There’s been rampant speculation about Apple quietly planning a handheld laptop or tablet-sized computing device. Now those rumors may be growing closer to reality.

Cupertino, California, Apple is preparing to launch a tablet PC in October, according to a China Times report. The report said that Taiwanese component makers are busy supplying parts for the new device, expected to cost about $800.

Apple shares advanced $3.82, or 2.76 percent, to $142.34 after the news.

The report is consistent with analyst forecasts.

“Last week we spoke with a Taiwanese component supplier and continue to believe that Apple will launch a tablet, not a netbook, by CY10,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote Monday in a note to investors.

Mr. Munster said he expects Apple’s tablet PC to be priced around $500-$700. That would mark a formidable product rival to launch against netbooks from the likes of Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and others.

Separately, media outlets in China reported that Apple is closer to a deal with China Unicom to distribute the iPhone sometime in the first half of 2010. China Unicom has about 140 million wireless subscribers, nearly double the 78 million of Apple's U.S. partner, AT&T.