Calacanis on iPad: 'My greatest performance'

By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Tech exec Jason Calacanis sent the Internet into a frenzy Tuesday evening when he tweeted that he was testing Apple's new tablet.

He detailed various specs of the device from his verified Twitter account @jason, including a built-in HDTV tuner and a solar pad for recharging. But at the official unveiling, Apple CEO Steve Jobs didn't mention any of the features that Calacanis had touted, and it soon looked like the Weblogs founder had tested little more than the tech world's credulity.

Calacanis, who is currently the chief executive of Mahalo.com, has been known to go on anti-Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) rants, and has pulled pranks on the blogosphere in the past. He did not respond to a call for comment.

But soon after the iPad debuted, around 4 p.m. ET, Calacanis posted another message stating: "My greatest performance ever?" with a link to a YouTube video titled "Jason Calacanis Destroys Tech 'Journalism.'"

In the video, posted by video satire site 1938 Media, blogger Loren Feldman unleashed an expletive-laced rant attacking the bloggers and media outlets that bought into Calacanis' tweets. Calacanis appears to be linked to the 1938 Media site, but his connection couldn't be verified.

"Want to know hard hard Jason is laughing?" Feldman asks in the video, nearly spluttering with anger. "This hard!" He proceeds to cackle maniacally.

By posting the video Calacanis appeared to be owning up to a hoax. But a few minutes later, he posted another message to the contrary: "Note: I have the iPad 2.0 and Steve Jobs showed the Apple iPad version 1.0 today."

But his last tweet seems to confirm the obvious prank: "i also said it had two cameras, an HDTV tuner and farmville and finger printing... you believed me?"  To top of page

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