Speculations are running high about Apple’s forthcoming announcement about its tablet computer this week – with Apple having sent out invitations for its media event scheduled January 27, asking the reporters to “come see our latest creation.”

With expectations of the tablet’s unveiling causing quite a stir in the media, executives with publishing houses pondering whether the distribution of books, newspapers, and magazines will undergo a sea-change as a result of the new device - the way the iPod virtually revolutionized the music industry!

Going by the information forwarded by some unnamed ‘inside’ sources, Apple has been gradually collecting digital reading material for the forthcoming device – with The New York Times’ team supposedly working at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters to develop a large-screen edition of the newspaper’s iPhone application that will reportedly integrate video for the much-rumored and eagerly-awaited tablet.

As per the widespread conjecturing about the tablet, the device will likely feature a 10-inch touch-screen color display, which has been so designed that it can enable the users to watch videos, read, browse the Web, and play games.

Though there has not been much guesswork about the way in which the tablet will connect to the Internet – whether via the wireless hot spots or the already crammed high-speed mobile networks; analysts expect that the device will be priced at around $1,000, and will hit the stores in March.