Yeah, the economy is bad. We all know that, you only have to turn on the TV or read anything to know that. Despite the poor economy and tanking computer sales Apple has been able to continue turning impressive profits.

Apple also gets some serious help from its world-beating iPhone. According to Apple's recently announced financials for fiscal Q3 2009, it increased iPhone sales by a whopping 636%. That has to make Steve Ballmer's sphincter tone tight enough to rip a plug out of his office chair.

Apple says that it sold 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter. While iPhone sales grew, sales of the iPod were down 7% to 10.2 million. I am betting iPhone sales are hurting the iPod with subsidized iPhone pricing about the same as some iPod models.