The majority of tech news at the moment seems to concern the Apple iPad 3 and of course if you’re one of the many waiting for a release date you’ll already know that the official unveiling event is to take place tomorrow. We now have news of a very believable release date for the iPad 3 (or iPad HD) of March 16.

We have mentioned previously that the iPad 2 came out only a few days after the Apple event to announce it last year and already thought it was more than likely that a release of the iPad 3 would be not to long after tomorrow’s event. The date of March 16 has now been given by 9to5Mac, which quotes a reliable Apple Store source for this information. The source has previously given dependable information and so there’s no reason to doubt this. Apparently Friday, March 16, is the date that’s been set for a big event in Apple Stores.

It’s difficult to imagine what this could be for apart from the launch of the iPad 3 and this also ties in with previous speculation about Harrods in London opening an Apple Store on that very same date. What better way to open another Apple retail outlet than with a mammoth product launch? 9to5Mac also mentions that they were informed of another Apple launch event to take place one week after that for the iPad 3. However, there was no information as to what this could be for although the site speculates it could be for an international launch of the next iPad or possibly an Apple TV.

Another article also points out that March 16 is the Friday of the week after the announcement and that the iPad 2 was also released on the Friday of the week after it was announced so we’d say it’s certainly plausible that the date could be accurate. While you’re waiting for the official release date info tomorrow you may be interested in our countdown to the iPad 3 where we ask what feature you most want to see, our details of times for the event tomorrow and also live blogs available so check those out for more.

What do you think of the likelihood of this March 16 release date? Are you hoping that in just over a week you’ll have your hands on the new iPad? Let us know your thoughts by using the comments box below.