It should come as no surprise that Apple’s stock rocketed to a new high last week – with so many rumors swarming about the digital orchard, people were bound to want to a bit of this Apple. Among those rumors: that the tech titan is about to bless the market with not one, but a handful of attractive new gadgets including an enhanced iPhone and iPad, and even Apple TV systems.

What exactly are the numbers?

Well, shares rose about 2 percent to 648.11 by end-of-trading-day last Friday August 17 – and didn’t stop there. In after-market trading, the share price made another small leap to $684.85. Not only did the company pull itself out of the slump it’s been in since May, but the new share price marked a return to days past (earlier this year) when their shares burst through a handful or record highs.

(image courtesy of cnnmoney.com)

Last quarter, Apple missed Wall Street’s anticipated sales and profit margins for the company; however quite possibly due to the much-awaited launch of the new iPhone (tentatively scheduled for September) and gossip about Apple TV, the stock has picked itself up – and is doing even better than expected.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the sudden leap is because we are a society of suckers for being in suspense. The iPhone has become, by leaps and bounds, the prime force for Apple’s continued triumph over the market, and their strategy rarely unfolds without somewhat of a cliffhanger. For instance, tech journalists have been sifting for months now through leaks and rumors regarding the new device – and readers have become as addicted to these iPhone-what-ifs as we would to a sexy soap opera. Indeed, the only thing we know officially about the iPhone5 is that it will feature a bigger screen and 4G wireless – but even those specs are…just specs.

As for iTV, gossip is just as sloppy: the Cupertino, Cali-based company is rumored to be preparing a smaller version of the iPad along with a new Apple TV box which will transmits video content as well as programming onto the television in your living room. But that’s all we know.

There are more records to be broken, too: if Apple shares hit $663.68, Steve Jobs’ legacy will have become the most valuable company of all time – even more so than Microsoft.