另外，苹果的保密功夫一向令人眼红，而且一旦发生泄密事件，苹果必然毫不留情地追诉泄密者的责任。因此无论苹果iTV的传言是真是假，郭台铭怎么可能会公然谈及一项连苹果公司也尚未公布的产品计划呢？

    在我在看来，这绝不可能。

    那么最近关于iTV的消息到底是从哪传出来的呢？

    这条消息最早来自《中国日报》上的一篇文章，这是一份总部设在北京的英文报纸。这篇文章题为《富士康计划向商贸转型》（Foxconn plans renewed shift into distribution.），文章发自上海，署名人为高长新（音译）。

    文章大概花了15段的篇幅记录了郭台铭参加鸿海集团上海新总部动工典礼的消息，以及鸿海打算在中国大陆扩大商贸规模的计划，只是在文章的末尾才加了这样一句：

    “郭台铭表示，富士康正在为iTV——也就是传说中苹果即将推出的高分辨率电视机做准备，不过该产品的研发和生产尚未启动。

    真是草蛇灰线，伏脉千里！

    如果郭台铭真的谈到了iTV，那么从上面列出的原因就能得知，它绝对是个天大的新闻。

    不过为什么采访这次活动的其他记者——比如路透社的吴健、彭博社的蒂姆•考宾和美联社的伊莱恩•库尔腾巴赫——都没有听说过这回事呢？

    有没有可能《中国日报》的记者听错或误解了郭台铭的话？或是他的文章在翻译中出现了误译？抑或是编辑或什么人在审校的时候改动了原意？

    我们多次试图联系高长新，请他核对采访记录，告诉我们郭台铭那天的原话究竟是什么。不过直到发稿时尚未得到他的回复。

    就目前的情况来看，“郭台铭亲口证实iTV”的故事用《时代》周刊（Time）一位编辑的话来说，仍然只是个大气球，细细推敲几次，即告土崩瓦解。

    与此同时，众多科技媒体最近又再次“确认”了苹果正在进军电视业务：据传苹果公司现在有意收购德国经销商Loewe，这家公司主要销售高清电视和苹果周边的音频设备。Loewe的一位新闻发言人上周日对一个德国博客表示，Loewe与该传言“纯属捕风捉影”，但这并不能阻止媒体蜂拥报道该传言的热情，也不能阻止Loewe的股票周一早间在法兰克福证交所飙升了30%。

    最新消息：富士康的一位新闻发言人联系了The Next Web网站并做了如下声明：在5月10日富士康上海新总部动工典礼上，富士康集团首席执行官郭台铭明确表示，既不会确认、也不会推测富士康参与生产的任何客户的任何产品，因为富士康的政策就是不对任何客户或他们的产品发表评论。

    他从未确认富士康正处于任何客户的任何产品的研发或生产阶段。他的确说过，如果客户决定与富士康合作生产任何产品的话，富士康将随时准备满足他们的生产需求。任何关于富士康确认准备为某一客户生产某一特定产品的报道都是不准确的。

    译者：朴成奎

    Given how jealously Apple guards its own secrets, and how relentlessly it pursues those who spill them, what are the chances that Gou would say anything -- ever -- about an unannounced Apple product, real or imagined?

    I'd say, nil.

    So what was the source for this latest iTV story?

    It was single item in China Daily -- an English-language newspaper based in Beijing. The dateline is Shanghai. The byline is Gao Changxin. The headline reads: "Foxconn plans renewed shift into distribution."

    After 15 paragraphs about Gou's remarks at the groundbreaking for Hon Hai's new Shanghai headquarters and his company's plans to expand distribution in mainland China, the China Daily story tosses in -- almost as an afterthought -- this sentence:

    "Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc's rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin."

    Talk about burying the lead!

    If Gou really said this, it would be -- for all the reasons stated above -- very big news.

    So how is it that none of the other reporters covering the event heard it? Not Reuters' John Ruwitch. Not Bloomberg's Tim Culpin. Not the AP's Elaine Kurtenbach.

    It is possible that the China Daily reporter misheard or misunderstood Gou's remarks? Or that his report was mistranslated? Or that a desk editor or rewrite person mangled it?

    We've asked Gao Changxin to review his notes and tell us exactly what Gou said. He has yet to respond to our several requests.

    For now, the Terry Gou iTV story remains what one of my editors at Time Magazine used to call "a soufflé." Kick it a few times and it collapses.

    Meanwhile the tech press has moved on to the latest "confirmation" that Apple is getting into the TV-set business: A rumor that the company is about to buy Loewe, a German distributor of slim HDTVs and integrated, Apple-friendly audio equipment. A Loewe spokesperson told a German blog Sunday that there was "absolutely nothing to" the rumor, but that didn't stop the tech press from piling onto the story, or Loewe's stock from jumping 30% Monday morning on the Frankfurt exchange.

    Update: A Foxconn spokesperson contacted The Next Web with the following statement:

    In remarks at a media briefing during the groundbreaking of Foxconn's new China headquarters in Shanghai on May 10, Terry Gou, Foxconn's Chief Executive Officer, made it very clear that he would neither confirm nor speculate about Foxconn's involvement in the production of any product for any customer because Foxconn's policy is not to comment on any customers or their products.

    At no time did he confirm that Foxconn was in development or manufacturing stages for any product for any of its customers. He did say that Foxconn is always prepared to meet the manufacturing needs of customers should they determine that they wish to work with Foxconn in the production of any of their products. Any reports that Foxconn confirmed that it is preparing to produce a specific product for any customer are not accurate.