Apple Puts Intel Inside

Updated from 2:22 p.m. EST

SAN FRANCISCO -- As has been rumored for months, Apple Computer(AAPL Quote) is starting its transition to Intel(INTC Quote) chips early, CEO Steve Jobs announced Tuesday at the company's MacWorld conference here.

While the Mac faithful cheered the development, it remains to be seen whether Wall Street will be similarly joyful as the event euphoria fades. Contrary to other rumors, Jobs didn't introduce any all-new products or update the company's iPod line.

Of course, investors already had plenty to be happy about on Tuesday: Apple said it posted $5.7 billion in sales in the holiday period and sold a whopping 14 million iPods in the period. That's a far higher iPod tally than many analysts were expecting and dwarfs the 4.5 million the company sold in the holiday period last year. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call, meanwhile, were expecting the company to post sales of $5.04 billion in the period. ...