Managing director Mary Meeker at Morgan Stanley is noticing a trend in sales with the advent of the iPhone and iPad, indicating that it might be the end of Mac as we know it. Though let me premise this by saying we know this won’t happen any time soon, and Apple still has a strong interest in maintaining their keystone products.

The Observer reports,

In the second quarter of 2007, for example, 47% of Apple’s revenues came from its Macintosh range of computers. The iPod accounted for 29% of revenues and iTunes for 11%, while “Others” accounted for the remaining 11%. The iPhone brought in 0% for the simple reason that it didn’t go on sale until that summer.

Spool forward to the first quarter of 2010 and, according to Meeker, the iPhone now brings in 40% of Apple’s revenues, while the iPod and iTunes together account for 24%. Sales of Macintosh computers are now responsible for only 28% of the company’s sales. These are the numbers which underpin Steve Jobs’s recent assertion that Apple had become a “mobile devices” company.

But Apple includes their Macbook line in their description of “mobile devices,” and of course Apple is going to have higher sales in the iPhone, iPod, and iTunes arena: that’s what they market. This doesn’t mean people have forgot or aren’t buying Macs – Apple is still selling pretty good volumes of what’s on their shelves. Mobile devices are what people want, so that’s what Apple is gearing themselves to sell. They’re really good at it.

With Apple, their focus comes in cycles as they provide incremental updates to their product lines. Mobile devices envelop a market that is changing at a fast rate – you’re going to have to update your iPhone, iPod, and iPad every year. But there’s nothing dramatic happening in the field of desktop and laptop computers, so why do people expect Apple to update at the same pace? Apple hasn’t forgotten about Macbooks, rather, they’ve already got a game plan and they’re sticking to it.

Companies go where the commercial opportunities are. The inescapable conclusion to be drawn from Apple’s recent history is that the spectacular growth opportunities are in mobile devices, not deskbound computers or even laptops. The iPad is selling at a rate of a million a month. More than 1.4 million of the new iPhones were sold in the first four days. And the pace seems to be increasing. It took the first iPhone 74 days to reach its first million. The iPad got there in 28. Only things like the Nintendo Wii (13 days) shift faster. Then there’s the small matter of the 40% contribution the iPhone now makes to Apple’s bottom line. In those circumstances, if you were Steve Jobs, what would you focus on?

I’d focus on creating the best mobile experience, and tying it off with the best in desktop computing. And by tying the knot, I propose that Apple will update their line of desktop and laptop computers when they’ve polished up a new operating system that integrates with our mobile lifestyles. Give it time, because it’s going to be a fantastic ride.

Be sure to check the analysis at the source below for The Observer’s critique of Apple’s presumed strategy.

[via The Observer]