Apple today said its profit jumped 26 percent in the fourth quarter as the iPhone 3G outsold the market-leading BlackBerry from Research in Motion. 
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple's profit beat expectations, but sales missed. Sales jumped 27 percent to $7.9 billion from $6.22 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected the company to sell $8 billion worth of gadgets.
On a conference call, CEO Steve Jobs addressed concerns that economic weakness will eat into Apple's business through the holidays and beyond.
Jobs said Apple's customers are more likely to put off buying a new computer than to defect to other brands of PCs with lower prices. Apple, which is sitting on about $25 billion in cash, could use the downturn to invest in research and development, he said.
"We may get buffeted around by the waves a little bit, but we'll be fine," Jobs said.
Apple sold 6.9 million iPhone 3Gs in the quarter, more than the 6.1 million total first-generation iPhones sold. The iPhone launched July 11 and is available in more than 50 countries.
Research in Motion reported it sold 6.1 million BlackBerry smartphones in the quarter.
