kills projects just as they reach production if they aren’t “compelling” enough. The company launched the iPhone in 2007 and has sold more than 200 million units since.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.