While I am bummed that this is (supposedly) a Q1-2010 release versus a Q4-2009 release, this is good news, and as I have stated it's a real complex undertaking, as this is no mere iPod with a bigger screen.
Most fundamentally, it forces the company to define its "matrix" thinking between hardware form factors and software forking decisions (e.g., iPhone OS, Mac OS, hybrid OS, download anything anywhere, exclusively limit to App Store), not to mention the service layer and developer tool interconects between same, a topic that I blogged about in:
Apple, the ‘Boomer’ Tablet and the Matrix
http://bit.ly/DwziS
Check it out, if interested.
Mark