• The New York Times, Thursday, April 26, 2007 1:45 PM

Calling the first quarter a "blowout," Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported a 88% profit increase for the company yesterday. Sales of iPods and music through iTunes accounted for 44% of Apple's revenue for the quarter, and Mac computers for the rest.

Jobs says that Macs are gaining market share, with sales growing at 36%. Overall, personal computer sales increased only about 11% during the period, according to the market researcher IDC. Apple's strength was particularly notable in that it came during the quarter in which Microsoft finally released the long-awaited Vista version of its Windows operating system, an event that the PC industry was counting on to spur a wave of computer upgrades.

Apple plans to regularly add new software features to its iPhones -- which are scheduled to ship in late June -- at no charge. Jobs says he believes these upgrades will give the company an advantage in a market where the software in phones generally remains unchanged once they are in use.

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