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There has been much speculation that Apple will release a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone this year but Cook said that the company is not interested in the low-end market. Apple does not want to be the market leader in terms of units sold, he said, it wasn’t to build the world’s best phone.

As for netbooks, the small, cheap laptops that have grabbed many a headline in the PC press this year, Cook said that Apple believes the low-specs are much less powerful than customers want, with low-quality software, cramped keyboards and small displays.

However he said that

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Apple is keeping an eye on the market.

One area in which Apple is planning to invest is Apple TV. Despite echoing Jobs description of Apple TV as a "hobby", Cook said that it is clear than the iTunes movie rental business is working and that helped to drive Apple TV sales up by 300% in the past year.

"We will continue to invest there, because we believe there is something there for us in the future," he said.

Cook is currently handling the day-to-day running of Apple in the absence of chief executive Steve Jobs who has taken six months’ sick leave. Cook said that it is business as usual, noting that there is a lot more to Apple than Jobs.

“There is an extraordinary breadth and depth and tenure among the Apple executive team. And these executives lead over 35,000 employees that I would call all ‘wicked smart’,” said Cook. “And that’s in all areas of the company, from engineering, to marketing, to operations, sales, and all the rest.”

He added that Apple continues to settle for “anything less than excellence” and that is so ingrained in the company regardless of who is doing what job.