Quoting "people familiar with the situation," the Journal says Apple focused on the role the gadget could play in homes and in classrooms, say people familiar with the situation and expects the device to be shared by multiple family members to read news and check email in homes. The Journal also says that:

° Apple has been exploring electronic-textbook technology.

° The company has been exploring how content from newspapers and magazines can be presented differently on the tablet.

° Apple has been in discussions with book, magazine and newspaper publishers about how they can work together.

° Jobs & Company have negotiated with television networks such as CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, for a monthly TV subscription service

° Apple is working with videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. to show off the tablet's game capabilities.

° The device will have a virtual keyboard.

° Apple is talking to Microsoft not only about using Bing as the default search engine in the iPhone, but also as the default mapping service.

° Apple is building a new service, tentatively called iTunes.com that would allow customers to buy digital media without having to boot up iTunes.

° Jobs & Company have "experimented with the ability to leave virtual sticky notes on the device and for the gadget to automatically recognize individuals via a built-in camera."

Meanwhile, DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwan-based notebook battery makers Simplo Technology and Dynapack International Technology are expected to share orders from Apple for the iPad/iTablet/iSlate. The device is expected to be unveiled at Apple's "Come see our latest creation" media event on Jan. 27. (The graphic above -- a mock-up, not a real photo -- is courtesy of PC World.)