Orange’s number-two executive in France, Stéphane Richard, got in himself into a right pickle in an interview yesterday, with a rash of news reports suggesting he’d confirmed the existence of the Apple Tablet. Only, it seems he actually didn’t…
Asked by a reporter about the rumoured impending arrival of the Apple Tablet (which he acknowledged), Richard was then asked if Orange customers would get the device he replied: “Of course!” He was merely suggesting that Orange would be able to sell the device but the rumour mill soon turned those two words into an explicit confirmation.
An Orange PR quickly jumped on the rumour with a statement: “The spokesperson was merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch and that Orange would be delighted to have such a product were it ever to be available.” It looks like Richard might be in line for some more media training.
While Orange has damped down its part in the rumour-fest, the New York Times reports that the Apple Tablet will feature a far wider set of gesture controls than currently offered by the iPhone.
Reuters suggests that suppliers are already at work assembling the necessary parts but that production plans may push the shipping date until Q2 2010. We’ve still got our fingers crossed for that originally rumoured March shipping date.
With the rumours reaching fever pitch – tales of new multitouch methods and Apple deliberately leaking Tablet stories among them – we surely must see a Tablet at Apple’s January 27 event. If not, the disappointment among geeks will be nearly as crushing as the first time they saw The Phantom Menace.
Due TBA | £TBA | Apple (via Ars Technica)
