Apple has been all over the news this week … and it’s only Tuesday.

Yesterday, word came down from on high that Snow Leopard will ship at the end of this week. If I recall, it was originally supposed to ship sometime in September. I posted earlier this month that Amazon was showing it for pre-order. Now it should arrive at your house by September 1.

Amidst all that excitement, we also have Steve Jobs returning to work to focus on that rumored Apple tablet I posted about in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, the tablet is real and on track for release in late 2009 or early 2010.

Jobs’ attention to the tablet is a sign of how important the new device is to Apple, the Journal said. Since unveiling the iPhone in 2007, the company hasn’t released a new product category, choosing instead to enhance its existing line of MacBooks, iPods, and iPhones.

A tablet has been in the works for some time. Apple was granted a patent on such a device last year. But the design process apparently hasn’t been a smooth one. Jobs halted the project twice, once because of poor battery life and again because of insufficient memory, a person familiar with the matter told the Journal.

In an e-mail to the Journal, Jobs said that “much of your information is incorrect,” but he didn’t provide specifics. An Apple representative declined to comment further.

(via C|Net)

Add in the new TV commercials and Apple is scoring a tech news hat trick this week. Some companies just always have to be the center of attention.

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