The tech community was hit with a big surprise on Wednesday when a report surfaced that Apple was planning on attending the Consumer Electronics Trade Show in January. Despite the fact that the news comes from a usually reliable source, the Wall street Journal, there's a good chance that its wrong, according people that were privy to the same conversation. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, claimed that Apple will be attending CES in 2010. Mr. Shapiro apparently made the comments during a private dinner with journalists.

Engadget's Ryan Block was also at the dinner and part of the same conversation, and he claimed that the WSJ report was "specious and flatly wrong."

He added "Now, I'm not saying Apple won't be there. But Gary [Shapiro] and the CEA certainly never said or implied that they would."

The idea that Apple would have an official presence at CES is enticing to some, especially since the company won't be attending Macworld Expo any more. Jumping into CES, however, doesn't seem like a move Apple would make now, especially since the company has been pulling out of trade show events for some time now.

Apple seems to prefer showing off its new products in a more controlled environment -- namely special media events that let the company present products on its own time schedule instead of predetermined show dates. CES is also an event that's geared more towards industry buyers instead of the general public, and Apple typically tries to deliver its message directly to end buyers.

Attending CES would give Apple direct access to a long list of journalists ready and willing to write about what ever the company announces. Unlike Macworld Expo, however, where Apple is the center of attention, there would be hundreds of other companies pushing to pull journalists away from Apple in hopes of grabbing the spotlight for themselves.

Despite hopes that Apple will attend CES, it doesn't seem likely that the Mac and iPhone maker will be there. Instead, the company will probably stick with its current method for promoting new products: special invitation-only media events.