FT: January announcement on fabled Apple Tablet

According to the Financial Times newspaper, Apple's long-rumoured tablet could be available sooner than later following an announcement next month.

The FT, in a report linking Apple with TV content providers Disney and CBS, claims Steve Jobs and co will make an announcement in January.

"Apple is preparing an announcement next month that many anticipate will be the official unveiling of its tablet, but the company has so far declined to confirm the existence of the device. Wall Street analysts expect mass production of an Apple tablet to begin as early as February," the FT reports claims.

Apple has no plans to appear at next year's Macworld Conference and Expo or 2010 International CES trade show, so any announcement would be a one-off event. Based on previous form, Apple prefers to announce products that are available to buy or order online. Although due to FCC licensing restrictions Apple revealed the iPhone six months before launch.

Rumours have persisted that the Mac maker has been working on a large iPod touch device with extended computing functionality for some time now.

An extensive Macworld Apple Tablet FAQ can be found here.

Apple posts Xsan 2.2.1 FileSystem update for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6MySpace Music platform launches today