AT&T captivity is the single biggest reason foks who don't buy iPhones don't buy them, so this would be big.

It would also be unexpectedly early--most analysts aren't expecting Apple to open up to other carriers until the middle of the year.

(We'd be surprised to see Apple actually end the exclusivity on Wednesday, but it seems plausible that they would announce the end...)

Shawn Oliver, HotHardware:

According to an inside source close to the going-ons involved in all of this, a new tablet of some sort may not be the only thing on deck for next Wednesday though. We have been led to believe by an inside source that AT&T will lose their iPhone exclusivity on the same day, though it's not yet clear what other carrier (or carriers) will be stepping in to also carry the phone.

Bonus: 20 guesses about what the Apple tablet will look like >