You point your browser to Apple's website and find two choices: the and the iPad 2.

OK, the iPad 2 sounds newer, but based on the hoopla surrounding the "new iPad," it must be older...right? Why else would the iPad 2 start at $399, while the "iPad" starts at $499?

OK, I know what you're thinking: The Apple sites goes to great lengths to distinguish between the iPad and iPad 2. It even provides a handy, side-by-side comparison chart.

And if my hypothetical novice were to walk into an Apple Store, or some other physical retailer that sells the iPad, a somewhat knowledgeable clerk could explain the differences between the newer iPad and the older iPad 2.

Still, Apple's naming strategy doesn't have legs. What happens a year from now when the fourth-generation iPad arrives? Will we see the iPad 2, iPad...and the new and improved iPad?