Hasta La Gadget!

“Oui.” That’s what Stéphane Richard—Orange’s Chief Executive Officer Delegate—answered to French journalist Jean Pierre Elkabbach on radio Europe 1, when asked about the imminent launch of the Apple tablet. He also mentions the webcam we heard about.[Updated]

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: According to Le Point, your partner Apple will launch a Tablet…

Stéphane Richard: Yes.

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: …with a webcam…

Stéphane Richard: Yes.

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: …would Orange users benefit from this?

Stéphane Richard: Sure! They are going to benefit from the web cam, certainly we will be able to, in effect, transmit images in real time. We are going to modernize, in essence, the video phone that we knew a few years ago… the size of the resolution, and the quality of the resolution will be better, and it will be available to all in France.

Jump to 6:15 to listen to it (in French):

Update: In an official statement, Orange has said that Stephane Richard’s words were “taken out of context” and that he didn’t acknowledge the existence of the Apple tablet.

However, the translation above is exactly what he said, with all the context. There’s no other mention to the Apple tablet before or after the above. So no, his words weren’t taken out of context, and they are presented as is.

Back in 2007, Orange CEO Didier Lombard spilt the beans on their iPhone partnership with Apple ahead of the official announcement, prompting the rage of Steve Jobs and an “official” denial by the Orange PR machine.

[Nowhereelse and moconews]

Well, the initial CES attendance estimates are in from the Consumer Electronics Association–the organization behind CES–and it looks to be good news. Despite pre-show estimates suggesting that attendance would drop off from last year, it seems that the show has actually seen a bit of a bump.

The CEA had initially expected last years attendance of 113,085 people to drop to somewhere around 110,000. According to an e-mail sent by the CEA to attendees, At show close, preliminary registration figures indicate more than 120,000 industry professionals attended the 2010 International CES.

There were more than 2,500 companies present at the show, according to the numbers–a decline of 2,700 from the year before. That, certainly, shouldnt come as much of a surprise to those present–the show occupied noticeably less floor space than a year prior, with certainly companies conspicuously absent from the proceedings.

There was, however, a record 330 new exhibitors, according to the CEA. This likely had something to do with a number of newly introduced floor sections, including The iLounge Pavilion and Living in Digital Times.

Did France Telecom/Orange executive Stephane Richard unflinchingly confirm the existence of that long awaited Apple tablet? The answer, it seems, is a resounding “oui.” Asked by French journalist, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, whether such a device would be arriving “in a couple of days,” the executive answered in the affirmative.

Pressed a little more, Richard confirmed that it would both have a Webcam and that “Orange customers [are] going to be able to enjoy it.” So, will the device require a cell plan, ala the iPhone? Will it simply be made available for purchase through carriers? Pure speculation at this point, of course, but until Apple actually confirms such a thing, that’s all we’ve got.

Orange, the fifth largest carrier in the world, currently offers the iPhone in 28 countries and territories.

Say hello to Qriocity, Sony’s first step toward building an Online Service to rival iTunes, Netflix and anything else that makes money by selling you downloadable content. Headed to your nearest XMB in February and getting a dedicated remote control button on Sony’s future TV sets, this service will allow you to stream movies in SD or HD, and Sony Insider reports that with a strong web connection you’ll be able to get a solid 720p output. A large roster of film publishers have been recruited, while Sony promises “hundreds” of films will be available at Qriocity’s launch. Come past the break to scope out the UI.

Continue reading Sony Qriocity on-demand movie service coming February 2010

Sony Qriocity on-demand movie service coming February 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as CES is wrapping up, we managed to get some hands-on time with the AirStash wireless SD card reader, which is targeted at iPhone OS devices (but does work with other WiFi-enabled devices). Like many of the mysterious products from Vegas we have no price, release date or battery life, but what we do know now is that it’s indeed very light (1.5 ounces), fits nicely in our hands and supports up to 32GB SDHC cards. As for wireless connection the AirStash acts as a WiFi 802.11b/g access point — a cunning way to dodge the Apple dock connector license fees or the lack of Bluetooth profiles. Sadly, the prototype wasn’t working properly due to “some RF interference,” but as you can see above, the AirStash is accessed via a browser (UI design not final). Sure, this would mean you’d lose Internet connection via WiFi, but if the AirStash is cheap enough, then we’ll live with it. Let’s hope they hurry up with the release, though.

AirStash wireless SD card reader hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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