Analysts look at iPods, Macs in advance of Apple Q3 earnings call

After Steve Jobs' iPhone show on Friday, Apple analysts can now look forward to Tuesday's Q3 earnings conference call. The new topics, now that the iPhone recall is off the table, are the forthcoming sales results of iPods, iPhones and Macs.

On Bullish Cross, Andy Zaky takes a two part look at the state of the iPod in Apple's fiscal picture. He offers different viewpoints that say that the iPod is still important to the bottom line.

In fact, the iPod Touch is arguably one of Apple’s most important products as that device is a gateway drug to Apple’s other products, so to speak. It introduces those who don’t already own an iPhone to the iPhone OS making it the most proficient use of advertisement in the entire tech industry. That OS powers two of Apple’s most important product lines – the iPhone and iPad. ...

And then there's the Apple 2.0 blog, where Philip Elmer-DeWitt examines the analyst consensus on the Mac.

Unless we are badly mistaken, its notebook and desktop computers will have generated between $3.4 and $4.4 billion in sales, representing the company's second largest source of revenue after the iPhone.

There's a wide range of estimates.

Has Apple ever offered such a wide range of products, even during the days when it sold printers and cameras? I don't believe so.

Let's run down its significant platforms: Mac OS X-based client and server hardware, music players (iPods), mobile Internet clients (iPhone, iPod Touch), tablet computer (iPad), and some applications, especially the Final Cut line. I'm not counting its online service (MobileMe) and Apple TV. And I'm ignoring FileMaker, which is a standalone company but owned by Apple.