“The free French newspaper 20 Minutes got its 15 minutes of fame on Tuesday with the publication of a full- page photograph of an iPhone on the day of Apple Computer’s big announcement and the opening of the annual Apple Expo in Paris,” Thomas Crampton reports for International Herald Tribune.
Crampton reports, “Emblazoned with an ambiguous headline roughly translated as ‘Apple’s call,’ and with the photo credited to Apple itself, the page set off a mini- firestorm of Internet rumors and some confusion at the expo. The rumor gained currency in part due to news reports on Monday that Apple had applied to patent a device that would turn the iPod into a smart phone.”
“But the newspaper’s fame turned to infamy when it became clear the photo was a fake and the attribution to Apple was an error,” Crampton reports. “The big announcement turned out to be new iPods and a Disney movie service, and the editor of 20 Minutes apologized. ‘From the reaction in phone calls from readers, the image clearly spoke to the aspirations of what people might want Apple to announce,’ said Frédéric Filloux, executive editor of 20 Minutes.”
“Indeed, Filloux speculated that the mistaken credit may even have come from a journalist’s desire for the product to exist,” Crampton reports. “In fact, the image was produced by the British design agency MDI Digital – which will received credit for it in a correction to be published in Wednesday’s paper, Filloux said.”
Full article here.
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Blast it.
That picture was part of the front cover of MacUser magazine (UK) earlier this summer
Sounds like Apple has a market for a converged device in France.
Nice picture, at least this one has number buttons. It actually looks cool. The pic in that shot looks like address book, which of course you would expect a iPhone to have.
Might give the boys a few ideas……..
” . . . which will received credit for it in a correction to be published . . .”
Because verb tenses will have mattered in order for future publishes to have already been correcting.
Wasn’t this just on the ACN? Ampar Comment Network.
I am most baffled by the longevity of this rumor. I’m at the point of extreme pity for those that have no other journalistic abilities than to regurgitate 4+ year old fiction.
Perhaps, that is why it keeps appearing on MDN!
LOL Amapar. And uh, awkward post positions eh? Props fer not whining.
Atlanta – ACN:
I prefer cheese over whine. That should be obvious!
I’m hoping for a phone with a pull string and spinning scroll wheel that identifies my favorite animal sounds. Stick with the classics.
“the cow says, “Vista”
Is that cow workin’ for Chik-Fil-A? Eat more Vista. It’s a Latvian thang.
Converged devices are the rage in Japan so it could be huge there too.
If there’s a phone with menuing as clear and fast as Nokia, i’m buying it. I hope it comes from Apple so i can sync my tunes or notes, etc.
I’d love nothing better than to dump my RAZR in favor of an Apple phone that has a great interface.
The headline seems to be a pun on the word “appel,” which sounds like Apple but means ‘call’ in French. (“La pomme” means ‘apple.’)
What’s the one thing the cell companies can’t seem to master? Cell phone web integration. This is where the iPhone would come in.
Required Software:
iPhone running “OS X Mobile” with full .mac integration, everyone who signs up for the .mac cell service from Apple will get a .mac account.
Required Hardware:
802.11
BlueTooth
Revolutionary form of text input
iPod doc port
Headphone port
“I’m hoping for a phone with a pull string and spinning scroll wheel that identifies my favorite animal sounds. Stick with the classics.”
Ampar, I think that is the funniest comment I have ever read on this or any other news site. Keep up the good work.
rasterbator: “and Ampar says, Thanks!” Or “moo.”
(I’ll try to keep ’em coming if you can help me keep Brainy off of my six. Misplaced anger and pessimism is distracting.)
Brainy is a tool.
I would love Apple to name their new phone the Freedom phone, just to piss off the French.
Apple has a market for an APPLE DESIGNED converged device, because people believe if Apple releases such a product, it will be done “right”. (Count me in that group.) This means that just because people are clamoring for one, doesn’t mean Apple whips up the product and shoves it out the door. When they get something that’s “right”, and ready for release, they’ll release it.
oh, I forgot. Right, Ready, and able to make a ton of money…