Tablet, iPhone 4.0, iLife 2010 Launching on Jan. 27, Sources Inform

With the January 27 event confirmed, Apple is now said to be gearing up for the introduction of several new products. Besides the much-hyped tablet, the Mac maker plans to introduce the next generation of iPhone software (without any new hardware, though), as well as the latest version of its iLife suite of applications - iLife 2010, according to Clayton Morris writing for FOXNews.com.

"I spoke to a source at Apple this morning, before the invite hit my inbox, who said the event would likely focus on three projects: The tablet device, iPhone 4, and a new round of iLife 2010 software," Morris writes. "While we won't see new iPhone hardware just yet, we will see the next-generation software," he adds. Morris also corroborated early rumors that Apple would hold an event in late January, although those reports were off by a day (January 26).

Apple has a track of showing off next-generation software well before the public release. It was the case with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, which saw not one, but two major previews at separate Apple events, before it was officially introduced and distributed through solid-state retail copies.

The report also mentions Apple’s habit of changing its mind at the last minute, signaling that last September’s iPod unveiling should have included a camera-equipped iPod touch, but didn’t, due to technical issues. AppleInsider, for its part, cites its own sources as saying that Apple still intends to add a camera to a future iPod touch.

Apple is also rumored to plan the introduction of a multi-touch version of iWork, the company’s productivity suite offering three office applications: Numbers, Pages, and Keynote. It is believed this is an effort to bring iWork to the rumored tablet.

Apple’s media event will be hosted on January 27 in San Francisco, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Yesterday, the company confirmed rumors by sending out invitations to the show. The invitations, featuring the Apple logo in the middle of several colorful paint splatters, bear the message, "Come see our latest creation."