Apple announced its Q3 profits yesterday during a conference call with investors.
Apple"s iPhone helped bump up revenue which still fell slightly shy of expectations. The device now accounts for 39% of Apple"s business, generating $4.6 billion in revenue on sales of nearly 7 million units during the quarter.
In an unusual move Steve Jobs appeared online during the conference call. According to Jobs, the iPhone "had become too big to ignore." Describing the App Store Jobs added "customers will download the 200 millionth app" tomorrow and that "competitors are scrambling to copy our App Store."
Looking to the future Jobs believes the company has a strong product line-up and is positioning itself well for the future. "We may get buffeted around by the waves a bit, but we"ll be fine and stronger than ever," Jobs said.
During the days trading Apple (AAPL) closed just over 7% down after fears the announcements wouldn"t be as positive as predicted. After hours trading put the price up over 13% at the time of writing.
Jobs also claimed that "Apple outsold [Research in Motion] last quarter." RIM manufacturer the Blackberry range of devices. He also asserted that measured by revenue, Apple is now the "third-largest mobile phone supplier," behind Nokia and Samsung and ahead of Sony Ericsson. Joe Wilcox, Apple-Watch writer, said "the claim is overstated. RIM sold 6.1 million units during its fiscal second quarter. But RIM"s quarter doesn"t coincide with the calendar quarter. RIM announced earnings on Sept. 25. So, it"s a bit premature to say that Apple beat RIM, although based on my estimates Steve is probably right."