The answer, of course, is the mysterious and as-yet-unannounced , which reportedly will ship next year, according to ongoing rumors from numerous sources. Steve Jobs himself is said to be .

CNN on Monday was the latest media outlook to on Apple's hottest non-product. The report didn't dredge up any new details, but it did provide a clear indication of the tech industry's high expectations for the mysterious device.

CNN's David Goldman quotes several industry watchers, some bullish on the tablet, others skeptical. What's interesting is how much the optimists see the tablet as a potential tech industry game-changer:

"This will be the next big thing," said Laura DiDio, principal analyst at ITIC. "Apple is going to wow everybody with the tablet."

And then there's this quote: