Apple iTunes nears 800 million mark
Apple now has nearly 800 million iTunes accounts, a number that CEO Tim Cook described as "staggering" during the company's conference call today to discuss its March quarter financial results.The last time Apple talked about iTunes accounts was during its annual developers conference last June when the company announced575 million accounts."We now have an almost 800 millioniTunes accounts, most of these with credit cards," Cook said during the call Wednesday. "This is a staggering number."Related storiesApple tops estimates, announces 7-for-1 stock splitApple has sold 20 million Apple TV units, CEO saysSiri in the works for Apple TV, iOS 7.1 code revealsDespite the sharp uptick in iTunes accounts, iTunes sales did show signs of deceleration."Keep in mind, in that categorythere's several things -- not just the App Store kind of revenues," Cook said responding to a question from an analyst on the call. "So if you lookedat App Store only, it would look a little different than what you're saying. Butin terms of your question about monetization, I do believe that we can monetizemore than we are from a services point of view in existing areas and in newareas. And I'm particularly encouraged that when I look at the App Store and howit's doing, the strength was broad-based. In fact, in China, the growth was inthe triple digits."The 800 million number was just one headline in what amounted to a blowout quarter by Apple which upped its dividend and raised its forecast for its next quarter, which runs through June. In after-hours trading on Wednesday, Apple's stock soared by more than 8 percent.
