Rumors of Apple announcing the iPad 3 were put to rest on Tuesday, after the company issued invite for a special media event on March 7th. The event is clearly intended to unveil iPad 3 and announce its release date. The invite shows an iPad in use, and a line reading, “We have something you really have to see. And touch”.

Now, with the third-gen iPad announcement confirmed, previous rumors about the iPad 3 being thicker than the 2 have re-emerged. Rumors of the iPad 3 being thicker spread after the back shell of the iPad 3 was found and measured.

The iPad 3 shell was measured with a digital vernier caliper, showing that it is 9.50mm thick. That is exactly 0.81mm thicker than the current iPad 2 which comes in at about 8.69mm, revealed from an image posted by Apple.pro.

The measurements confirm claims from late last year that the third generation iPad would carry the same 9.7” screen size with a thicker shell. The thicker shell would allow Apple to possibly house a larger battery and more improvements.

Other reports suggest that Apple is looking to use dual-LED light bars in the iPad 3 to accomodate and light more pixels, possibly a Retina display. Apple’s invitiation usually hints at what might be introduced at the event, it is likely that by saying “we have something you really have to see”, they are referring to a higher resolution screen. The iPad 3 is going to be announced on March 7th at the Yerba Buena Arts Center in San Francisco. The event will be held at 10AM Pacific, and 1PM ET.

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