• All Things D, Thursday, April 21, 2011 12:07 PM

Fueled by continued innovation and leadership in key sectors, Apple on Wednesday reported its biggest non-holiday quarterly revenue and earnings ever. "Apple's March quarter saw, among other things, the iPhone's debut on Verizon, the launch of the iPad 2 and the new Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pro line," writes Digital Daily. "No wonder it was a blowout."

"With quarterly revenue growth of 83% and profit growth of 95%, we're firing on all cylinders," Apple CEO Steve Jobs -- now on medical leave -- stated. With its strong earnings, Apple successfully "overcame concerns about the impact of Japan's natural catastrophes on the suppliers assembling the Macs, iPhones and iPads that the world can't seem to get enough of," according to MercuryNews.com.

As the reigning champ of digital platforms, Apple's performance holds key industry insights. For instance, showing continued demand for personal computers, Apple sold 3.76 million Macs during the first quarter -- a 28% unit increase year-over-year. Illustrating the rapid rise in mobile computing, meanwhile, Apple sold 18.65 million iPhones -- 113% increase year-over-year.

Regarding the iPhone data, CNet writes: "Data from a ComScore study earlier this month also suggested Verizon sales had been strong, pushing the gadget to the position of top-acquired phone for that month." Yet, as MobileBeat points out, Apple did fall short in one area: iPad sales. "Analysts had predicted that the company would sell between 6 and 6.5 million iPads, and instead Apple reported sales of 4.69 million," it reports. "It sounds like the lower sales either [came] from supply shortages or slow sales of the first-generation iPad in anticipation of the launch of the iPad 2." "Evidently the tsunami disaster in Japan and production shortages hamstrung sales," added Digital Daily.

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