Apple sets iPad 3 launch event for March 7

As expected, Apple today issued invitations to the media for an event next Wednesday, March 7, where it's expected to launch the next iPad.

The news confirmed earlier speculation that Apple would debut the newest iPad -- which most have labeled iPad 3 -- in early March, which later settled on March 7, the same day of the week Apple used to launch the original tablet in 2010 and last year's iPad 2.

"We have something you really have to see. And touch," read the invitation, which continues Apple's tradition of keeping its invitation text cryptic.

The background shows part of an iPad screen, with a finger poised over the Calendar app, which is set to March 7. If the background is a photograph of the iPad 3 and not digitally manipulated, it hints that the tablet will not sport a physical home button, as have earlier iPads.

Some bloggers argued that the photo also showed a higher-resolution, or so-called "Retina," display.

:story: Full story: Computerworld