Apple just announced an event on January 27th that will no doubt dazzle us with what the company is calling its "latest creation." At the event, Apple will unveil the company's long-rumored tablet device.

Apple sent out invitations to selected media outlets this morning, asking people to "join us for an invitation-only event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on January 27 at 10:00a.m." Fox will be live all morning long from San Francisco, bringing you all the fruit (and gadgets) that the Apple tree bears.

Reports suggest that this device has been years in the making (just take a look at this enthusiast-generated gallery of Apple table concepts, originally posted to Gizmodo two years ago), and I'm as excited to see it as you are.

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. While we won't see new iPhone hardware just yet, we will see the next-generation software.

Apple is known to pull a last-minute rabbit out of a hat, however ... and just as likely to stuff it back in again. Last September, the company surprised fans by suddenly removing the camera from latest generation iPod Touch just before the Fall iPod event. As a result, the big stories from the September keynote were Steve Jobs back on stage after liver surgery and a Nano with a camera -- not a powerful new Touch.

Today's Apple invitation is vague as usual, but people love to look for clues in the message. The invite features spray-painted blobs amid vibrant color swatches, which could point to a device that captures "creative" activities. A tablet, perhaps? You bet your bottom dollar. Of course, it could also be a new Apple spray paint can that holds MP3s and unicorn tears. My money remains on the tablet, however.

While you wait, watch the latest episode of Gadgets and Games, where we dive deep on what we'll see in the Apple tablet. See you next week from San Francisco at 10AM Pacific Time!

{source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/18/apple-tablet-iphone-launch-confirmed-january/}