Apple claims to be beating BlackBerry

Californian kit maker Apple laid into BlackBerry vendor Research In Motion (RIM) late Tuesday, with head honcho Steve Jobs bragging to analysts that he had sold more handsets than the Canadian firm.

As Apple’s financial results were posted, Jobs said that in the quarter to the end of September – the first period in which the iPhone 3G was made available – the company sold 6.9 million units.

This exceeds the 6.1 million first generation iPhones shifted in the prior five quarters combined. But how Jobs can claim to have outsold RIM is anyone’s guess, given that the Canadian competitor has not yet published results for the last quarter. In the second quarter of the year however, RIM did sell 6.1 million units, which may be where Jobs got his comparison figures.

“Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone-we sold more phones than RIM,” said Jobs. “We don’t yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple. But we’re armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt.”

With the iPhone weighing in as the biggest contributor to Apple’s bottom line, the gadget delivered revenues of $3.5bn in the quarter just gone. Although Apple does include sales of its Apple TV unit in that figure.

Nevertheless, company net sales were up to $7.9bn against $6.2bn in the same period last year, while profit topped $1.1bn, compared to $904m in the 2007 quarter.