Apple after the bell 08/01/2006: iPod phone rumors growing

Apple ended the day down 72 cents to close at $67.24 as rumors about an Apple phone made their way all across the internet. In Apple's last conference call the company all but admitted that it was working on an Apple phone. T3, a gadget mag, notices that Apple has tossed its hat in with the group that standardizes mobile phone applications, indicating Apple wants to have a say in those standards. Meaning Apple is getting very serious about the iPod/phone combination. T3 notes that the last time Apple did this it joined a Windows benchmarking group. Then just over a week later Apple announced Bootcamp, the software that allows Intel-based Apple machines to dual-boot Windows and OS-X.

But when will the phone be announced? No one is sure, that's half the mystique around Apple when it comes to announcements. But something interesting is coming at WWDC. Robert Scoble, previously blogging as a Microsoft evangelist at his site Scobleizer, drops an awfully interesting hint in a post about delayed Vistas ship dates. He talks about an Apple product announcement there that makes him wish he could "camp out at an Apple store on August 7th." Color me more intrigued than usual. Scoble is more plugged in than most Apple rumormills, is this a reference to an iPod/phone, or to other Apple equipment? We'll find out in seven days.