iPad 3 Imminent; Missing A Home Button Like A Big Wimp?

Amazing isn't it? How a company can get people so worked up about a product which probably won't be that much different from what came before, but still make it seem that this is the best thing to be clad in plastic and metal since the original Terminator.

It's an astonishing thing to see Apple stores on launch days because between sweaty adults clamouring over an overly priced object like it was the last loaf of bread in 1920s Germany, there is the bitter taste of getting yourself in what feels like an exclusive club of Apple product users, even though they now rank into the millions.

So expect fervent panic and, frankly, rude pushing on March 16th when the iPad 3 is rumoured to be released. In typical Apple behaviour, there's nothing concrete to go on but hundreds of Apple rumours sites that seem sure that what they're writing about is entirely correct and should not be doubted even though they are sure the back of the new iPhone will be made from unicorn hide.

The only definite thing we have is that Apple have released an invitation to media outlets (but not hecklerspray even though we are Cosmo's Blog Of The Year) that shows that there is going to be a get-together on March 7th and that it will be including a new iPad.

Whether it will be a smaller version of what's already gone before, or a budget version to sell to schools because Apple loves schools, we don't know, and honestly, we don't really care.

Something which we can glean from the invitation is that the new iPad seems to be missing a Home button, which everyone who owns an iPad knows is a massive jump because, although there are only four buttons on the iPad, with the new multi touch gestures that were introduced in iOS5, it means that the Home button is kind of redundant. And is something that Google has been working on for their tablet rivals.

Oh, and there's likely to be a better display, to keep it in line with the iPhone 4 and 4S and something to do with 4G signal. But that's by the by really, because it doesn't really matter what is new about it.

People are still going to covet one because it's new and shiny. Just take sales of the 4S. That sold 1 million handsets in 24 hours just on pre-order alone and that only had an insipid woman's voice added to it.

Apple can probably sell a new iPad that has support for Spectrum ZX and people would still crawl all over it like it's Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep and Jesus all rolled into one.