The Apple tablet product known by most of us these days as the iSlate will be announced in a press briefing that is scheduled for January 27th. There still will be no change from the word that we got that shipments of the iSlate will likely not arrive till March, but it is likely that sufficient inventory may not be available till early April.

While the iSlate is, in our opinion, an overgrown iPod Touch in many aspects, since the focus of the device will be watching and playing media as well as the ability to surf the Internet and serve as an eBook reader. Of course, one of the most interesting things that Apple intends to push on the iSlate is the device's ability to play games.

The announcement coming on January 27th will end what has become one of the longest sagas in the technology press. We predict that many will likely be scared off by the initial high price of the iSlate, but we do think that the “wow factor” will be in full effect when the Job’s squad shows it off on the 27th. It will be interesting to see how many of the iSlates Apple can actually sell; and after all, that is the real question, isn't it?