Major speculations are floating around that Apple has placed a mass order for 10 inch display panels and other components used in a tablet with its upstream associates, and these rumors have further fueled the major speculation that the company is very close to announcing its tablet device.

It has been reported that while the Taiwanese panel maker Innolux has been given the job of supplying touch panels for the device, Wintek, which is already working with Apple for its iPhone, stands a good chance of becoming the components supplier.

If sources are to be believed, the company has been looking for solutions to strengthen the glass of the panel for the tablet, and this has been the main reason for the delay of its launch, which is now expected to be launched during the first quarter of the coming year.

The glass panel will reportedly provided by Foxconn's optical glass processing subsidiary G-Tech Optoelectronics, and the Taiwan-based manufacturer of film maker Wah Hong Industrial has been given some major component orders.

The company is expected to announce the tablet in January 2010, and the production is expected to now start around March.