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With less than two hours to go before Apple's media event, Gizmodo has posted three images that briefly appeared on Chinese website WeiPhone appearing to show the back shell of an Apple device of approximately the tablet's expected size. The photos, which appear to depict several such shells in an industrial setting, quickly disappeared from the site.

Earlier today, Engadget posted what appears to be images of the front of the tablet device, which has been bolted down to a table and partially covered by a black cloth in the images.

Apple is holding its media event today and is expected to introduce their much anticipated tablet device. We will provide links to live coverage of the event and provide bulleted updates. The event kicks off at 10 am Pacific or 1 pm Eastern. Apple does not provide a live video or audio stream to their events, so you can only follow along live with text and photo updates. Apple will post a QuickTime video a few hours after the event.

Live Web/Twitter Coverage

- Gizmodo
- Engadget
- Ars Technica
- gdgt
- MacRumors Twitter

- Spoiler Free notification page

Recent News and Rumors

- Photos of Apple Tablet Back Shell Leaked?
- Apple's Focus on Content and Possible eBook Pricing
- Last Minute Leaked Photos of the Apple Tablet?
- McGraw-Hill CEO Confirms Apple Tablet, iPhone OS Based, Going to Be "Terrific"
- Apple Tablet Rumor Roundup

Event Updates

- Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger is present, possibly suggesting a content deal of some sort with Apple to be announced.
- Steve Jobs on stage, sharing stats: 250 million iPods sold; 284 retail stores, with over 50 million visitors last quarter; 3 billion App Store downloads, over 140,000 apps available.
- Apple is a mobile device company. By revenue, Apple is the largest mobile device company in the world.
- Now for the main event: Reviews 1991 PowerBook introduction and iPhone. Is there something in between that could be better at browsing, e-mail, photos, video, music, games, eBooks? Netbooks? Nope...just small, cheap laptops.
- Introduces "iPad"

- Built-in browser, mail, photos, calendar, maps, etc. iTunes Store included right on iPad. YouTube access.
- So much more intimate than a laptop. So much more capable than a smartphone.
- Music player is a hybrid between iPhone and regular iTunes.
- Showing off browsing: Apple, New York Times, Time, Fandango. One article appears to show plug-in error...no Flash?
- E-mail: Showing off message reading and creation. Direct PDF viewing.

- Showing off photos: Can utilize Events, Places, and Faces functionality by syncing from iPhoto.
- iTunes: expansive interface, album art, etc.

- Showing off Calendar and Maps applications. Maps includes Street View...everything reportedly very snappy.
- Showing off video capabilities via YouTube. Also movies, TV...showing clips from Star Trek and Up.
- Back to the hardware. 0.5" thin, 1.5 pounds, 9.7" IPS display, full multi-touch.
- 1 GHz "Apple A4 chip", 16, 32, or 64 GB flash storage, 802.11n, Bluetooth, accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic. 10 hours battery life. One month of standby battery.
- Now App Store...third-party apps. Scott Forstall on stage.
- Can run existing apps in a small box in center of screen or can pixel double to run full screen. Demoing. Showing off Facebook and ESPN snowcross game.
- Apple has also modified iPhone SDK to allow third-developers to rewrite for the large display as Apple has done with its own apps.
- App Store available on iPad and will feature both iPad-only and iPhone apps. Gameloft now on stage with a demo. Showing off Nova...iPad version coming later this year. Can interact with the game world on a whole new level.
- Now showing off New York Times. Martin Nisenholtz, NYT senior VP of digital operations on stage. Creating iPad-specific application.

- Steve Sprang from Brushes. Briefly showing off painting application.
- Travis Boatman of Electronic Arts to talk about gaming. Showing off Need for Speed: Shift. Fully touch-enabled. "Like holding an HD display up to your face."
- Major League Baseball on stage. Utilizing screen space to show off stats, animations, video highlights, box score, scoreboards, etc.
- Steve Jobs back on stage. Showing off another one of our apps. Standing on Amazon's shoulders, we're going a bit further with "iBooks".
- E-books displayed on a bookshelf. Direct access to iBook Store to download new material. Major publishers on board, and we're opening the floodgates to others this afternoon. Demoing purchasing e-books.

- Showing e-book navigation...tap right or left side of screen to flip pages, change font, text size, etc.
- Now talking about iWork. Talked to head of iWork team a year ago about creating iPad version, and they got it done. Introducing iWork on iPad.
- Phil Schiller on stage talking about iWork on iPad. Completely new versions of Keynote, Pages, Number. Now demoing Keynote...landscape orientation to accommodate slide views. Moving slides, resizing images, etc.

- Now showing Pages. Document gallery, scrolling, virtual keyboard, showing off auto text-wrapping.
- Demoing Numbers. Showing off how to move columns of data, adding rows, etc. Offers multiple keyboards...data-entry, text, date and time. etc.
- iWork for iPad apps priced at $9.99 each.
- Steve is back to show off iTunes. iPad syncs over USB, exactly like iPhone or iPod touch. When you sync, you sync everything.
- Wireless: iPad has Wi-Fi, also 3G. Two data plans available: 250 MB limit for $14.99/month; Unlimited for $29.99/month. AT&T to provide service. Free use of AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots.
- Activation directly through device. NO wireless contract needed. Cancel anytime.
- What about international? Hope to have deals in place by June or July. Hopefully June. All iPad models are unlocked and use new GSM micro SIMs.
- Steve is recapping the features of the iPad.
- Pricing: Starts at $499 for 16 GB, $599 for 32 GB, $699 for 64 GB. 3G-capable models are $130 more: $629/$729/$829.

- Will begin shipping Wi-Fi models in 60 days, 3G models in 90 days.
- Also introducing dock stand, as well as a full-size mechanical keyboard dock stand.

- Also a case that doubles as a stand. Showing highlight video with Jonathan Ive and others hyping the iPad.
- Notes from observers: No visible camera or mention of one; No mention of multi-tasking; No mention of any phone capabilities.
- Steve: "We think we've got the goods. We think we've got it." With over 75 million iPhones and iPod touches sold, we've got over 75 million people who already know how to use the iPad. Over 125 million iTunes accounts with over 12 billion products downloaded. We're ready for the iPad.
- Thanking attendees. Invited for hands-on.

Last night Derek Powazek of Fray published an opinion piece called "What I Hope Apple Unleashes Tomorrow". As both a print and online publisher, Powazek provides some excellent insight into the promise of a mainstream Apple tablet with regard to content providers. He concludes:

It's the same hole they filled with the iPod. When it came out, there were CDs on one side (physical media for sale) and file-sharing on the other (free but dodgy). The iPod filled the media experience gap, and the iTunes store filled the payment side. Many pundits said it wouldn't work. It worked.

The same could happen here. Apple could release a device that makes consuming media fun, is able to show any PDF beautifully (just like the iPod would play any MP3), and offers new media for sale in the iTunes store. If they did it right, publishers like me might finally be able to sell something digital that people would actually buy.

The entire piece is worth a read as it may offer the best explanation of why people might need or want a Tablet.

As it turns out, Powzek's dream may be in line with some of Apple's plans. Wired posts a last minute story that claims Apple's focus on Wednesday's event will be on "reinventing content, not tablets".

Apple's goal is to offer a new platform for content creators to reinvent books, magazines and online content -- in addition to offering a new avenue for content producers to make money. That platform will likely be far broader than just a tablet device, and will extend to every device or computer that iTunes touches.

The "creation" reference in the invitation reportedly has to do with content providers who will publish their wares through iTunes using HTML5, Javascript and multimedia. Wired imagines that while the tablet will be the focus, this content could also be played back on laptops, iPhones, iPod Touches or even the Apple TV.

Apple has been aggressively trying to sign on book publishers, and a report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple taking Amazon head on in its negotiations with book publishers. Apple is reportedly looking to set hardcover best sellers at $12.99 and $14.99, above Amazon's current $9.99 pricing. Apple is looking to allow publishers to set their own prices for books, shifting some of the power back to the publishers.

Apple's media event kicks off at 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific today, Wednesday January 27th. Possible photos of the device were leaked early this morning.

Engadget posts a possible image of what appears to be the Apple Tablet.

Okay, we obviously can't confirm this, but we just got two very interesting images of what certainly looks like a prototype Apple tablet, or what could be the tablet bolted down to a table. It's big -- really big -- and it's running what clearly looks like an iPhone app, although we've never seen an iPhone app with that interface or at that resolution before.

The site isn't convinced that the image is legitimate. The device appears to have a very iPhone-like Maps application with UI elements consistent with the current iPhone. Obviously, the screen is much larger with a much larger viewing area. There appears to be a home button at the bottom of the device, and a Wi-Fi signal near the top with "No Service" indicating no cellular service at the time the photo was taken.

The black cloaking could be consistent with security measures in place by Apple according to a 2009 New York Times article:

Work spaces are typically monitored by security cameras, this employee said. Some Apple workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful, he said.

Update: Engadget has updated its story with another image from the same source, this one somewhat blurry but showing an iPhone placed on top of the tablet for size comparison.

In an interview with CNBC, McGraw-Hill's CEO confirms that their textbooks will be on the Apple Tablet and it will be an iPhone OS based machine. When asked about rumors that their textbooks will be on the Apple tablet, Terry McGraw responds (2m 50s):

"Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now -- we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific."

Over the years, there have always been those rumored Apple products and announcements that seem to take on a life of their own. Products that have been rumored for so long that you never actually think they will ever arrive, and when they finally do, it seems surreal. We can remember three other moments like this:

- PowerMac G5 (2003)
- Macintosh Moving to Intel Processors (2005)
- The iPhone (2007)

The Tablet easily falls into that category. Apple fans have been demanding a tablet-sized device from Apple as far back as the Newton days (15 years ago). Later interest in such a device morphed into a Mac version which we were convinced was poised to be released in 2003 but killed at the last minute. But over the past year, the Apple tablet has once again become the focus of the rumor community -- and this time it seems certain.

The rumors for the tablet have been scattered all over the place with claims from analysts and other questionable sources taking the headlines. Instead of providing an exhaustive list of rumors, here's what we feel are most credible and most likely.

The Wall Street Journal provides an overall image of what an Apple tablet will offer:

The tablet is expected to be a multimedia device that will let people watch movies and television shows, play games, surf the Internet and read electronic books and newspapers. Though companies like Toshiba Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have introduced Windows-based tablet computers before and Amazon.com Inc. and others sell similarly-sized digital-book readers, people briefed by Apple say the company intends to carve out a new product category.

Apple is said to be looking to change the way consumers interact with content. This would presumably be accomplished with live updating information and Apple's multi-touch technology. Multiple reports have indicated that Apple is meeting with book publishers, newspapers and other companies to provide content for the device.

All reports have pointed to the use of the advanced Cortex A9 ARM processor in Apple's upcoming tablet. The use of this next generation processor should allow for good performance and relatively long battery life. It will also allow the tablet to run existing iPhone and iPod Touch apps unaltered -- a feature that has been rumored. The added horsepower could also allow for long rumored iPhone OS features such as multi-tasking. While some may be holding out hope for a Mac OS X based experience, there has been absolutely no evidence that the tablet will run anything related to Apple's desktop operating system, and the use of the ARM processor would eliminate the possibility of direct Mac application compatibility. It seems certain that the tablet will run an evolution of the iPhone operating system which has been designed for multi-touch interfaces.

The device, itself, has been pegged at around 10" in size according to multiple reports with an appearance very similar to the current iPhone. A front facing camera may also be included with the device which would open the door to video conferencing. Optional 3G wireless connectivity in addition to built-in Wi-Fi is expected, though through which carrier remains uncertain.

Apple has applied for trademarks for both iSlate and iPad. While it's possible Apple may have ultimately decided to go a different direction, the iPad application process remains ongoing with filings as recent as this month, making this seem to be the most likely candidate.

Finally, the interface remains one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, but little has leaked about this. Patent applications over the years have provided hints at what might be possible, but the best reports simply describe it as "a good bit of new sexy" and that people will be surprised at how you interact with it.

Steve Jobs seems to be very excited about the new product with second hand quotes describing it as the most important thing he's ever done. The last time we'd heard that Steve Jobs was excited about a product launch it was immediately prior to the launch of the iPhone in 2007.

MacRumors will provide consolidated coverage of the event which takes place Wednesday, January 27th at 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern. Live Twitter updates can be followed at @MacRumors, with news stories appearing on @MacRumorsRSS. We also offer a Spoiler Free page if you prefer to watch a time-delay of the video feed.

With Apple's major media event scheduled for tomorrow, the company's plans for wireless carrier arrangements in the U.S. for the iPhone and tablet device remain unclear, with reports coming down on all sides of the issue.

Regarding the iPhone, AT&T has long been thought to hold exclusivity in the U.S. through mid-2010, although a recent report has claimed that it will be losing its exclusivity at Apple's media event tomorrow. Claims of a Verizon-compatible iPhone have also fed the hype over new carrier arrangements coming in the very near future for the iPhone, although reports have differed over when such a launch could occur. In fact, just yesterday, an analyst claimed that T-Mobile will be the first to break AT&T's exclusivity this summer, with Verizon and Sprint having to wait until the fall.

The question of what carrier or carriers would offer wireless data access for Apple's tablet device, should it offer the connectivity as many expect, similarly remains shrouded in uncertainty. Reports dating back many months have claimed that Apple has been working with Verizon on the tablet project, with more recent reports continuing to hint at such a possibility. Boy Genius Report even reported yesterday that Verizon is holding a quarterly update meeting with its store managers tomorrow, with staff expected to view a "live webcast" scheduled for 1:00 PM Eastern time, coinciding with Apple's media event.

The tablet may not be a Verizon-exclusive, however, if other reports are correct. An analyst report earlier this month pointed to support for multiple carriers, with another article just last week claiming that Apple is in last-minute negotiations with both AT&T and Verizon over wireless access for the tablet. Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who has offered accurate information on Apple's plans in the past, has said that he believes the tablet may even be an AT&T exclusive, although a multi-carrier arrangement involving both AT&T and Verizon may be an option.

Despite all the months of rumor and speculation regarding the assumed impending end of AT&T exclusivity for the iPhone and Apple's carrier plans for its highly-anticipated tablet device, the picture remains unclear. Tomorrow's media event should certainly offer clarity to the situation with respect to the tablet, with many hoping that the company has news to share on the iPhone front as well.

Financial Times reports that Apple has been pressuring TV networks to lower their prices for iTunes content, hoping to pass along the savings to customers in order to spur sales. According to the report, Apple has been unhappy with the sales of television content and would like to drop the cost of TV episodes from the current $1.99 to $1 to introduce a new pricing dynamic.

The plan is seen as an integral part of the iPhone maker's strategy for the tablet computer, which it is expected to unveil tomorrow.

However, networks are resisting the move as they fear a repeat of the music industry's pact with Apple in 2003 to sell individual songs for 99 cents on iTunes. The price helped to simplify and boost downloads of digital music but dented album sales .

The report also claims that Apple has primarily been focusing on book and newspaper publishers ahead of the tablet's launch to get them on board, but the TV networks will soon see greater attention as Apple looks to use its tablet as leverage to convince networks to accept lower per-download fees in order to drive increased quantities of downloads.

Apple has also been rumored to be developing a monthly subscription service for a "best of television" package that would offer consumers a variety of content from the networks in what Apple hopes to position as a replacement for traditional cable TV subscriptions.

As typical prior to any Apple event, supposedly "leaked" product images tend to start circulating. Unfortunately, actual product image leaks are quite rare and they typically come from a trusted source or site. In fact, it's been extremely rare for randomly circulating and unsourced images to be genuine.

We had previously posted a collection of these circulating "iPad" images on our Page 2 which collects unreliable rumors and other news of lesser importance.

A couple of these tablet images, however, have started gaining traction amongst other tech sites, so we are re-publishing these for reader interest. The above two images seemed to originate from a Twitter account last week. We don't know the story behind the images, so they could have even been labeled as concept/mockups from the start.

One of the images has geotagging placing it in Germany, while the second image places it in San Jose, California. Both images, however, appear to have been taken at the same time, making it likely that some of this information has been tampered with. The keyboard layout of the MacBook Pro in the photos appear to have an international layout.

For what it's worth, we don't believe these images are legitimate, but provided for interest and discussion. That said, earlier reports have said the upcoming Apple tablet will resemble these images.

According to a (now deleted) tweet by major German electronics retailer Media Markt, the Apple iPad will go on sale March 1st at a price of 499 Euros with contract with T-Mobile or 899 Euros without. In U.S. prices this would likely be around $500-$600 U.S. with contract and $999 without. We came to these numbers by comparing similarly priced Apple items sold in Euros and USD (Mac Mini: 549 Euros / $599 USD, MacBook 899 Euros / $999 USD).

The company, however, quickly deleted the tweet but not before it was retweeted a number of times. NetbookNews.de also picked up on the story and seems to believe that Media Markt would be in a position to know this information. The German site tells us that Media Markt is the biggest German electronics chain akin to Best Buy in the U.S., and has a dedicated Apple section.

Given Apple's secrecy, however, we're not convinced Apple would reveal such information to their retail partners ahead of the official announcement. That said, it's possible that mobile carriers such as T-Mobile have been briefed already due to the carrier agreements that must be put into place. Apple's Media event takes place Wednesday, January 27th.

Update: fscklog reports [Google translation] that a company representative has confirmed that the Twitter account is not an official Media Markt account, and thus the iPad posting is certainly fake.

As Apple's media event quickly approaches, the flurry of rumors continue to pour in. First off, both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook of Apple have been building the hype for their product announcement on Wednesday. In Apple's PR release, Steve Jobs describes the release of a "major new product that that we're really excited about."

During the Q&A session of today's financial results conference call, Tim Cook teased that he "wouldn't want to take away your joy and surprise on Wednesday" when questioned about their upcoming products.

One analyst now claims that Apple may allow all U.S. Carriers to sell the iPhone:

T-Mobile USA Inc. will get the phone this summer, followed by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. in the fall, and Clearwire Corp. in 2011, Horan wrote in a note yesterday. AT&T Inc. has been the exclusive carrier since the iPhone debuted in June 2007.

This report leads to one possible interpretation of the Apple invitation with colors lining up with the brands of major carriers:

It may be a simple coincidence, but makes for an eye catching possibility.

Finally, the NYTimes now reports that the new Tablet will run current iPhone and iPod Touch Apps.

It will run all the applications of the iPhone and iPod Touch, have a persistent wireless connection over 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi, and will be built with a 10-inch color display, allowing newspapers, magazines and book publishers to deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print.

If true, this would consistent with a report from analytics company Flurry which claimed they detected up to 50 presumed-to-be tablet devices running their iPhone apps.

Apple today announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2010, corresponding to the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $15.68 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $11.88 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.26 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.9 percent, compared to 37.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter's revenue. The numbers represent the most profitable quarter in Apple's history on record-breaking revenue, and include the highest Mac and iPhone quarterly sales in company history.

The company has adopted revised accounting standards that no longer require Apple to parcel out income from iPhone and Apple TV sales over a 24-month period from the date of sale, and the company has retrospectively revised financial results for previous quarters to reflect this change. Apple previously released two sets of financial numbers, one official set utilizing this subscription-based accounting for the iPhone and Apple TV and a second "non-GAAP" set that more accurately portrayed the company's performance.

Apple shipped 3.36 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a unit increase of 33 percent over the year-ago quarter. The company also sold 21 million iPods during the quarter, representing 8 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 8.7 million, up 100 percent from the year-ago quarter.

"If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it's surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we're really excited about."

Apple's guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 includes expected revenue of $11.0 billion to $11.4 billion and earnings per diluted share of $2.06 to $2.18.

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2010 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.

Conference Call Highlights:
- Apple opened 10 new stores in this quarter, bring the worldwide store total to 283
- A record 50.9 million people visited Apple stores this quarter
- New FASB rules requires Apple to estimate software upgrade revenue for Apple TVs and iPhones over the upcoming 24 months and recognize this revenue at the time of sale rather than later
- Tim Cook stated during the Q&A section, "We believe we are shipping the best product we've ever shipped and are very excited about the product pipeline."
- In response to a question on the future guidance provided during the call, Cook stated "You may be alluding to the event on Wednesday," and "We don't have anything to share on that today. Stay tuned."
- When asked about how the iPhone is performing in China, Cook stated that the company typically does not disclose sales by country, but Apple is focused on the long-term for that market and believe it has "significant potential."
- Regarding iPhone inventory during the quarter, Apple could have sold "a lot more" but chose to manage inventory tightly instead.
- In answering a question about the complaints about the App Store approval process, Cook responded that it's important to keep this in perspective given that there are over 100,000 apps in the store and over 90% of these have been approved within 14 days. The focus during the approval process is ensuring consumer privacy is respected and most rejections are because of bugs.
- When queried about possible new product categories for the future, Cook declined to comment in light of the upcoming event on Wednesday.
- Going back to the topic of the iPhone in China and other emerging markets, Cook commented that the company is very focused on these markets and they recognize the differences in customer populations and learn from them.
- Total capital expenditure is expected to be $1.9 billion (no change from previous guidance), with about $400 million going to retail and $1.5 billion in other areas - these expenditures will be focused on facilities, infrastructure, and manufacturing.
- Regarding the iPhone in business, Cook stated that 70% of the Fortune 100 are piloting or deploying the iPhone and the company "feels great" about this.
- When asked about the acquisitions of Lala and Quattro and Apple's future direction, Peter Oppenheimer said the company had acquired Quattro to "offer developers a seamless way to make more money" in their apps, particularly free apps.
- Apple would not comment further to questions on expectations on mobile advertising and its impact on future revenue.
- Education was up 16% year-over-year and the company expects to continue to do well in this market with continued focus.

The conference call concluded just after 3:00 pm Pacific time. A replay of the conference call will be available for 2 weeks at phone numbers +1-888-203-1112 and +1-719-457-0820, using confirmation number 4035751, starting at approximately 5:00 pm Pacific time today. It will also be available in iTunes as a podcast shortly.

Apple has begun prepping the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and appears to be placing large banners on the side of the building to mimic the invitations sent out last week. MacRumors reader Samuel Powell sent in this photo of the Yerba Buena Center being prepped for the event.

Apple's media event will take place on January 27th at 10 a.m. Pacific time, where Apple is expected to unveil its latest "creation". Rumors have pegged the focus of the event to be a new tablet device from Apple.

9 to 5 Mac summarizes information it has received from contacts in the publishing industry in recent days, revealing that Apple has been pushing aggressively forward in discussions with publishers about bringing their content to Apple's tablet rumored for introduction on Wednesday.

According to the reports, Apple has been touting the tablet's software as a "game changer" for the e-reader market and positioning its distribution model in contrast to Amazon's Kindle by offering publishers greater control over content and pricing. Other tidbits include:

- Apple is expected to have general agreements with major publishers in place by Wednesday, allowing it to tout the partnerships while still leaving "nuts and bolts" details of the arrangements to further negotiations.

- Scrollmotion and other companies serving as middle-men to bring e-books to the iPhone are being cut out of the tablet, with Apple preferring to work directly with the publishers.

- A large library of e-book content for the tablet is not expected until "mid-2010 at the very earliest", although Apple will likely have something to show at the media event.

- Publishers have not been provided access to any tablet prototypes, although the device has reportedly been described to them as having a 10-inch glass screen and smaller than but roughly equal in weight to Amazon's Kindle DX.

- Apple's tablet will not be priced "anywhere near" the $1,000 mark that some have floated as a possible price point.