WSJ: Jobs spending all of his time on Tablet. Jobs: BS

According to the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs has been spending most of his time since returning on the "mythical" tablet.  According to those in marketing (which generally means the hardware work is complete), Jobs is poring over every minute detail.   This is typical for Jobs who did the same thing leading up to the release of the iPhone.

Since his return in late June, the 54-year-old has been pouring almost all of his attention into a new touch-screen gadget that Apple is developing, said people familiar with the situation.  Those working on the project are under intense scrutiny from Mr. Jobs, particularly with regard to the product's advertising and marketing strategy, said one of these people. The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out.  Mr. Jobs's focus on the tablet has been jarring for some Apple employees, who had grown accustomed to a level of freedom over strategy and products while the CEO was on leave, said a person familiar with the matter. "People have had to readjust" to Mr. Jobs being back, this person said.  Mr. Jobs, in an email, said "much of your information is incorrect," but didn't provide specifics. A spokesman for Apple, Cupertino, Calif., declined to comment.

In a good sign, people say that Jobs' health is improving significantly, though he is still thin.  It wasn't mentioned whether or not he'd show up at the September iPod event but it is certainly a positive sign.

 People close to Apple said Mr. Jobs is still thin as he recovers from the liver transplant, but his health has improved significantly.

In some more background on the tablet project the WSJ says that the tablet has been a long time coming.  The WSJ elaborates on why the tablet has been killed twice: 

At Apple, a tablet-like device has been many years in the making. Apple filed a patent related to a tablet device as early as 2000, according to a Thomson Reuters patent database.  But development has come in fits and starts. Mr. Jobs killed the project twice in recent years, the first time because the battery life was too short, and the second time because there was insufficient memory, said one of the people familiar with the matter.