In an ideal world, when an Apple event is announced to unveil a new product, the speculation would stop there and we would all wait until the event. Unfortunately, we are not living in an ideal world. The latest rumors indicate that tomorrow's iPad 2 will only be a minor update to to the ipad, as in just a boost in speed and some new features. Instead, the iPad 3 will be the major update that will be full of excitement and enhancement and wonder and awe. Yes, iPad 3 speculation has in fact begun even before the iPad 2 is announced. Some even suggest it may arrive as early as this September. Here's why I'm not buying into all of these rumors.

My first reason is simple. As you may know, Apple tends to do annual refresh cycles for products. These include iPods, iPhones, and judging by tomorrow's event, iPads. Why would Apple release a new iPad in September -- just six months after the iPad 2?

Next, the invitation. Does "Come see what 2011 will be the year of" sound like a minor update to you?

There's been recent rumors -- even from WSJ, a very credible source -- that Steve Jobs is considering to make an appearance at tomorrow's event. Why would Steve Jobs make an appearance at an event to announce a minor update?

Why would Apple hold an event to announce a minor update?

Why is it that everyone reporting this rumor has no credible source to back it up? (The best I've seen so far is an "anonymous Apple staffer". Like nobody has claimed that title before.)

In the midst of many, many Android tablets and even a webOS tablet, why would Apple choose to release a minor update to the iPad and risk falling behind the competition?

Why do all the recent case leaks show signs of a hardware redesign? Hardware redesigns don't usually fall under the category of a minor update.

I've stated my case. As always, I could be very wrong about all of this, but common sense doesn't point to a minor update. It doesn't need to be major like the transition from iPhone 3GS to iPhone 4 either, but the term "minor" is looking like an exaggeration.