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It’s getting so close that we can taste it… we hope. Rumor has it that we may be only a little over a week away from the launch of the iPad 3 and leaked images of shipping documents seem to offer that theory a little credibility.

If the documents are valid, shipments from Foxconn will begin on February 26 and are slated to arrive in North America as early as March 6. The original information was provided in Chinese, but a translator indicates that a load of cargo is destined for the United States (to 3 of the largest airports: ORD Chicago, JFK New York and LAX in Los Angeles), the owner of which “has extreme requirements for the security.” Sound familiar?

Many are wondering if the iPad 3 is the only device en route to the United States. With recent supply constraints for the Apple TV, people are wondering if there might be two big product announcements in March. If there is a new Apple TV ready for release it will be interesting to see whether it is a small upgrade (increased processor speed, 1080P video streaming or on-board storage) or if this is the huge television solution we have been waiting for since reading that Steve Jobs “cracked it” in his authorized biography.

The next question after ‘when will they release the iPad 3′ is ‘how long after the announcement do we have to wait in order to get our hands on one’? The expectations for this date vary with many speculating a week after the launch. But will Apple accept pre-orders? I think we all feel a little better when we have the opportunity to sign up for our devices ahead of time, but Apple hasn’t always let us do this. The original iPad was available as a pre-order as was the recent iPhone 4S –but the iPad 2 was not.