Apple is planning to demonstrate its long-rumored tablet iPhone OS device, according to a report from BusinessInsider. Citing a single, unnamed source, the magazine said that Apple had asked "select" developers to prep apps for the demo.
"They've told select developers that as long as they build their apps to support full screen resolution -- rather than a fixed 320x480 -- their apps should run just fine," the source was quoted as saying.
The demonstration is supposed to be just that, a demo. The device wouldn't go on sale until later in the Spring. Google is supposed to demo its own Android device in January, and BusinessInsider suggested the timing of Apple's demo could be to damped enthusiasm for Google's product.
We'll stress that the article was single-sourced, and that this source was unnamed. Apple has often had select developers work up demonstration apps for new operating systems and new developments in its iPhone product line, and those developers have seldom leaked information about Apple's plans ahead of time.
With Apple's mobile platform(s) shaping up to be one of the biggest markets for software on the planet, it would be somewhat surprising if tapped developers would risk Apple's wrath by leaking those plans ahead of time.
That said, Apple's tablet has been the absolutely worst-kept Apple secret since Steve Jobs returned to the helm of the company in 1997.