NEW YORK (Nov. 16) - Improved availability and continued upbeat demand for iPods on Wednesday prompted a Bear Stearns analyst to boost his earnings estimates for Apple Computer Inc., sending shares to an all-time high.

Analyst Andrew Neff`s comments quelled concerns that Apple might not be able to meet frenzied holiday demand for the newest versions of its music player, the nano and video iPods. Neff said shipment times have recently been scaled down to one to three days from a previous three- to five-day range.

``Our channel checks with retailers and component vendors indicate that demand for iPods (both nano and video iPod) continue to remain strong and could be significantly higher than our initial assumption for the holiday season,`` Neff wrote in a research note.

Neff added that ``hot`` products have historically seen sequential sales growth of 75 percent to 100 percent during the holiday season, a critical time for manufacturers and retailers. He held an ``outperform`` rating on Apple.

The analyst now expects iPod volume to triple to 14.1 million units in the first quarter, compared with an earlier estimate of 10.4 million. He also predicted annual volume will nearly double to 44.8 million, about 11 million more than previously thought.

For the fiscal first quarter, Neff raised his profit target to 69 cents per share from 52 cents - excluding items - and his revenue estimate by $1 billion to $5.85 billion. Annual earnings are projected to be $2.25 per share, up from a past view of $1.85 per share, on $21.3 billion in revenue.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial are looking for first-quarter income of 50 cents per share and $4.78 billion in sales, and full-year earnings of $1.78 per share on sales $17.66 billion.

Apple shares jumped $1.94, or 3 percent, to $64.22 on the Nasdaq. The stock has doubled since the beginning of the year, helped by surging iPod demand.

11/16/05 14:28 EST