Even though the vast majority of consumers knows Apple for its iPod portable digital media players, the bulk of the company’s earnings comes from sales of Apple Macintosh computers. Moreover, the popularity of such systems is rising, according to the company, who recently said that it sold over two million Macs in the most recent fiscal quarter.

Apple shipped 2.164 million Macintosh computers, representing 34% growth over the year-ago quarter and exceeding the previous quarterly record for Mac shipments by 400 thousand. The company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing 17% growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone sales were 1.119 million, bringing cumulative fiscal 2007 sales to 1.389 million, the company announced.

The success of Macintosh computers is not only an indirect result of Apple iPod reputation, but is an effect of overall Apple brand popularization and recognition of Macs as fully-fledged personal computers for everyday tasks. Still, mobile computers from Apple are more popular than desktops, which reflects the fact that Macs are sometimes considered as a fashion accessory and therefore are more preferable by some customers.

“Customers responded very favorably to the new iMacs we announced in August, driving 31% year-over-year growth in desktop systems. Demand for Apple's Macbooks and Macbook Pros continued to be very strong. Sales of portables increased 37% over the prior September quarter and accounted for 62% of Macs sold,” said Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer of Apple.

Apple last week announced financial results for its fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended September 29, 2007. The company posted revenue of $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million, or $1.01 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $4.84 billion and net quarterly profit of $542 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

“We are very pleased to have generated over $24 billion in revenue and $3.5 billion in net income in fiscal 2007,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive. “We’re looking forward to a strong December quarter as we enter the holiday season with Apple’s best products ever.”