Could a free iTunes music streaming service be on the way in 2010?

It is now looking almost certain that Apple will announce its iTablet at this months press event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. However, Apple is not a company that does things by halves and for this reason we expect that Mr. Jobs’ crew may also announce a new iTunes free music streaming service.

Over the past 18 months Spotify, Pandora and Last.fm have been become increasingly popular with mobile phone users - there’s an app for all three now on all major OSs.

And given the popularity of iTunes, with its online store and high-end services, a free music streaming service would be an obvious next step forward if Apple wishes to remain the market leader.

Couple this with the fact that Apple bought out online music streaming site LaLa in December for a reported $85 million and you have some hard evidence that something is in the pipeline. The question is: Will it be announced alongside the iTablet on the 27th January?

According to reports, Apple has been developing a spin-off to iTunes for quite sometime now.

Reported features of this new service include the ability to back up music to online libraries as well as allowing users’ to stream their music to their iPhones for when they’re on the move. In terms of the iTunes Store, reports have suggested that users will be able to buy and download music without actually installing iTunes itself.

While this is only a rumour at present, many experts are confident that Apple will announce the service on the 27th January and the service will go live later on in 2010.

Stay tuned for more developments regarding this story.