Anticipated Apple i-Phone Launch Push Stock To New High

Apple Computer Inc. rose to a new high yesterday as investors got behind the company's stock following recent analyst speculation about iPod sales in the holiday season, along with the belief Apple is close to getting into the mobile-phone market.

Shares of Apple rose $1.66, or 1.9 per cent, to US$88.14 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares traded as high as $88.40, above the previous high of $87 reached Monday.

While the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is typically tight-lipped about its next round of products, some analysts believe that Apple will soon unveil the "iPhone," the first Apple-branded mobile phone. The iPhone is said to include the iTunes music-playing technology and instant-messaging capabilities.

Shaw Wu of American Technology Research wrote in a note that any iPhone remains in the development phase, and it's not possible to gauge when Apple might release such a device, or with whom it might team up.

Wu also said he expects Apple to sell 14 million iPods in its current fiscal quarter. Such results would be in line with its sales figures in the same period a year ago.

Apple typically uses company events to announce new product releases, and likely will use the annual San Francisco MacWorld Expo in January to launch its next devices.