Blistering iPhone Sales Shown by Apple's Fiscal Q3 Earnings

All in all, Apple (AAPL) reported great numbers. Also, as Apple said in its press release, these are the best non-holiday quarterly earnings in Apple's history.

Of course, as it seems whenever we look at the news, it's all about the iPhone. Last quarter, Apple (AAPL) sold 5.2 million iPhones, a 626% from the year-ago quarter (717,000), and nearly as many as the record number for a quarter (fiscal Q4 2009, when Apple sold 6.9 million iPhones). Of course, last year the iPhone 3G, which really spurred on sales, didn't ship until July, but it should be noted these numbers come in a quarter when some said saturation might take hold, as anyone who bought an iPhone 3G last year might be hit with an early upgrade fee.

Computer-wise, Apple (AAPL) shipped 2.6 million Macs during the quarter, an increase of 4% over the year-ago quarter. Check out the difference between computer and iPhone sales, though: a two-to-one advantage for the iPhone.

While iPhone sales were up in a huge way, iPod sales were down. Apple (AAPL) sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a 7% decline from the year-ago quarter. However, that still translates to sales for Apple: in the analyst conference call, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said the decline was expected as customers are opting to buy iPhones as their music players. The iPod touch saw a rise of 130% though, as the device that, like the iPhone, can make major use of the App Store.