The Wall Street Journal added a few more details to the unfolding story of Apple's long-awaited tablet computer.

It's reporting today that the device will have a touchscreen 10 or 11 inches diagonally and will go on sale in March. That would follow a launch event expected around Jan. 26 or 27 in San Francisco.

The brief story doesn't pinpoint the price but referred to analysts expecting the device to cost around $1,000.

An excerpt:

While the shipping time hasn't been finalized and could change, people briefed on the matter said the new tablet device will come with a 10- to 11-inch touch screen. An Apple spokesman said the company doesn't comment on rumors and speculation.

Meanwhile blogger Mary Jo Foley is wondering if Apple's making everyone forget all the work Microsoft did to advance tablet computing and questions whether Microsoft will resume its push this year:

Though you'd never know it from reading most of the recent iSlate posts and stories, Microsoft actually had a pioneering role in the tablet space.

Both Microsoft and Apple may face new competition from Google. Australia's Smarthouse is reporting that Google's not only working on its own branded phone, it's developing a Google tablet device with HTC -- an Android Shift, perhaps?