Apple released its quarterly earnings after the bell today. The most prominent data is the iPhone 3G sales: 6.9 million units. That’s more than the total unit sales of the first-generation iPhones over five quarters. The performance also dwarfs Research-in-Motion’s. In its quarter ended in August 30, the Blackberry maker reported unit sales of 6.1 million units. But forget about competition for a while, it is good news for the smartphone industry. The whole category is exploding, reflecting consumers’ strong appetite for converged, yet easy-to-use multi-use mobile phones.