Apple debuts Intel iMac after record sales

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday introduced new Intel-powered desktop and notebook computers and said its wildly popular iPods helped drive a 63 percent jump in holiday quarter sales, sending shares up more than 4 percent.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the company sold 14 million iPods music and video players during the holiday quarter and 42 million to date. Speaking at the company's annual Macworld conference in San Francisco, Jobs also said the company's online iTunes store has so far sold 850 million songs.

The strong demand for iPods helped fuel a 63 percent jump in revenue to a record $5.7 billion during the holiday quarter compared with a year earlier, and was near the high end of Wall Street forecasts.

"Apple blew away revenue and iPod estimates," Soleil-Cross research analyst Shannon Cross said.

Jobs also told the packed convention center that Apple could have sold even more of the portable music players. "And it still wasn't enough," Jobs said. "More iPods are on the way."

FAST CURVE

Apple also introduced new computers based on Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) chips, the first to result from its decision to switch from IBM PowerPC chips it had used for years. Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO, appeared on stage in a bunny suit to help with the introduction.

"We told Paul that we had spent the last decade learning everything there was about PowerPCs and we needed to learn that much about Intel processors in three to four months," Jobs said in an interview.

Said Otellini in the same interview: "The teams had this kind of instant bonding, not just because it was an exciting product, but because both sides love their technology."

Jobs said the company's new line of iMac computers -- two to three times faster than their G5-powered predecessors -- would come in the same shape and sizes as the existing G5 line of iMacs, with starting prices at $1,299.

The new Apple computers are based on Intel Core Duo microchips and are set to begin shipping on Tuesday with the entire Macintosh line moving to Intel chips this year, Jobs said. It also introduced a new high-end laptop called the MacBook Pro that will replace its PowerBook series, starting in February at prices beginning at $1,999. It comes with a remote control and Apple's Front Row technology