Apple Quarterly Profits Nearly Double With iPhone Sales Surge

Huge increases in iPhone sales and robust computer sales helped game-friendly tech powerhouse Apple nearly double its second quarter profits from $1.6 billion to $3.1 billion, despite flat iPod performance. The company sold 8.75 million iPhones in the quarter that ended March 27, 2010, up 131 percent from the same quarter the previous year, and 2.94 million computers, up 33 percent. Total iPhone sales, according to combined numbers from Apple's quarterly results, now exceed 50 million units -- a considerable install base for prospective game developers. This quarter's performance led Apple CEO Steve Jobs to characterize the period in an official statement as "our best non-holiday quarter ever," and he went on to trumpet high expectations for the company's new iPad device. "Users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year," said Jobs. iPod unit sales still outpace iPhone sales, with 10.89 million sold during the quarter, but that figure represents a 1 percent decline. Specific statistics for the iPod Touch, which plays many of the same games as the iPhone and had a 20 million installed based in September 2009, were not split out. During an analyst conference call following the results, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the iPhone's App Store, which sells games and other software, is roughly breaking even, and that Apple is not looking to it as a profit driver. "We are not focused on trying to make a lot of money on the App Store," he said. The service now includes 185,000 apps, with four billion downloads completed to date across 90 countries, as well as 3,500 apps for the iPad -- and games the largest App type for both stores.