Announcing its second quarter financial results today, Apple confirmed the obvious by saying a "significant" number of iPhones are being purchased from its outlets with the express intention of unlocking them. That trend, coupled with higher-than-expected demand, has resulted in inventory shortages, the company claimed.

COO Tim Cook refused to provide a precise figure on the number of unlocked phones, but put a positive spin on the hacks telling Wall Street investors that this is an indicator of worldwide interest in the iPhone.

Overall, Apple claimed 1.7m units sold, creating revenue of $378m from handsets, accessories and money from carriers. The company says it is on target to hit 10m iPhones sold this calendar year.

For the three months to 29 March, Apple reported $1.04bn in net income, an increase of 35.7 per cent, on $7.51bn revenue - up 42 per cent. Earnings per diluted share came in at $1.16, compared to $0.87 for the year-ago quarter.

It was the Mac that propelled Apple towards one of its best quarters in terms of revenue. Apple shipped 2.28m Macs, representing 51 per cent unit and 54 per cent revenue growth over last year, and 10.64m iPods, a one per cent unit growth and eight per cent revenue growth.

You can plow through the financial details here (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080423/aqw126.html?.v=36).

Apple hailed strong interest from developers in business and academia for its iPhone development programme. One third of Fortune 500 companies and 400 higher-education institutions have joined the iPhone app effort, Apple told investors.

Separately, Apple declined to comment on its reason for the $278m purchase (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/23/apple_buys_pa_semi/) of PowerPC chip designer PA Semi, saying only that it buys small companies from time to time. ®

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