Apple to host event January 27, tablet expected

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will host a special event on January 27 where it is widely expected to unveil its tablet computer, as the company looks to extend its hot hand into a brand new product category.

The company has never acknowledged the existence of the tablet, but rumors and speculation have been building for months.

Although few details about the tablet are known for certain, the device is said to resemble a large version of the iPhone, with a roughly 10-inch touchscreen.

Analysts say such a device would try to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops, allowing users to stream video, surf the Web and play games while on the go.

Cost estimates on the tablet -- which analysts expect to begin shipping in March or April -- run upwards of $1,000.

Tablet computers have never managed to catch on with consumers, and industry watchers say Apple will have to offer a compelling reason to buy such a device.

If consumers do gravitate to the tablet, it could also propel Apple into the digital book market popularized by Amazon.com''s Kindle e-reader, analysts say.

The tablet category is certainly seeing plenty of interest from Apple''s competitors of late.

The Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas earlier this month was practically bursting with tablets -- or "slates" as some were called -- many of them prototypes, from companies like Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd.

Analysts said Apple''s rivals were trying to steal some of its thunder ahead of the tablet launch.

Although there is plenty of skepticism about the tablet category as a whole, Wall Street has been fairly upbeat on the prospects for Apple''s device, and shares have run up in recent weeks as new information about the device cropped up in various media reports.

Apple''s shares closed at $205.93 on Friday, roughly $10 below its all-time high. Markets in the United States were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday.