Amazon France leaks iPad 3 release date?

Today's fondleslab rumor 'pour les nuls'

Amazon France may have leaked the release date for Apple's next iteration of its überpopular fondleslab, the iPad.

The wonderfully named and self-proclaimed "Savior of Apple Blogging" AppleBitch.com noted on Tuesday that the Gallic online books-and-everything-else etailer has two iPad 3 books in its catalog: Ipad 3 pour les nuls, or iPad 3 for Dummies, and Auf die Schnelle iPad 3, somewhat idiomatically iPad 3 in a Hurry or iPad 3 on the Fly.

The nuls book is presumably a Francophonic member of John Wiley & Sons highly successful Dummies series, which currently includes over 1,600 titles, with over 200 million books in print. The smaller Auf die Schnelle series is published by Düsseldorf's Data Becker GmbH.

According to the Amazon France listing, Ipad 3 pour les nuls is scheduled for publication on March 29. That date would be in line with the March release of the iPad 3 that has been widely rumored by Bloomberg and others.

Bloomberg, by the way, citing "three people familiar with the product," reported that the iPad 3 would have a higher-resolution display – presumably an iPhonesque retina display – a faster processor, and LTE wireless connectivity.

"Apple is bringing LTE to the iPad before the iPhone," one of Bloomberg's Apple-planted leakers contacts reportedly told them, "because the tablet has a bigger battery and can better support the power requirements of the newer technology."

Of course, Tuesday's Ipad 3 pour les nuls and Auf die Schnelle iPad 3 listings should be taken with the customary grains of salt. Amazon France has a bit of history pre-announcing Apple products through their book sales – although not entirely accurately. In July of 2010, TUAW (aka The Unofficial Apple Weblog) noted that the French bookseller was offering iLife '10 pour les nuls, with a release date of September 23 of that year. iLife '10 was never released, although iLife '11 was introduced on October 20, 2010. ®