Obama Gives iPod To The Queen, Apple (AAPL) Rallying

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is rallying in the pre-market along with the rest of the broad market, but perhaps it got a little boost from Barack Obama yesterday?

While President Barack Obama visited the Buckingham Palace yesterday, he gave Queen Elizabeth II an Apple iPod as well as a rare songbook signed by American music composer Richard Rodgers. In turn, The Queen, 82, presented the first couple with a silver-framed signed photograph of herself and the Duke of Edinburgh, her usual gift for visiting dignitaries.

Gift-giving is customary during visits between heads of state yet this exchange was being watched closely after the foreign press felt Obama snubbed Great Britain when he gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown a DVD set of American films during his visit to Washington last month.

So everyone must be wondering what will the 85 year-old Queen be listening to when she puts her Apple iPod ear buds in hear ears. Obama did the typical American thing and added a lot of information about his inauguration and his life.

Queen Elizabeth's iPod features photos of the president's January inauguration and she'll be able to hear his inaugural address, as well as listen to Obama's 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention.

The Apple iPod also contains an electronic travelogue of the Queen's last trip in 2007 to the former colonies. It includes photos of her White House visit, as well as photos and video of her stop in Richmond, Virginia.

AAPL is rallying close to 3%, trading to just under $112.

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