Apple shipped 1,606,000 Macintosh® computers and 21,066,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 28 percent growth in Macs and 50 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter. Impressive! Even more impressive, look at the financials:

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 first quarter ended December 30, 2006. The Company posted record revenue of $7.1 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.0 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $5.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $565 million, or $.65 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 31.2 percent, up from 27.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 42 percent of the quarter’s revenue. (taken from the official press release)

Not bad. I like the growth that Apple is experiencing. Dropping the “Computers” from their name allows them to continue this high growth trajectory by branching into other areas (as long as they execute well). There is no doubt the iPhone is going to sell due to aesthetics, however, many folks are arguing the “openness” of the iPhone and that it mirrors the early closed eco-system Apple computers. There is a great blog posting by Charlie O’Donnell (Oddcast) that talks about open technologies and how they actually do not really matter… be sure to check it out over here.
Will it continue?

This will probably get drowned out in all the coverage about Apple (which includes the launch of their beautiful iPhone which I’ll blog about when every other blog stops gallivanting about it) but I think Apple dropping “Computer” from their name is monumental, even more so than their latest phone.

Apple does not want to be known as a computer company any longer. Yes, they create amazing and beautiful computers, but they also have a huge product lineup and extensions that go away from the typical MacBook Pro. iTunes has had 2 billion songs downloaded, iPhone is now here (the voicemail feature sounds phenomenal), and iLife is changing the way people use their computer.
I’m excited at the prospects of Apple Inc.’s future and I look forward to seeing them grab more market share of the industry and give Microsoft, Google, and others a run for their money.

Also, there is something very interesting to note…. Steve Jobs is NOT wearing black. Wow. It’s a new day for Apple.