The hype is almost over! Apple will likely introduce some sort of new tablet device tomorrow. If you’re up on your gadget news, then you’ve likely seen all the latest rumors detailing the various proposed features so I’ll spare you from more speculation. If you haven’t heard the rumors, click over to Engadget to get your fill.

I thought instead of more feature coverage for this post, it’d be interesting to take a quick look at why Apple might think now is the right time to launch a device in this category.

What is this new “invention”?

Apple’s tablet will likely be a thin device with no physical keyboard and a screen size of 7″-11″. This isn’t anything unique, other tablets and E-readers have been on the market in this same screen size range for quite some time but Apple’s presence has generated a lot of buzz and they’re sure to do something special to differentiate themselves from the pack.

Regardless of the specific features, the hype generated by this device seems to have overshadowed the main question which needs to be answered; what is this thing going to be used for?

Re-thinking how people read.

The tablet will quickly become a popular device for consuming content in any place where you want to read, listen to music, browse the internet or watch video without using a laptop. My thoughts are that it will be a useful device for situations where people don’t feel comfortable getting their laptop out, using this thing on transit is the first thing that comes to mind.

Asking people to buy an entirely separate device just for surfing the internet, listening to music, ect. is going to be tough. All of these things can be done both on a phone or laptop so Apple will need to create a user experience which is far superior to anything else out there. This means, quick and simple access to the exact information that people want, essentially translating the concept of the Iphone to a larger screen with more power and functionality.

How does this all become a reality?

Creating a whole new way for people to consume content isn’t an easy task. We’re going to need a new breed of applications and gestures for interacting with the device so it will be interesting to see what Apple has come up with.

Get excited for tomorrow, whatever Jobs pulls out on stage will definitely change the way we think about devices in this category.