Apple uses the same terminology with MacBooks and iPods. "Sixth generation iPod" etc. Apple is known to focus on details, so they probably thought this through and have a good reason to back away from the numerals.
No, the official model names of the computers have dates in them, e.g. "Late 2010", "Mid 2011", etc. I have, for example, an "iMac, 27-inch, Mid 2011".
My point is that they're not being consistent. They call it "the new iPad" in the presentation, but then the guy in the video calls it "the third-generation iPad".
Numbers are messy, it's better to have a product represented by its name and have its generation just be a property.
That's why they make the extra effort of saying "third-generation" rather than iPad3. They don't want it to be referred to as an iPad3, just as an iPad.
