So just the other day, we were inundated with news about Apple renting a venue for January regarding a possible Apple Tablet launch. But of course renting a venue and showing off the product are two different things. For all we know, it might just actually be another iPod launch.

But now we’re getting some rumors that are actually pointing the way to an Apple Tablet launch. It now looks like Apple is preparing apps for the (as of yet nonexistent) gadget. According to Silicone Alley Insider:

Apple is preparing to show off a new, larger mobile device with a higher resolution display in January — probably a version of the Apple tablet we’ve been hearing about for months — according to a plugged-in source in the mobile industry.

Apple has been telling some app makers to prepare apps for a demo next month, according to this source. “They’ve told select developers that as long as they build their apps to support full screen resolution — rather than a fixed 320×480 — their apps should run just fine,” our source says.

However, if Apple is indeed set to introduce the Apple Tablet this January, it’s possible that it won’t go on sale yet. Much like the iPhone when it first came out, what will happen in January is going to be just a demo. It’s possible that the Apple Tablet could come in two sizes – one would be a 7-inch tablet, an “iPod Touch HD” of sorts, which will be released first. The higher-end Apple Tablet would be around 10 to 11 inches, and will have more or less the full Mac OS X experience.