Image by The Pug Father via Flickr

Last week was all aflutter about whether Apple’s large order of 10-inch touch screens from a Taiwanese manufacturer was intended for a tablet / netbook, with mock-ups of what was thought to be the end result. Then, someone started positing that the screens were meant for an eReader to go head to head (or toe to toe) with the Kindle. CNET published a story on this “about face” last Thursday. The rumor started with Apple writer Andy Ihnatko postulating that he had heard from someone else that someone else had seen truckloads of books (“actual, real, honest-to-goodness-paper-bound books) being delivered to Cupertino. The idea is that these books are being scanned for an eReader library. Ihnatko wouldn’t even rank his information as a “rumor” but merely “an interesting story.”

Interesting tale, given that Kindle and the iPhone have recently teamed up to offer a reader app.

Mea culpa – I am one of “those” rehashing this “interesting story” cum “rumor” soon to be “complete and honest truth” about the eReader, a phenomenon I have seen happen time and again on the Web. Like a telphone tag game on steroids, no one really knows what will actually happen at Apple within the next year or two, including people at Apple. Nonetheless, we, the audience are hungry for the next big thing and Apple never fails to disappoint.

Whatever the future holds, I am sure we will soon be treated to another interesting and innovative product from Apple that costs way too much money.