MacRumors.com

According to Mobileread, Barron's online published an online exclusive (subscription required) reporting on comments by Johnny Chan, a Hong Kong based J.P. Morgan analyst, about the looming possibility of an Apple iPhone.

Last week, a Piper Jaffary analyst claimed they felt there was a 75% chance that Apple would release an iPhone in the next 12 months.

The J.P. Morgan reports adds a bit more substance to that claim. According to the article, Apple is working on "an iPod with phone functions" and is shopping around for a electronics manufacturer. Meanwhile, Taiwan Green Point Enterprises, the current manufacturer for the iPod plastic cases is also said to be in talks with Apple about the phone.

"The chatter about the product is all over the food chain," says Bill Shope, Chan's colleague in New York who follows Apple. He believes Apple will likely introduce a cellphone by the fourth quarter of this year.

Apple has long owned the domain iPhone.org and also trademarked the term "iPhone" in Australia and the UK.

A history of the Apple iPhone rumors are summarized in this Guide page.