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The Mac tablet (a.k.a. iSlate, iPod touch on steroids, etc) has been a long time coming, but it now appears all but certain that the device will be introduced in late January. Apple is telegraphing hits with reports coming in from all quarters, mainstream media and bloggers alike.

Thereupon, The New York Times is reporting comments by current and former Apple employees who quite naturally aren’t named. Specifically, they’re saying that Steve Jobs, who’s been closely supervising development of the Mac tablet for years, is just about tickled pink with how it’s turned out.

“I can’t really say anything, but, let’s just say Steve is extremely happy with the new tablet,” said a current Apple employee with knowledge of the product.

“You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet,” said a former minion of 1 Infinite Loop.

Lastly, another former Apple bee said that early iterations of the tablet spawned technology that can be found in the iPhone. Further, these prototypes never saw the light of day, said the source, because there was a complete lack of suitable software.

With the iPhone + App Store a roaring success, building out software for a new yet related device won’t be a problem.

via Cult of Mac