In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster writes that Apple will have sold 5 million iPhones by the end of the company's fourth fiscal quarter. Munster has previously estimated some 4.1 iPhones sold by Apple's Q4. The analyst is also confident in Apple's Macintosh and iPod sales this year, increasing his Q4 projections.

Noting he is “incrementally more confident” in Apple sales, the Piper Jaffray researcher points to NPD Group figures showing a 32 percent increase in Apple's iPhone sales, much higher than the 25 percent he himself had projected for this final quarter. And, while this is still good news for investors, it's not just as peachy for Apple's chief exec, Steve Jobs, who confidently stated that Apple would have 10 million handsets in users' hands by the end of the calendar year.

Munster also raises his initial estimates for Apple's Macintosh business pillar - some 2.8 million units are believed to be deployed in various environments, Munster believes. Last year, the analyst had projected 2.5 million units sold. Apple's best selling device, the iPod, is also expected to move quite a considerable number of items this year (around 11 million), which is nonetheless but a small raise from last year's predictions of 10.8 million in sales.

It should be noted that Munster is taking into account Apple's recently introduced 4G iPod nano and the second-generation iPod touch. Hadn't Apple refreshed its iPod line in time for the holidays, even estimates of 10.8 million sold would have been too ambitious.

Lastly, Munster's note to clients reveals his unshaken confidence in iPhone sales, noting the device will account for 21 percent of Apple revenue, a huge jump from just 4 percent projected during Apple's last quarter.

With a rumored 32 gig iPhone model due out soon, and a more reliable OS update issued to users, Munster's predictions are sure to materialize.