Sometimes there’s a downside to popularity. Celebrities have to deal with the paparazzi, and companies like ultra-secretive Apple have to deal with journalists, developers and others speculating on what it’s planning next. 

The product rumor stories certainly aren’t all bad for Apple because it keeps the company in the spotlight out in front of competitors. But Apple’s event-driven product releases are undercut when the speculation accurately scoops the announcement or overstates what’s actually released deflating the release. A recent example of the latter is the iPhone 4S release that was widely expected to be a more ambitious iPhone 5 device. 

The latest Apple product in the spin cycle rumor mill is the iPad 3, which according to some reports this past summer was expected out in time for this holiday shopping season. (For the record, Apple doesn't comment on unannounced products and hasn't acknowledged anything called the iPad 3 is being developed). As we headed into the fall season with no sign of an iPad 3, new reports citing Apple supply chain sources, said Apple’s been held up by delays in a new Retina display the device will use and wouldn’t ship till March or April, 2012. 

The site TUAW says it found references to iPad 3 in the new iOS5beta1 software release Apple made available to developers. Apparently aware the software would be closely analyzed 9TO5Mac reported earlier that Apple actually included several references to bogus devices meant to throw nosy developers off track. But TUAW says developers digging further found stop developers from uncovering specifi references to the iPad 3. 

“This discovery is just another piece of evidence that suggests Apple will start selling the tablet this spring.” 

A holographic iPad 3 display? 

Those trolling the web for more iPad 3 details might be excited by an iPad 3 commercial on YouTube featuring a “holographic display.” The video, complete with soundtrack used in earlier Apple TV spots, shows a transparent, frameless iPad -- essentially a piece of glass, the user brings to life with the standard swipe/unlock gesture. 

In fact, the video is a clever mockup by Adney Films. A note by Dakota Adney at his YouTube channel says “This is where I express my vision and imagination. I hope you enjoy.”

The release of Amazon’s Kindle Fire is considered the first significant challenge to the iPad though there is also a school of thought that says the $199 device is a bigger threat to other Android competitors and is mainly attracting buyers who wouldn’t pay to buy a more expensive iPad which starts at $499. 

Meanwhile, speculation about the iPad 3 continues unabated. Fortune reports that Digitimes, a publication and site that tracks moves by Taiwan component suppliers, has written 50 articles about the iPad 3

“The paper's track record is, to put it kindly, mixed. In December 2010, it reported that Apple had ordered enough touch-panel screens to build 65 million iPads in 2011 -- a number that probably overshot the mark by 25 million units,” said Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt. 

The article, headlined, “Is DigiTimes trying to kill the iPad 2’s Christmas sales” (not intentionally, concludes DeWitt) warns that continued speculation about the iPad 3 could dampen holiday sales of the iPad 2 if enough buyers become convinced a more improved model will be available shortly.