Apple Inc. on Monday reported its strongest quarter ever in revenue and net income for the first quarter of 2010, on the back of strong sales of its iPhone and Mac computers.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose by 50 percent from the previous year to a record $3.4 billion, or $3.67 per share. According to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, they had expected earnings of $2.08 per share.

Revenue increased 32 percent to $15.68 billion, with 42 percent of sales in the U.S.

The main force behind the record breaking quarter was the company's popular iPhone, which sold 8.7 million units, double from last year.

The company reported 3.36 million Macintosh computers sold in the latest quarter, up 33 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, iPod media players sales were down 8 percent to 21 million from last year. iPods sales were expected to decline, although the unit could be boosted by higher average selling prices, as more consumers gravitate toward the iPod touch.

For the quarter ended December 26, Apple reported earnings of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 a share, up from $2.26 billion, or $2.50 a share, a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the company offered a conservative assessment, saying that it expects fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.06 to $2.18 a share on revenue of $11 billion to $11.4 billion. In comparison, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect $1.77 and $10.37 billion, respectively.

California ITunes Electronics Ios