SAN FRANCISCO — Apple will host a product event Jan. 27, giving chief executive Steve Jobs a chance to unveil a long-rumored touch-screen tablet device for surfing the Web and playing movies and music. The company sent out invitations Monday to an event in San Francisco, asking reporters to “Come see our latest creation.”
Apple plans to unveil a tablet computer, a person familiar with the matter said this month. Analysts have speculated for at least a year that Jobs is building on the iPod Touch to create a larger-screen multimedia player.
While computers without a physical keyboard haven’t sold well, Apple’s ability to reinvent products through cutting-edge design and easy-to-use software may persuade consumers to look at such devices again, said Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
“Apple’s all about trying to create new markets and paradigm shifts, much like they did with the iPhone,” Sacconaghi said.
