Jobs calls the Apple tablet 'the most important thing I've ever done'

As the highly anticipated Apple event rapidly approaches, the hype continues to swirl with the rumours, the latest of which claim that Steve Jobs is thoroughly excited about the upcoming tablet.

According to a post on TechCrunch, multiple sources, including senior Apple executives and friends of Jobs, have overheard him saying, “This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.”

The statement is lofty considering that Jobs is the man that introduced the world to the iPhone and iPod, both of which had an unprecedented impact on their industries.

While expectations continue to grow in anticipation of the event later this week, rumours continue to swirl, though nobody is quite sure what the purported tablet will actually do. Popular rumours include the idea that the tablet will include a front-facing camera and facial recognition, that it will vie for the Kindle’s dominance among e-reader devices, that it will resemble an iPhone “on steroids” and that it will include some sort of gaming component to make it more viable for serious gamers.

Also uncertain is whether or not it will run Mac OS, allowing multiple applications to be open at a time, or if it will feature an updated iPhone OS. Most analysts believe it will feature both 3G and Wi-Fi.

Apple has been in talks with book and magazine publishers and has been reported to have been communicating with interactive game companies and US textbook companies.

Image of Jobs provided by Apple.com.