Demand for the iPod, unveiled by Chief Executive Steve Jobs in October 2001, has helped make Apple the third-best performing stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index this year. A surge in iPod sales will help Apple report a 25 percent gain in fourth- quarter sales, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The results, slated to be released Oct. 13, would be the fifth straight period revenue growth exceeded 15 percent.
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