Silicon Valley Insider is reporting that Apple plans to demo the rumored Apple iPad in January:

Apple is preparing to show off a new, larger mobile device with a higher resolution display in January — probably a version of the Apple tablet we’ve been hearing about for months — according to a plugged-in source in the mobile industry.

Apple has been telling some app makers to prepare apps for a demo next month, according to this source.

“They’ve told select developers that as long as they build their apps to support full screen resolution — rather than a fixed 320×480 — their apps should run just fine,” our source says.

Rumors about the Apple Tablet have been flying around so long that it’s going to be hard for Apple to wow people, especially since other companies have demonstrated similar concepts.

Here are a few examples:

Sports Illustrated’s Tablet Demo

Time put together this concept video as a concept of what Sports Illustrated could be like on a future tablet computer.

This is just a concept, but it’s clearly influenced by the iPhone’s industrial design and user interface design, and offers a vivid picture of why people are excited about the idea of an Apple Tablet.

The Fusion Garage JooJoo

The Fusion Garage JooJoo Internet tablet may have a checkered past, but it demonstrated that an iTablet is doable. Most people’s complaints about the JooJoo were directed at the devices name and it’s price.

Mag+

Finally, this Bonnier R&D’s Mag+ illustrates one possible vision for reading digital magazines in the near future.

The concept tries to combine the essence of magazine reading, which people have been enjoying for decades, with more engaging interaction afforded by technology.

These are exciting demos – but Apple’s Tablet needs to be more than a glorified ereader to be successful. It needs to embrace the Internet and be a platform for content and application innovation.

What do you think Apple needs to do to top these concepts and get people to believe that they’ve created the next revolutionary device?