Suppose I told you a few months ago that Apple would come out of the April through June quarter with the highest revenues ever for a non-holiday period. Would you believe me, or just assume that the worldwide recession would make it impossible even for Apple to deliver credible financial results?

Certainly many financial analysts delighted in finding every single indication of faltering sales, and spent plenty of time telling us that Apple had the wrong product mix and needed to build cheap Macs, including netbooks, to remain a credible contender.

In recent days, with growing indications that Mac sales had recovered and then some, the predictions have become more optimistic, but, as usual, Apple still beat the street. Why am I not surprised?

For the quarter ending June 27, which Apple counts as the third quarter for their fiscal year, they reported revenue of $8.34 billion and a net profit of $1.23 billion, amounting to $1.35 per diluted share. This compares to last year’s totals of $7.46 billion, with a net profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share.

Despite the recent price reductions of the unibody note-book lineup, gross margins jumped from 34.8 percent to 36.3 percent. Apple sure knows how to make deals for component parts, it seems. Again Wall Street clearly doesn’t have much of a clue as to how Apple actually does business.

When it comes to unit sales, some 2.6 million Macs were sold, a four percent increase over last year. This is just a tad below the record 2.61 million sold in the September quarter last year. iPhone sales tallied 5.2 million, representing a unit growth of 626 percent over last year.

The analysts, though, were at least correct that iPod sales were dropping. Some 10.2 million were sold, representing a seven percent decrease over last year. Not too shabby, considering that a lot of potential iPod purchasers are selecting iPhones instead. However, Apple for numerous accounting reasons, won’t merge the two product categories.

If you are truly into exploring the numbers in further detail, you can read the same reprints of Apple’s press release on a number of sites or, even better, go direct to the source.

During the regular conference call with financial analysts, Apple fielded the usual round of convoluted or softball questions, and revealed as little as they could. We do know, though, that they still claim to be not terribly enthusiastic about netbooks, pointing again to buyer’s remorse over the inability of those gadgets to handle basic computing chores with decent speed and comfort. Cramped keyboards, tiny screens and awkward trackpads are only part of the picture.

In other words, Apple doesn’t want to build what they regard as junk, and that makes a whole lot of sense. Consider that the PC makers are even now struggling to make the netbooks larger, with keyboards that are more conventional in size, and bigger screens. Clearly they aren’t making very much money when they sell the basic models for $199 and even less in some situations. True, you can option them up and watch the price increase fast, until they morph into nothing more than standard note-books with lesser processors. You call that original?

At the same time, Apple is still struggling to meet demand on some MacBook Pro models, and iPhone supplies remain constrained. Something tells me that they underestimated demand for these products and they are working hard to speed up the production lines.

Clearly the Palm Pre hasn’t made much of a dent in iPhone sales. More than likely, it has served mostly to prop up Sprint’s fading fortunes, and reduce customer churn. This isn’t to say the Pre is a bad product. It has actually gotten fairly good reviews, although build quality is not regarded as exceptional, and the physical keyboard could have been better designed.

Into the mix is Microsoft. They still run those putrid Laptop Hunter commercials, despite the fact that their complaints about high Mac note-book prices that are just plain wrong. Their Windows Mobile operating system is losing steam, and their new search engine — or at least relabeled search engine — has only delivered a modest improvement in market share against Google.

Windows 7? It seems they are actually giving away long-term beta versions, in the hope that customers might decide once they get regular reminders to buy a regular copy that maybe it would be a good idea. This isn’t to say that Windows 7 is as pathetic as Vista. The early reviews say it’s pretty decent, actually, and performs reasonably well. Or maybe that’s simply because the hardware has finally caught up.

Regardless, the real problem for Microsoft is whether businesses will be willing to upgrade, or will they simply sit another one out. That could be a disaster, except for people who feel Microsoft had its day and is on the way out.

Meantime, Apple remains prosperous, with billions of bucks in the bank to hang onto for a rainy day.

You probably know my history with the iPhone, I presume. Well, at least those of you who are regular readers. I got my first in January, 2008, a review sample from Apple. After spending four weeks with that unit, and on the day I returned it, I went over to the nearest AT&T factory store and bought one.

The iPhone 3G was an easy acquisition. I paid $299 for the 16GB version, and sold the original model for nearly that much. I presume someone probably unlocked it and sent it overseas, but it was a perfectly legal sale, and I got paid within three days after shipping it on to the dealer in question.

I acquired the iPhone 3GS simply because AT&T liberalized the upgrade policy to allow customers who bought their iPhones 11 months earlier to obtain the new model for the standard price, no penalty. How could I refuse?

The most notable difference is based on the 3.0 software, so it wasn’t so different from the 3G. But the extra features are pretty well known by now, such as the three megapixel camera, auto focus, camcorder capability, voice command, and, if you care, the compass. The faster processor and the increase in built-in RAM from 128MB to 256MB means that apps load noticeably faster. Switching from one to the other feels snappier, and my usual lineup of Web pages appear to load almost as fast as on my MacBook Pro. That assumes, of course, that the unit is connected to my Wi-Fi network. AT&T hasn’t expanded the capabilities of its 3G setup here in Arizona so far, which means that performance on their network is otherwise identical.

Although this is a subjective evaluation, it seems the tiny built-in speakers player louder with a slightly more robust sound than the previous model, but I’m not able to compare the quality to the 3G, which is now in the hands of its new owner. Photos are sharper, and, predictably, blow up larger on my 30-inch display without showing nasty artifacts. I haven’t taken more than a couple of movies, to see how it fares, so I’m not about to deliver a detailed review. But the image quality certainly beats VHS by a country mile and then some, and if Apple ever enhances the feature to match that of the HD version of the Flip Video, the latter company is going to be in a heap of trouble.

Negatives? The worst is that AT&T’s cellular network still has a few dead spots in this area. I rarely lose a call, but voice quality does occasionally suffer. It would also be nice to be able to tether my iPhone to one of my Macs in the event Cox’s Internet service goes down, since that happens on occasion. But, no, AT&T hasn’t gotten its act together on that score just yet. I would hope, though, that as the enhanced 3G service hits this area, it will bring with it more reliable service as well, along with tethering.

I should point out that there’s a questionable rumor online that AT&T will exact a ransom of $55 to make your iPhone serve as a broadband modem, a claim the company denies. However, it’s possible that figure simply includes the standard $30 data charge. If that’s true, paying an extra $25 a month may not be such a big deal.

The other issue is the way Apple’s 3.0 software handles Wi-Fi logins. A standard router seems to work all right, but some retailers use setups that require several Web-based screens, where you are supposed to enter some login information and perhaps accept their terms and conditions. Here it’s hit or miss. Some systems seem to work all right, whereas others suffer through the process and fail to connect, even when a strong signal is present. In two cases that come to mind, I never had a problem making those connections with the previous iPhone software.

According to published reports, there is an iPhone 3.1 beta making the rounds that will supposedly address some missing features, such as support for standard Bluetooth headsets for voice dialing, and some enhanced built-in video editing features. If that’s true, perhaps Apple will also take the time to improve the Wi-Fi “join” issues as well.

Since the iPhone is represents my sole solid experience with a smartphone, I am probably not the right person to provide a meaningful wish list. With Push Notification, I’m not all that concerned about the lack of true multitasking, but perhaps a better way to handle large repositories of applications is called for. I’ve only got three pages so far, because I delete the apps that fail to convince me they should be kept — and I’m fairly stringent about such matters.

But I realize that many of you have dozens and dozens of these applications, and you are surely going to want to find a faster way to get to the ones you want right now without the endless paging routine. Or am I all alone in this request?

During that Department of Justice antitrust trial against Microsoft, poor, beleaguered Bill Gates claimed that the company he co-founded only wanted the freedom to “innovate.” Now this innovate mantra has been part and parcel of Microsoft’s pitch to customers, competitors and government agencies for years, as most of you know.

The question that comes to the fore, though, is just what does Microsoft mean by that word. Now if we simply go by the conventional definition, we get: “make changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.”

All right, that’s simple enough, and I’m sure that most of you will agree with the standard meaning. That is except for Microsoft, which seems to be unable to deliver “new methods, ideas, or products.”

Take Windows, which was nothing but a knock-off of the Mac OS, based in part on technology they actually licensed from Apple in a foolish deal crafted between Gates and then Apple CEO John Scully. In retrospect, Scully created a monster, one that came to dominate the PC industry in ways that were not always beneficial.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.

The news that Apple legal asked Microsoft to stop running its controversial laptop hunter ad campaign must have made the hearts of Windows fanboys flutter. Does this mean that Apple is afraid of the truth, that they are being hurt by Microsoft’s expanding ad campaign?

Supposedly the objection was the result of Apple’s recent price reductions on the refreshed MacBook Pro lineup. But you also have to remember that all we know about that supposed notice, which came in the form of a phone call, comes from Microsoft. Nobody from Apple is going to confirm that such a thing really happened, and even a denial would only draw more attention to the claim.

Now before we look at the motive behind this alleged phone call, consider this: Apple didn’t send a legal letter to Microsoft, an action that certainly would carry more significance. So even if someone from Apple did get in touch with Microsoft, the communication was essentially an informal one, and the source of that call isn’t being named. It might well be that someone in Apple’s legal department made the call of their own volition, without actual authorization. Or maybe it came from someone pretending to represent Apple.

Indeed, the sole confirmation that such a thing even happened is actually limited to the verbal recollection of one Microsoft executive, COO Kevin Turner. Despite what some of the lurid headline writers may think, that call, from whomever it came, is not an official or formal request to pull down the ads. From what Turner says, it may just have been intended as a humorous reminder that Microsoft is running spots that are now outdated because of Apple’s price changes. That may be the beginning and end of it, but Microsoft is using that event to buttress its contention that Apple is being hurt by the ads.

I’m skeptical, simply because Mac sales are on the increase again, and as you’ve read here and elsewhere, two models in the MacBook Pro line remain backordered. I suppose you could suggest that Apple might have done better without the Laptop Hunter ads, but the mention of Apple and their products is so brief and flitting that the point of the variety and cheaper price of a Windows PC is not really brought home.

As far as I’m concerned, the ads are so poorly produced as to be almost amateurish, and I’d suggest to Microsoft that they find a competent producer and redo them forthwith. In fact, if Mac users hadn’t drawn attention to them, I rather suspect they would have eventually disappeared from the airwaves. But maybe that was Microsoft’s intention in the first place, since there are so many flaws in these alleged comparisons, flaws that are easily found. Worse, the ad isn’t about Windows or its supposed advantages, but about someone getting a chunk of money to buy a note-book computer. It’s all about price, and perhaps to promote HP, Sony and and other manufacturers whose products are supposedly bought during those ads.

Who was it who said there is no such thing as bad publicity?

Apple’s real response came in the form of a statement to the press that a PC, regardless of the price, is no good if it doesn’t meet the needs of the buyer. The same argument is cited when Apple is asked whether they plan to build a netbook. The keyboards are cramped, the screens are tiny, the computers are slow. Beyond basic Internet access, email and some word processing and basic checkbook apps, what are they good for?

The netbook is hardly an original concept either. The form factor is similar to the Apple eMate 300, designed as a larger version of the Newton, dedicated to the educational market. Indeed, my son, Grayson, was attending elementary school when he was given one for a few months. He played with it for a few minutes, handed it to me to look over. After trying out a few functions, I returned it to him, he put it in a drawer and forgot about until it was time to return the unit to the school.

This isn’t to say that a netbook, properly designed, can’t serve a purpose. But a good design doesn’t mean shrinking a note-book, and scrimping on features. Besides, the PC makers in that market are pushing expensive add-ons to boost profits, and they are slowly enlarging the form factor until it becomes little more than a standard note-book with a low-powered processor. In order words, it’s a product without any vision behind it.

As to Microsoft, maybe those Laptop Hunter ads will vanish in a few months, though as long as we can’t resist dissing them, I suppose they’ll remain on the air. But if they fail to increase sales of PC hardware, and, in turn, Microsoft Windows, they’ll end up being a colossal waste of money.

And, to sum up, it’s very clear from the facts at hand that Apple legal didn’t direct Microsoft to stop the campaign.