Apple Tablet: Partners jump the gun, start confirming Tablet before event

With the big news of what's expected to be an Apple Tablet less than 24 hours away, some Apple partners are loosening their lips to confirm what everyone seems to already know: Apple is announcing a tablet PC tomorrow. The biggest confirmation, reported on MacRumors.com, comes from Terry McGraw, chairman, president and CEO of McGraw-Hill publishing company, who didn't take the "Stay Tuned" or "No Comment" approach when asked about the Tablet during a CNBC interview meant to discuss the company's Q4 earnings. Instead, he started flapping his gums and said:

Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now -- we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.

Not to be outdone or to let McGraw steal all of the spotlight, Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer posted his own confirmation a couple of hours later. He wrote:

So just so we're clear: Silicon Alley Insider and the entire Business Insider site will work JUST FINE on the tablet's Web browser. You can now relax. McGraw-Hill textbooks won't be the only thing to read on the tablet.

So there you have it. Sure, I'll still be at the big event in San Francisco tomorrow morning. Still, I wonder how many partners will out themselves and the tablet, now that the "news embargo" - or promise to keep your mouth shut until the official announcement - has been broken. There's still a few hours left. Anyone else?