The hype surrounding Apple’s soon-to-be-released tablet is so far reaching that even TV personalities like Stephen Colbert can not resist the urge to flat out beg for one.

During Colbert’s Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger segment last night, he gave a tip of the hat to ScareBear Trail Companion, an iPhone app that is intended to ward off bears.  As always, Colbert gave a rather funny demonstration of how the app works and how it is intended to be used, but it was his parting statement before a commercial break that really caught my attention.

“But before we go, I want to say something and I want to say it in all sincerity. I want an iTablet.  Give it to me.”

Yes, even Stephen Colbert has bought into hype even though the device in question has yet to receive a name, price, or even confirmation that it exists.

The clip is embedded below (it’s Flash), but you will have to skip ahead to about 1:40 to get to the ScareBear portion of the show.  The iTablet statement is at the very end of the clip.