Purported images of next-gen iPad's digitizer debunk rumours of a Home buttonless iPad 3

When invitations to the launch of the hugely anticipated iPad 3 - or 'iPad HD', as some are calling it - began popping up in journalists' inboxes last week, the accompanying photo caused some to speculate that Apple's next-gen slate may not have a Home button.

It looks like that theory may have been already been blown out of the water, though - if photos published last Thursday are to be believed, that is.

These two "exclusive" pics allegedly show the new iPad's digitizer (the touchscreen housing and control systems), complete with the familiar hard Home button found on both previous iPad models.

Rumours continue to swirl, meanwhile, about a 2048x1536 Retina display iPad 3, about which some developers have expressed concerns to our sister site PocketGamer.biz.

Apple is holding its special iPad 3 / HD media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on March 7th. That's this Wedesday to you and me.