iPod Drives Apple To Record RevenueiPod Drives Apple To Record Revenue

SAN FRANCISCO — Thanks largely to the remarkable success of the iPod MP3 player, Apple Computer Inc. recorded record quarterly revenue of about $5.7 billion during the fourth quarter of 2005, according to CEO Steve Jobs.

Though the company is not schedule to report its fourth quarter revenue until Jan. 18, Jobs used the opening moments of his Macworld 2006 keynote address Tuesday (Jan. 10) to boast about the company's success in the music player market and provide the revenue figure as a sneak preview.

Apple sold roughly 14 million iPods during the holiday quarter, Jobs, said, more than three times the 4.5 million the company sold during the fourth quarter of 2004. To put this number in perspective, Jobs said the 14 million sales were equal to more than 100 units of every minute of the fourth quarter.

In total, Jobs said, Apple has now sold about 42 million iPods, including roughly 32 million in 2005 alone.

Apple's 135 retail stores logged more than 26 million visitors during the fourth quarter and posted more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time ever.

Apple's iTunes Web site, which sells digital downloads of individual songs or albums, is now selling on average 3 million song downloads per day. All told, iTunes has sold more than 850 downloads, Jobs said, and maintains an 83 percent market share of the song download market.

"We are well on our way to hitting that billion song market in the next few months," Jobs said. "We are really happy with how iTunes is doing."

Though it's been only 90 days since Apple announced the fifth generation iPod with video capability, Jobs said, the company has already sold more than 8 million videos, including television programs and sporting events. Just last week, he said, Apple began offering sports programming with 15-minute condensed versions of college football Bowl games. The 15-minute version of last week's Rose Bowl, which decided college football's national championship, has already risen to become the top selling iTunes video.

Jobs announced that iTunes would now offer downloadable versions of Saturday Night Live episodes.

Also during Tuesday's keynote, Jobs announced that the first iMacs based on Intel Corp.'s Core Duo processor are available now, six months ahead of schedule.