Will Apple Mac Tablet launch in January?

Apple is likely to launch its much anticipated Mac tablet at a major product announcement event in San Francisco on 26 January.

According to the Financial Times' unnamed sources, Apple will make the announcement at the Yerba Buena Arts Center, the same place where Apple chief executive Steve Jobs showed off new iPods in September.

There are other rumours to support this story.

Business Insider reports that Apple will demonstrate the tablet in January. Business Insider also says that Apple has told select developers to get ready, saying their apps will run fine if they've been designed for full-screen resolution.

The New York Times reports, via an unnamed senior Apple employee, that Steve Jobs is "extremely happy" with the device. No one's saying the device will launch next month - March seems more likely - but it'll be the first time Apple actually comes clean with its plans.

The Apple tablet has been the subject of much speculation throughout 2009, but its specification remains a closely guarded secret.