Apple

] will announce staggering handset unit sales at Macworld next month. And while I fully anticipate strong numbers, I’m a little skeptical that they’ll measure up to some of the wild estimates making the rounds. 9to5mac.com, for one, suspects Apple will announce 5 million iPhones sold so far at Macworld.

The site adds that, “If that’s true, it would put Apple at half of its 2008 sales goal before 2008 even starts.” The site goes on to suggest such huge numbers would mean that “despite Apple only selling one model of GSM iPhone in four countries with four dedicated carriers, Apple’s shipments in this quarter — around 3.5 million — will be very close to the 3.9 million Blackberry smartphones Research In Motion RIMM loading…