New from Apple: iGloat

Sitting in as a very special guest during Tuesday afternoon’s fourth-quarter earnings call– somethinghe hasn’t done in eight years, Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a few interesting things to say about the company’s mobile phone business. Since the iPhone 3G’s July debut, Apple (AAPL) has sold 6.9 million of the devices.

Staggering.

The company is now the world’s third largest mobile phone supplier in terms of revenue, after Samsung and Nokia. “Apple beat RIM,” Jobs said. “In their most recent quarter, Research in Motion, or RIM, reported selling 6.1 million BlackBerry devices. Compared to our most recent quarter sales of 6.9 million iPhones, Apple outsold RIM last quarter and this is a milestone for us. RIM is a good company that makes good products and so it is surprising that after only 15 months in the market, we could outsell them in any quarter. But even more remarkable is this–measured by revenues, Apple has become the world’s third largest mobile phone supplier. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s true–as measured in revenues, not units, Apple has become the third largest mobile phone supplier.”