Revenue and profit numbers were dragged down in the last half of the quarter, as rumors (see ) of a new iPhone reached fever pitch, and consumers held off on buying the current models. But Apple executives say the fall-off was much less than they expected.

FIRST LOOK:  

Analysts had projected iPhone sales of about 22 million for the quarter. But citing the mounting impact of rumors and anticipation of new iPhone model in September, Apple executives said they sold 17 million.

The new iPhone 4S went on sale last week, l after the first quarter began, and . 

For the quarter ending in September, Apple's revenues were $28.3 billion, slightly below the $28.6 billion in Q3 revenues, and about $1 billion less than the average expected by analysts. Profits for Q4 were $6.62 billion, also down slightly from Q3. But revenues and profits were dramatically higher than in Q4 last year, when Apple reported $20.3 billion in revenues and $4.31 billion in profit.