Speculation of other possible Apple announcements January 27th

The January 27th Apple event promises to bring some fascinating and drool-worthy announcements for Apply fanboys world wide, especially when it comes to the rumored iTablet. However, as is common with Steve Jobs, there is anticipation of that famous “one more thing” to put us even further at the edge of our seat. Considering this has been the first Apple event in a while and the hype surrounding it is greater than usual, in my opinion, the chance of “one more thing” is quite likely. Here’s what I think it could be (oh, and please note, this is purely speculation):

1. Steve Jobs’ Retirement – Steve has had a rough couple of years, especially considering his health. While he has proven to be an extremely innovative, determined, and revolutionary CEO, there comes a time for everyone to step down. Steve has certainly been at Apple for a long time and has driven the decisions and details behind almost every product during that time. However, I think the potential Apple tablet may be his last and final masterpiece. Doing things with style has always been part of Steve’s personality, and going out after an announcement such as this may be the way to do so. While he may announce his retirement at the event, I’m sure he’ll stick around to see that the release of his tablet goes just as expected.
2. iPhone On Other Carriers – While this isn’t very likely, it’s always worth brining up. No one is exactly sure of what sort of deal Apple has with AT&T and how long that is supposed to last, but the recent onslaught of negative PR towards AT&T may be causing some roughness in their relationship with Apple. AT&T has been lucky to receive so many customers due to the iPhone, but they certainly haven’t shown that in any way, shape, or form. When it comes down to it, people just simply want a better network, and AT&T isn’t going to offer this to many customers. Furthermore, with the recent Android phones being available on all sorts of networks, Apple may have to do this to keep up with the expanding smartphone market.
3. New iPhone Hardware – The last update to the iPhone hardware was relatively minimal in comparison to the leap from the first generation to the 3G. This makes me believe that Apple has quietly been working on something even more awesome in the background of all of their tablet hype. Also, it’s true that both devices could take features from each other due to all of the money I’m sure Apple has put towards their research and development. With increasing hardware competition from Google and Android phones, Apple needs to come out with something revolutionary once again. Perhaps this event is where they will announce the next version of the iPhone that does so.