Apple: We're a mobile-device company

Apple, fresh off a quarter in which its iPhone sales doubled, is brimming with confidence, and Apple COO Timothy Cook put the world on notice: Apple is a smartphone company, and it's here to stay.

tim cook appleSpeaking at a conference sponsored by investment bank Goldman Sachs, Cook said people should "definitely" look at Apple as a mobile-device company. "We believe we are uniquely positioned for success in the mobile world because we can seamlessly integrate hardware and software," he said. Cook added that the "vast majority" of Apple's revenue now comes from mobile-device sales or from content for those devices, and not from its Macintosh computers.

In a veiled swipe at is rivals, Cook said the model where one company does software and another does hardware "falls apart" in the mobile market. Both Microsoft and Google employ that strategy.

Cook also was asked about another hot topic when it comes to Apple: its relationship with AT&T Mobility. The company recently expressed confidence in AT&T's plans to improve its wireless network, highlighted by Apple's choice of AT&T for iPad wireless service. Cook said the main benefit of having one partner is "simplicity," allowing Apple greater flexibility to add features. However, he noted that selling through multiple carriers in one market, like Apple's iPhone strategy in the United Kingdom, could increase sales among customers unwilling to switch carriers.

For more:
- see this WSJ blog post (sub. req.)
- see this AllThingsD post
- see this GigaOM post

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