A McGraw-Hill CEO went on record during an interview with CNBC admitting they’ve been working with Apple for “quite a while” on the tablet that Apple is announcing tomorrow. So much for secrecy. Thankfully, I doubt Apple would refrain from announcing the tablet tomorrow just to make this guy look silly, but I’m sure he’ll get an informative lesson on how secrecy works at some point. Madness you say? This…is…Apple!

After nearly two years of rumor and speculation, it seems the clamor for an Apple tablet will finally be met with an official announcement. Will it finally arrive? Will we also see updates to the iPhone OS? The iPhone itself (additional carriers beyond AT&T, perhaps)? How about iWork and iLife? To find out, join us on Wednesday as we begin our live coverage at 9:00 a.m. PST.

Apple is about to prove once and for all just how much they really don’t need Macworld, but what can you expect from Apple during their special event on Wednesday, January 27th? Here’s a roundup of the more substantial rumors we’ve covered over the past few weeks, including talk of the Apple tablet, iPhone OS 4.0, the 4th gen iPhone and the possibility of additional carriers.

Rumors are flying like never before now that Apple’s January 27th event is so close. Here’s the latest from The Mac Observer. The images they’ve posted appear to be of the glass on the front of Apple’s unannounced tablet. But are they real? The sizing and proportions are right, but what faker wouldn’t get that right? Still, this is the sort of thing that slips through the cracks (intentionally?) when Apple events come closer.

The Apple tablet rumored for announcement January 27th will undoubtedly offer some sort of Apple-esque transformation in the way we use tablets (assuming it even exists). One of the main ways Apple could do this is to alter the way the users input data. There are numerous ways this could be approached, and Macworld has rounded up nine possible techniques, outlining the odds of the approach Apple may take.

Chilli X, the creator of a couple iPhone applications, has blogged about some interesting abilities for software developers when given hardware such as the Apple tablet, which may be announced later this month. Basically, they’re saying that the extra screen real estate will allow for much more complex and useful applications.

Apple has filed another patent for a screen capable of dynamically representing virtual buttons as physical buttons. With resent reports of Steve Jobs not only being happy with the much rumored Apple Tablet, but that we’d be surprised to find out how we interact with it, this doesn’t seem so far fetched. The problem with multitouch screens, like those of the iPhone, is that the user can only perceive the buttons displayed on the screen as images.

Judging from the slew of Apple rumors centered around a possible Apple Tablet, it certainly appears as if one may actually exist in this coming year. Perhaps the most telling of these rumors is how Apple has reportedly scheduled a media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. While Apple has declined to comment, they may have rented the building for a couple of days.

If you’re a watcher of Diggnation, then you already know Alex Albrecht was “shocked” to hear how low the price of the long rumored Apple tablet will be. Diggnation doesn’t have a spotless record as far as Apple rumors go, but they have occasionally been right in the past. Alex doesn’t really even have a record for such leaks like this, but even if he is just having fun with all of us, what price point for Apple’s tablet would cause you to be shocked?

iTouch, MacBook touch, the Apple Tablet…it’s been called a lot of names, all except perhaps a currently available product, but there’s reason to believe Apple may have decided on a name for our much wanted device. Sounds like we might be calling it the TabletMac…well maybe. A company called Axiotron had been marketing a device called a TabletMac, and this trademarked term has transferred hands from Axiotron to Apple.