When high-ranking execs spill the beans on something, I tend to believe it more than a random ‘anonymous tipster’. At least there’s a face and name to go with the claims, which is always a good thing. This morning, I came across a few stories noting how France Telecom/Orange exec Stéphane Richard sort of confirmed the much ballyhooed Apple iSlate/iTablet/whataver-you-want-to-call-it.
Via a video over at SlashGear (see video below), Stéphane clearly states that there will be a new tablet computer from Apple, equipped with a webcam. See the translation provided by Techcrunch below:
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: According to weekly Le Point, in a couple of days Apple will be launching its tablet computer …
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: … equipped with a webcam.
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: Are Orange customers going to be able to enjoy it?
Stéphane Richard: Of course!
This is all well and good, but I still have January 27th Apple Event marked on my calendar. The rumors and hype seem to be picking up for sure… But I think we’d all be smart to file these leaks as rumor for now. I’ll wait to hear it from the horse’s (Steve Jobs’) mouth during the keynote on the 27th.