14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone may be Apple's star product at the moment, but Mac continues to be the company's prime revenue generator, with over 60 percent of the fiscal third quarter's total intake. This quarter is yet again the best quarter ever in terms of Mac unit sales and revenue.
During the three month period, the Cupertino Company shipped 1.76 million Macs, an all-time quarterly record and a 33 percent jump relative to the year-ago quarter. The United States saw 32 percent year-over-year growth, representing just under 4 times IDC's latest published growth estimate for the US market -- 7.2 percent. Apple's worldwide growth rate was about 2.5 times IDC's estimated growth for the industry at large. All in all, Apple sold 634,000 desktops in the quarter, representing revenue of $956 million, compared with 529,000 desktops representing $705 million in the year-ago quarter. An amazing number of 1,130,000 portables were sold, representing $1.577 billion in revenue, compared with 798,000 units representing $1.161 billion in the year-ago quarter.
According to Apple's CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, demand for the company's portables is incredibly strong. Both the new MacBook and new MacBook Pro, with its industry first widely available LED display are responsible for a large part of the impressive 42 percent year over year growth in Mac portable shipments during the quarter. Portables accounted for 64 percent of all Macs sold. Last but not least, as we've seen in the previous quarters, the company reported that nearly 50% of customers this quarter were new to the Mac. The fact that Apple continues to see such a sustained surge of new customers is a strong indication that Mac is gaining acceptance and is moving towards the mainstream.
While the new portable models have been well received, new models of Apple's desktop computer are still expected to make their appearance and will no doubt contribute to the growth of Mac sales.