NYT says 2010 will be the Apple Tablet year

It's not even Christmas of 2009 yet, and the New York Times has already determined 2010's gadget of the year: the Apple Tablet. We'll see.

While the available details are still pretty minimal and no one is even sure when it will be officially announced (let alone released), the NYT is confident we'll see one next year. Not a bad assumption since most tech sites already believe this.

And whatever's going on with the Tablet, the Gray Lady reports that "Steve is extremely happy with the new tablet," and we'll be "surprised" on how to use it. Based on the mock-ups they obtained, it looks like there will be a very big touchscreen and a scroll wheel similar to the iPod Classic.

Beyond being an enlarged iPhone with better e-reader capabilities, I'm curious as to what it could include. A built-in digital camera? A flatbed scanner? Will it do the dishes?

Personally, I just want to see one already, and I'm not alone. The hype about this mythical gadget is getting annoying without anything concrete to base it on.

[Image via NYT]