Apple is expected to announce the iPad 3 at a “special event” in California next week.

Apple sent emails to journalists on Tuesday, inviting them to the private event in San Francisco on March 7, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

The invitation (pictured above) included a photo of someone using an iPad, with a single line: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.”

The company did not immediately return a request for comment on whether it will indeed be the iPad 3.

Apple shares, which had already been trading higher before the announcement, ended the day up 1.8% and hit another all-time high. The company is getting close to a market value of $500 billion. More Here