Shoppers hoping to pick up the fabled Mac tablet computer this year will have to deal with more disappointment since the device won't likely surface until at least 2010. According to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, an Apple-branded tablet computer is in the works, and while it will include multi-touch technologies and it's own fork of Mac OS X, it won't be ready until some time next year.

"We expect the development of such an OS to be underway currently," Mr. Munster said. "But its complexity, along with our conversations with a key company in the mobile space, leads us to believe it will not launch until calendar year 2010."

While an Apple tablet computer fills the hopes and dreams of many consumers, the Cupertino-based company has been avoiding that product space along with the netbook market. The popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch, however, could have Apple reconsidering the tablet market.

If so, Apple would likely stay out of the limited tablet market PC makers are fighting over, and instead expand it's iPod touch-style devices to include something with a larger display, positioning the product between the iPod and MacBook families.

Apple hasn't offered any indication that it is working on such a device, other than to hint that it has some ideas for the market. Until Apple officially announces such a device, talk of a tablet Mac or iPod SuperTouch should be taken as rumor and speculation.

[Thanks to Silicon Alley Insider for the heads up.]