Apple's revenue for the full fiscal year grew 12 percent and net profit rose by 18 percent despite "extraordinarily challenging times," according to Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer.

Apple has teamed with China Unicom to start selling iPhone 3G S smartphones in the China on 30 October.

"We are eager to get started," Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook said of selling iPhones in China. "It is a huge market."

Apple could "take it in the shorts" if a Droid mobile telephone due to hit the US market at the end of this month lives up to the hype ricocheting about the Internet, according to Enderle.

Motorola is making the Droid smartphones, which are based on Google-backed open-source Android operating software and linked to telecom service from Verizon.

Cook said Apple isn't worried about the growing ranks of smartphones trying to dethrone the iPhone in the market.

"We have significant momentum, and look at the ecosystem with iTunes and the App Store," Cook said.

"I think people are really just trying to catch up with the first iPhone launched two years ago, and we've long since moved beyond that."

Apple projected its earnings in the current quarter to range from $1.70 to $1.78 per share based on expected earnings of from 11.3 billion dollars to 11.6 billion dollars.

"We are shipping the best products we ever have in Apple's history and customers have clearly responded," Oppenheimer said.

"We look forward to delivering new exciting products. We are very enthusiastic about the year ahead."