Rumors of the iPad 3 continue to creep towards the precipice of reality. Today’s installment: iMore has “sources who have been reliable in the past” that say the iPad 3 will be be announced (not launched?) on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. These rumors come and go like phases of the moon, so take this information with however many grains of salt you require in order to contain your glee/rage/serenity/greed. Having said that, this is the most specific information regarding an announcement thus far. We previously passed along a rumor that the iPad 3 launch would happen sometime during the first week of March, so this March 7th target date would (barely) coincide with that information.

You’ve gotta wonder at this point if Apple execs aren’t getting together once a week or so for a secret congress where Tim Cook stands up and says with a wink, “Watch this, guys,” and leaks out the smallest bit of information to a source in order to send the Apple acolytes into a frenzy. It’s like using an eye-dropper to deliver a tincture of blood into a boiling pool of piranhas.

The new model will boast a quad-core Apple A6 system-on-a-chip, a 2048×1536 Retina display, and maybe even some 4G LTE capability. Previous leaked info of what is to be expected in an iPad 3 have suggested the high-def retina display along with a bevy of other supposed upgrades. Earlier this month, images of what were alleged to be an iPad 3 were leaked, revealing – if the images should prove legit – several internal upgrades to the iPad’s hardware.

At any rate, this release date for a launch date is very reminiscent of how presidential candidates will schedule announcements to announce they’re planning to run for President. It’s feels like a hubristic ploy to prolong people’s appetite without actually feeding them anything of substance. But it’s working, right? You’re excited, yeah? Comment below with your thoughts on this latest rumor.