Earnings season has nearly run its course and, judging by stock prices, investors seem to be disappointed. Today I'll provide an update to my tech stock earnings scorecard and see what it tells us about the tech sector, where it's been and where it might be going.

Again, I'll refrain from publishing all the data in tabular form and just provide summaries of a number of measures. Note that I have captured data on 332 stocks so far and percentages referenced below are based on this total number.

A recent news report shows that Apple (AAPL) has been talking with Microsoft (MFST) about using their Bing search as the new default engine for the iPhone as opposed to Google’s (GOOG). This development draws attention to the fact that Google has become a competitor with Apple by releasing its Nexus One smartphone.

Google’s Nexus One phone that was released earlier this month is similar in design and function to Apple’s iPhone. By going to Microsoft to negotiate a search deal for the iPhone, Apple is indicating that it may have reservations about doing business with Google, a company that is now a competitor in the highly lucrative smartphone market. By setting Bing as the default search engine on the iPhone, Apple would be increasing revenue-generating search traffic to Microsoft as opposed to Google.

As 2009 drew to a close, the stock market became range-bound, which may have seemed surprising after the extreme volatility at the outset of the year and the nearly unrelenting climb from the March lows. Nevertheless, the upward trend narrowed as investors reassessed their appetite for riskier trades and digested the most recent economic news, not to mention subtle changes in the Federal Reserve’s communications with the public.