Leaked news, rumours and hype surrounding Apple's latest products (iPad 'mini' and iPhone 5) meant the company recorded a fall in sales of the iPad and fairly flat iPhone retail figures in the three months to October.

Apple sales revenue for Q3 US$36 billion, which was a 27% increase on the same period last year somewhat disappointed forecasters.

For the quarter Apple sold 27 million iPhones and 14 million iPads. However, the quarter only included 2 weeks of sales for the new iPhone.

Apple predicts revenue of US$52 billion in the next three months, which would make a record quarter. Tim Cook, chief executive said: "It's going to be an incredible holiday season".

Profit rose from US$6.6 billion to US$8.2 billion year-on-year. However, Apple warned of reduced profit margins over the next few months due to the comparatively lower price of the iPad 'mini' and higher production costs associated with the new iPhone 5.