We examine the New Apple iPad heating issues, see how it compares to the iPad 2

The new iPad heating issues have been one of the hottest topics in the tablet realm over the past couple of days – opinions range from the heat being intolerable to it’s not a big deal. That’s why we decided to conduct a few tests ourselves and found out more about it.

We were aiming to answer two questions – how hot does the new iPad get in regular usage and what is causing the supposed overheating issues. So here’s what we did – we placed the new Apple slate alongside its iPad 2 predecessor and started checking out how the two would react to various challenges.

The ambient temperature was just north of 22°C (72°F) and unsurprisingly the two slates weren’t any hotter when we woke them up from their sleep. We started the test by turning on the screen and leaving them just sit there idle.

Many point out that the increased resolution is one of the main causes for the higher temperatures generated by the new Apple iPad and there is obviously some truth to that. 55 minutes into the test, the new iPad had already reached 34.6°C (94.3°F), while the iPad 2 only got as hot as 29.7°C (85.5°F). At that point the temperatures of the two tablets stopped increasing, so we moved on to the next challenge.

The difference of just under 5°C is not too big a deal, but it’s certainly notable when you handle the two one after the other. Still, you most probably won’t mind holding the new iPad in your hands.

Next, we put the CPU under stress – both the A5 inside the iPad 2 and the A5X inside the new iPad have dual-core Cortex-A9 processors, so we expected to see a similar peak in the temperature of the two.

We ran the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, which stresses the CPU and saw the new iPad gain 1.7°C and reach 35.9°C (96.7°F). The iPad 2 temperature only increased by 0.6°C to 30.3°C (86.5°F), but it got clear the CPU can’t be accused of generating too much heat.

Then came the main suspect’s turn – the new quad-core GPU was most often quoted as the source of the problematic bit and our tests confirmed that it contributes quite a lot to the high temperature. The EpicCitadel demo was our first testing ground – it doesn’t support rendering in the new Retina resolution so the two slates were on even ground.

It took just over an hour for the temperatures to stabilize – the iPad 2 got to 31.7°C, while the new iPad temperature spiked to 38.3°C. At that point the latest iPad became slightly uncomfortable to hold, but still far from being a big issue.

Finally, we let the quad-core GPU unleash its full potential by running Infinity Blade II on the new iPad. About an hour later the new iPad reached 44.4°C(111.9°F) at its hottest point – it’s really better if you avoid holding it at the bottom left corner, where the chipset is located. It won’t burn you or anything, but it gets really uncomfortable.

The two neighboring corners went to 38.4°C (101.1°F) and the opposing one only reached 37.4°C (99.3°F), so you won’t necessary have to deal with the heat. The iPad 2 wasn’t included in this test as it is unable to render Retina resolution graphics.

So, in conclusion the issue does exist and the new iPad really goes a bit hotter than comfortable for holding. The peak temperature of the new slate is, according to our measures 12.7°C (26.1°F) higher than that of its predecessor and that’s a pretty major difference that you can easily feel with your hands. It might turn out to be an even bigger deal if you use it in warmer environment than ours or in direct sunlight.

On the other hand it’s not the deal-breaker some make it out to be. Your new iPad won’t constantly be pushed to its maximum temperature and even if it is, you can always adjust your hands to avoid touching the hottest spots. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the price you have to pay for getting that gorgeous screen without sacrificing performance.

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iPad 3: Overheating Claims, Battery And Games

The iPad 3 has been in the market for quite some time now. Many people like the new features present in the latest tablet offering from Apple. The unique Retina Display, the new processor and other features present in the iPad 3 has people saying that it is the best tablet currently present in the market. Though many people seem to think that things can’t get any better than this new tablet, there are a lot of users who have companied about the functioning of this new device. Many people have claimed that the tablet overheats. Some have even said that when the iPad 3 says that it is 100% charged, it isn’t accurate, and that it doesn’t work with the 4G network. Read after the break to know about all these complaints and whether or not they are true!

First, we will talk about the claims that the iPad 3 overheats, and a lot of users are concerned about this as they think that it might harm the device. In order to see if these claims hold true or not, many tech outlets have run tests and according to them, the whole ‘overheating’ claim has just been blown out of proportions. Yes, the iPad 3 is warmer than the previous version; however, it doesn’t heat up or becomes warm to such an extent that the device has to experience any kind of damage, temporary or even permanent.

Tests were conducted by a magazine by the name PC World. In the test that they did, temperatures of different tablets were observed, and it was concluded that the so-called ‘overheating’ concern regarding the iPad 3 wasn’t something that the people should be concerned about. Infrared thermometers were used, and the observations made saw that the third-gen iPad tablet reached temperatures between 2 and 7 degree Fahrenheit, which converts to less than four degrees Celsius. These results show that the new tablet is just a little degree hotter than the iPad 2.

Comparative tests were also done with other tablets present in the market. The results showed that other devices like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 also fell in the temperature bracket of the iPad 3, which means that being ‘warmer’ isn’t something to be worried about.



With the ‘overheating’ thing talked about; we will now talk about the fact that when the iPad 3 says that it is 100% charged, it isn’t necessarily true. One of the analysts has seen that when the iPad 3 says that it is 100% charged, it doesn’t mean that it’s true.

The people at Apple seem to have heard about these claims, and they have also given a response in which they have explained that not saying that a device is 100% charged but not being so, has been the case for many iDevices. According to Apple, this is a trait of the iOS and it isn’t linked only to the iPad 3.

Michael Tchao, the Apple’s vice-president, spoke with AllThingsDigital and he said that the iDevices show that they are 100% charged just some time before they are fully loaded. When the iDevices are completely charged, they will discharge a little of the power. These iDevices discharge a little in order to again accept more power.

This is done so that the device users can leave their devices plugged to the power supply for more time than needed, such as when people leave their devices plugged in overnight, as not to damage the device in any manner. The whole process of the discharging of power will repeat itself and will continue in a loop until your iPhone, iPod or the iPad is unplugged.

This kind of circuitry has been designed so that users can keep their iDevice’s plugged into the power source for as long as they like. According to him, this is a great feature that has always been present in the iOS.

Ray Soneira, from Display Mate, is the one who claimed that when the iPad 3 said that it was 100% charged, in reality the iPad 3 was only 90% charged. Michael Tchao also responded to these claims, and he said that even if the iPad 3 showed that it is 100% charged, the tablet is capable of lasting 10 hours and it doesn’t matter where it is in the charging cycle.

Now, we are going to the third news about the iPad 3. News has been flowing around that Apple is offering its customers full refunds, who bought the iPad 3 in Australia and that now, the UK customers are stating the same complaints.



According to news, the Australian competition watchdog took Cupertino to court for ‘misleading’ the customers because of the claims that its iPad has 4G network compatibility. The fact is that the iPad is not compatible with what Australian networks can provide. This is the reason that Apple has begun to give full refunds to the customers who bought the iPad 3 from Australia and Apple is worried that similar claims can be made from other customers belonging to other areas, even the customers in the UK!

Apple is right to be concerned about this because Apple names and even advertises some of the models of the iPad 3 as having “Wi-Fi + 4G” in the UK. Now, the problem is that the UK doesn’t have a 4G network. Another thing that has been revealed is that the expected network and the trials that will be going live after some time will not work on the same LTE bands which are present, specifically in the iPad 3.

The complaints from the UK customers have started, and Apple seems to be assessing them as well as deciding what to do with them. According to sources, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), UK’s independent regulator of advertising has confirmed that these complaints are being assessed and that a proper decision will be made.

According to the ASA spokeswoman, they have heard and are aware of the news from Australia about the claims regarding the iPad 4G marketing claim. They can’t say whether or not a similar UK ad will be a problem in the near future, until they fully assess the situation and come to a final decision. The spokesperson has further added that if a person or an iPad customer has any concerns about the iPad ad being run to advertise the iPad’s, then such people can file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and the people there will then assess the situation and will see if the said complaint is an actual problem under the Code!

Many of you might be wondering about which ‘Code’ that the ASA spokeswoman is talking about?

In a simple way, this Advertising Code states that ads must not mislead the consumer in any way. Which means that a customer can’t be misled by the ad when the ad omits information about the material, or presents it in a way that’s unclear to the person, and neither can it advertise a product, etc. in a way which is ambiguous for a customer to understand or is unintelligible.

All of these things come to one single result that if you seem to think that an advertisement is presenting any information about a product is the wrong way by omitting important information or by not giving enough information that could lead people to be unclear about what a product is providing them with.

This kind of same thing is what happened with Apple and the customers, who bought the iPad 3 from Australia, and that is why; Apple had to come to a decision of providing the customers with a full refund.

Let us know if you bought the 4G version of the iPad 3 without knowing that it won’t work to its full capacity in the UK, and if you would want a refund!

iPhone 4 was initially launched with a Retina display but Apple missed out on adapting the iOS games up to the higher resolution screen. This resulted in a blurry mess as the previous games made for lesser resolution screens did not get along with the new display. Both iPhone 4 and the iPad 3 boast a 2048×1536 resolution screen and over 800 new games to support the new display. That’s a larger number to choose from. Read on to find out about some of the best.

Infinity Blade II

Infinity Blade II is second on our list. This was also launched in 2010, and a second version, Infinity Blade dungeons was also launched at the debut of the iPad 3, but it did not go so well. However, Infinity Blade II has been upgraded to support the new Retina display, with new effects which would not have as great an impact with the older tablets and iPhones.

Waking Mars

Waking Mars is developed by the makers of Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor. The storyline of this game is a stranded astronaut who has to work to uncover the secrets of the planet Mars to survive, making Waking Mars a combination of an exploration and a puzzle solving game. The new Retina display really gives this game more life and hence makes it more enjoyable to play!

Zen Bound 2

The first game on our list is Zen Bound 2. The aim of the game is to wrap a rope around a wooden object which may sound a bit dull but once you get to playing it is as soothing as the name suggests. Though it sounds completely pointless it, playing Zen Bound 2 is almost equally blissful as actually raking the sand in a Zen garden. This game was initially launched in 2010 but has been recently updated to the Retina display level resolution by Secret Exit, its developer. This update makes it seem as though the wooden block lies right in front of you instead of your iPad 3.

Galaxy On Fire 2

Space flight games used to be the rage in the 90s but have faded to the background in the recent years. Galaxy on Fire 2, created by Fishlabs, brings back the idea with a bang! The nature of the game is that the player must get in to deep space via smuggling, mining and rocketing. Constant updates in its software and now with a higher resolution display, this game really comes to life and is one of the best ones to play.

Angry Birds Space

Last but never the least, Angry Birds Space! This is definitely the best of the best among the over 800 new games available for the new iOS and Retina display. On the new iPad, the graphics of this game get even more refined than ever, making it seem that the cartoon figures have come to life! Not a single pixel is out of place, the graphics are as perfect as ever and the game itself, if possible, even more engaging than before.

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iPad 3 Wi-Fi Issues Investigated By Apple, Affected Units Replaced By AppleCare

In the past few days, Apple has received a lot of customer complaints regarding a series of Wi-Fi issues, which affect the third-generation iPad which they released this year. According to the AppleCare document which Apple has released, Apple is investigating in order to see what to make of the complaints about the iPad 3’s Wi-Fi-related issues. There have been a lot of iPad users who have complained that the third-generation iPad has a lot of Wi-Fi issues, which include: connection drops, slow upload and downloading speeds and even the device’s inability to pick up and connect to the local Wi-Fi networks present in the vicinity. Don’t know how was the Wi-Fi version cleared for China with all the issues. Read after the break to know more about the issues that the customers are facing and what Apple has decided to do about them!

With the awesome features present in the iPad 3; many people believed that it was the ‘perfect’ tablet that anyone could ever wish for. With its Retina Display and the A5X processor chip, along with other features, the iPad 3 was on its way to become the ‘best’ tablet currently present in the market. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that the third-generation iPad has raised the bar for future tablet releases; however, no one was expecting that because of the iPad 3, Apple will begin to receive complaints about the device and Apple would have to come to the decision of replacing the affected units. At first, there were a few people who complained about the Wi-Fi connectivity issues. However, more and more complaints have started to reach Apple’s ears, and they have decided to do something about it.

Apple’s online support forums have a thread which discusses about the issue of the Wi-Fi connectivity present in the iPad 3. The thread present in this forum has received 700 replies of people who are facing the same issues as mentioned earlier. We have also visited this thread and have gone through every single reply of different people. Below, you can read some of the replies that are present on the thread, which we have summarized in order to give you the main idea about the replies that people have made;

One of the visitors has written that he is in a hotel room with his laptop and the new iPad 3. However, the laptop is receiving a strong Wi-Fi reception while the iPad 3 is only receiving a very weak signal. He then asks others if they have experienced the same kind of issue, and if they have any suggestions.

Another person has written that the Wi-Fi connection issues have nothing to do with the routers. He further elaborates by saying that he is right next to his wife, whom he gave his iPad 1. The wife is receiving full bars on her device while he has only one or two bars.

Other people have also written about the Wi-Fi connectivity issues saying that the iPad 3 isn’t able to receive a strong signal while the iPad 1 is able to receive a very strong signal, when they compared the two devices next to each other.

Wi-Fi connectivity issues in the third-generation iPad are one of the many issues which the media has been reporting about. There was news about issues with the iPad 3’s charging and overheating and now, the connectivity issue has been added to the list.

The good thing is that Apple hasn’t ignored these complaints and has admitted that some of the iPad 3 models could have Wi-Fi connectivity issues present in them. According to Apple, the symptoms could include, however, not limited to: slow Wi-Fi speeds, intermittent connectivity and indicating that the Wi-Fi network can’t be seen.

Apple has asked the AppleCare employees that they should ensure that when they test the devices they should see that the connectivity issues are because of the hardware component present in the device and are not because of the software bugs that could be present.

According to Apple, the only devices which are affected by these issues are the Wi-Fi only third-generation iPads. Apple further stated that the iPad 4G LTE models are safe from these issues. The reason Apple has given for this is that the 4G LTE models are safe from the connectivity issues because of the extra network power they are allowed to have because of the black rubber cut present on the top of the unit.

The third-generation iPad’s which are being affected by these Wi-Fi connectivity issues have been labeled as being “Captured”.

For those of you who don’t know. The word “Captured” is supposedly a code for the device to be immediately packed and then shipped to the Apple engineering centers in order to be examined and properly investigated.

Apple has instructed its employees to “Capture” the iPad 3 and the accessories included in with such as the charging adaptor and the USB cord and do a deep analysis of each device to see why these Wi-Fi connectivity issues have occurred.

On the brighter side of things, Apple has announced that they will be replacing the affected units and that their customers shouldn’t worry about these issues anymore.

Let us know if you too are having the Wi-Fi connectivity issues with your iPad 3 and whether or not you have got the replacement yet.

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iPad 3 Has A Marginal Impact On Traffic: Jumptap

Apple’s iPad 3 has been breaking its predecessors’ records since the moment it has been released. It sold 3 million units on its opening weekend alone! Furthermore, there is a sales forecast for the iPad 3 of up to 66 million units in the current year 2012. After causing much stirring among its fans, the iPad 3 is finally here, tailor made for its users and avid fans major requirements. The iPad 3 totes a 9.7″ inch screen with 2048×1356 pixels display. The screen is definitely an eye catcher because it inculcates the new Retina Display which makes the entire experience of using an iPad more real than ever. This better resolution has dubbed the iPad 3 to be ‘Resolutionary.’ It also boasts a 5 mega pixel back camera with 4G LTE and HSPA+ connectivity. It also supports an A5X chip.

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iPad owners weigh in: Heat ‘issue’ deemed non-factor

An overwhelming 98% of new iPad owners are either “very satisfied” (82%) or “somewhat satisfied” (16%) with their Apple tablets, a recent survey conducted by ChangeWave has determined. This is hardly a surprise, and BGR called the slate not one but two steps ahead of its competition when we reviewed the new iPad in March. Also not surprising is the fact that the majority of iPad owners don’t seem to care very much about the supposed heat issues that constantly pop up in the media’s coverage of the tablet. When ChangeWave polled 200 new iPad owners and asked what they disliked most about the third-generation Apple tablet, 7% listed excessive heat. A majority named the cost of the device as their biggest dislike (26%), and the cost of wireless data plans (23%) was the second-most disliked thing about the iPad. Despite being widely praised for its battery performance, 6% of those polled said short battery life was their most significant dislike. ChangeWave’s full press release follows below.

New iPad Owners Weigh in on the Latest Apple Tablet

BETHESDA, MD – April 2, 2012 – Two weeks ago, the new iPad hit the market with a bang. But now that the Apple tablet is in the hands of consumers, what is their initial reaction towards the new device?

A March 22-28 survey of 200 new owners looked at their impressions of the new Apple iPad, including overall satisfaction with the device, key likes and dislikes, and the impact of the heat issue. ChangeWave Research is a service of 451 Research.

Customer Satisfaction

User satisfaction with the new iPad is even higher than previous iPad ratings from a February 2012 ChangeWave survey. More than four-out-of-five new iPad owners (82%) say they are Very Satisfied with the device. Another 16% say they’re Somewhat Satisfied.

Here is a head-to-head comparison of the new iPad user survey results with previous iPad user results from the February 2012 ChangeWave survey.

Top iPad Likes and Dislikes

We also queried new iPad owners on the specific features they liked best and disliked most:

What do you like best about the new iPad? (Choose No More Than Three)

By a landslide, the High-Resolution “Retina” Display (75%) is what new iPad owners report they like best about the device. Long Battery Life (22%) comes in a distant second, followed by 4G LTE Capability (21%) and the Faster Processor (20%)

New iPad Dislikes

When asked what they dislike most about their new iPad, users cited the Cost of the Device (26%) and the Cost of the Wireless Data Plan (23%) as their two biggest gripes.

And what do you dislike most about the new iPad? (Choose No More Than Three)

Two other issues were each cited by 8% of owners – the iPad’s Size/Weight and its Amount of Flash Memory Storage.

Additional dislikes mentioned include its Integration with Other Devices (7%), Excessive Heat Coming From the Device (7%) and Battery Life (6%). No other issue was cited by more than 5% of new owners.

A Closer Look At The iPad ‘Heat’ Issue

In a recent release, Consumer Reports stated that the new iPad can heat up to as much as 116 degrees Fahrenheit when plugged in and continually running a game. While the consumer publication considered this to be “very warm,” they said it wasn’t especially uncomfortable if held for brief periods and they didn’t consider it to be a safety concern.

To gauge new iPad owner reaction to the heat issue, we presented respondents with a brief summary of the Consumer Reports findings on the new iPad and asked how much of a problem the issue of excessive heat was for them.

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Overheating Flap Can't Cool Love for New iPad

NEW YORK (Trefis) -- Concerns about the Apple's (AAPL_) iPad heating up to alarming levels seem to have little impact on the tablet's consumer satisfaction ratings, implying that the heating issues are probably a rare occurrence.

A market survey by ChangeWave Research revealed that the new iPad's users seemed more satisfied with the tablet than those using its predecessors. About 82% of the new iPad users said they were "very satisfied" with the new tablet as opposed to about 74% that had said so about the earlier iPads. Moreover, only 6% of the respondents cited the heating issues to be one of the things they disliked about the iPad

Most surveys usually do not take the opinions of a huge demography in their calculations, so there is room for error. When the iPhone made its way to Verizon (VZ_) last year, breaking the exclusive hold that AT&T(T_) had on the popular smartphone, many surveys showed that subscribers would defect to Verizon in large numbers. But that hasn't happened over the past year as AT&T has consistently racked up more number of iPhone activations than Verizon every quarter.

No "Antennagate" Scandal

But an important takeaway from this survey, at a time when the blogosphere is abuzz with concerns that the iPad's bigger battery is causing it to heat up ominously, is that the problem is not widespread. Analogies drawn with the iPhone 4′s antenna and reception issues, which had created a huge uproar forcing Apple to eventually offer a refund or a free case that corrected the flaw, may just be a tad far-fetched.

In a ChangeWave survey held then to gauge the impact of the infamous "antennagate" scandal, only about two-third (64%) of the respondents found it to be a non-issue. This time, however, the survey shows that a vast majority of the new iPad owners (89%) aren't experiencing the overheating issues. This implies that the problem may only be limited to only a few users and should therefore not have a material impact on the new iPad's sales.

In any case, the iPad accounts for only about 13% of Apple's value and any issue raised with the tablet is hence not as big a concern as a similar one raised with the iPhone, which is over 50% of Apple's value. But considering the halo effect that Apple's products have on each other, a recurrence of such issues on a consistent basis across the iPad's user base could have a much larger impact on the entire Apple portfolio than just the iPad.

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More testing on iPad3's heat issues

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There's a follow-up on the heat issues raised by new iPad owners.

Consumer Reports has done additional tests on the third generation iPad, and 10 others, to size up what gamers can expect on a hot, summer day.

Consumer Reports' first heat tests of the new iPad assessed running a highly-demanding, graphic intensive video game at room temperature.

Testers found the new iPad gets about 12 degrees hotter than the iPad 2.

To test the iPad and other tablets further, Consumer Reports put them in a special chamber with the temperature at 90 degrees to simulate a hot, summer day.

The screen was set to full brightness and testers ran Infinity Blade Two, a highly-demanding action game.

The new iPad again ran hotter than the iPad 2 and reached 122 degrees in the hottest spot.

Two other tablets with fast processors, from Asus and Samsung, reached similar temperatures of 117 and 121 degrees.

But Consumer Reports says there's no risk posed.

"The way you use a tablet, it's unlikely that your skin will be exposed to the hot spot for long. And in most uses the tablet just won't get that hot," said Paul Reynolds, Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports also discovered an issue with how the new iPad battery recharges.

If you're playing a highly-demanding game with the iPad plugged in, the battery might not fully recharge, or could even continue to drain.

"It's mostly an inconvenience. You can lower the screen's brightness to about two-thirds and that should keep your battery going," Reynolds said.

In fact, when results of Consumer Reports' standard tests for the new iPad and 10 other new tablets were in, the new iPad topped the ratings.

"The iPad is an excellent product. It has the best tablet screen we've ever seen, and great battery life overall. It also adds welcome features, like a five-megapixel camera and the option for a very fast 4G data connection," Reynolds said.

The new iPad starts at about $500 and, depending on how you configure it, the cost can top more than $1,000.

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New Apple iPad 3 Problems: Screen, wi-fi, battery & overheating issues

et the all the latest updates and analysis on the most common new Apple iPad 3 problems, including the wi-fi, screen, battery and overheating


While the new iPad 3 launched to huge critical acclaim, there have been a number of issues reported with one or more of the features.

While these vary in seriousness, much of the criticisms and complaints – be it from analysts, journalists, or consumers venting their spleens on forums – can be categorized into four main areas, all of which we will keep you up do date with here.

New Apple iPad 3: Screen issues

The new iPad was upgraded with a Retina high definition display, previously only seen on the much smaller iPhone.

Apple has had a lot of praise for the crisp, bright visuals this brings the tablet, and for existing iPad users this seems to have largely been held up as the main reason for upgrading.

However it’s this sharp rendering that some have pointed out revels the rough edges of images across the internet.

Web developer David O Shea explained on mobify.com: “We’ve all seen clip art printed out from the web,” said Mr. Shea.

“On paper, these jagged, pixelated illustrations stand out like a sore thumb. A professional graphic is crisp and clear even when printed. The iPad Retina display will make all your existing graphics look like pixelated clip art.”

Some users have also complained of a ‘yellow hue’ on the screen, with speculation that this is actually a hardware issue – some consequence of the glue used in the manufacturing process, for instance.

Some have also pointed out a general inconsistency with the display colours, such as Gottabemobile, which has called for Apple to take action: “Many users probably won’t notice the color shift until they compare it to other iPads.

However, the yellow displays are enough of a problem to cause people to return them and tarnish Apple’s reputation of consistency. The yellow iPad display issue is very real and Apple needs to do something about it as soon as possible.”

New Apple iPad 3: Wi-fi problems

Many users have complained on Apple’s own support forum of problems involving wi-fi.

This includes range and quality of connection, as well as seemingly related entire system crashes. Intermittent problems, such as cut outs, have also been logged.

Some fairly representative complaints include:

Andrew Mclaughlin2 said: “FYI, I'm having the exact same problem as reported by everyone else here. iPad 1 and iPhone 4s and laptop all have perfect wifi connections.

"iPad3 has serious connection problems. I ran speedtest.net app on both devices side by side and iPad3 has half the throughput as all other devices.”

Some comments have asserted that much like the iPhone 4’s famous ‘antenna gate’ scandal, holding the device in a certain way can effect reception.

“I'm not holding the iPad right now as I usually do, with both hands with the iPad in landscape mode down where the keyboard pops up, and I am holding steady at 2 bars.

As soon as I DO hold it as described, without changing the position too much, I drop to only one bar and in fact it drops connection half the time!!!! You have got to be kidding me right?

Holding my iPad 3 in the same way as I always did my iPad 1 the wifi reception is very bad!” said clipper99.

“Holding it in or out of the case with the mute button pointing down it will drop one or two bars from three every time.” added It_caveman”

The Apple forum has hundreds of pages full of comments on this subject alone, though the complaints do invariably differ in their specific issues. There has been speculation as to whether a hardware issue is at fault, or if it’s a software problem. So far Apple has kept quiet on the issue.

New Apple iPad 3: Overheating

While Apple forums and blogs will often find something to complain about, the issue of overheating has become a much more widespread concern for Apple’s new tablet – even reaching the attention of tabloids like the Daily Mail.

Apple has released an official statement claiming that the 92.5 degrees recorded by a Dutch website was no cause for concern as it fell "well within our thermal specifications" of 32-95 degrees.

However, those reassurances have been thrown into doubt following Consumer Reports' exploits with a thermal imaging camera, which was used to measure the considerably higher temperature noted above.

The non-profit, consumer advice website obtained the figure while playing Infinity Blade II while the device was plugged in, but although it felt warm to the touch didn't cause any discomfort to hold.

The 116 degrees Fahrenheit was a full 13 degrees hotter than the site managed to achieve when testing an iPad 2 model.

Consumer Reports said: "The hottest areas weren't evenly distributed throughout the iPad's back, but were concentrated near one corner of the display as shown in the images taken from the rear of the device above.

"During our tests, I held the new iPad in my hands. When it was at its hottest, it felt very warm but not especially uncomfortable if held for a brief period."

It remains to be seen whether Apple will respond again now the tablet has been shown to run over 20 degrees hotter than its own thermal specifications.

New Apple iPad 3: Battery issues

Apple has admitted that the new iPad shows a 100 per cent charge, when this may not necessarily be the case.

Apple has defended the on-screen battery level display, following analysis claiming it prematurely showed as fully charged. The tests also showed the device doesn't reach an optimum charge for another two hours.

Apple says this feature has always been part of iOS and allows users to keep the device plugged in as long as they want.

Cupertino says once the device reaches 100 per cent, it will decharge slightly and recharge. That process is repeated until the device is unplugged.

Apple VP Michael Tchao said: “That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like. It’s a great feature that’s always been in iOS."

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iPad Users Still Love The New iPad Despite Overheating Brouhaha

Concerns about the Apple’s iPad heating up to alarming levels seem to have had little impact on the tablet’s consumer satisfaction ratings, implying that the heating issues are probably a rare occurrence — or iPad owners are incredibly forgiving.

A market survey by ChangeWave Research revealed that the new iPad’s users seemed more satisfied with the tablet than those using its predecessors. [1] About 82% of the new iPad users said that they were “very satisfied” with the new tablet as opposed to about 74% that had said so about the earlier iPads. Moreover, only 6% of the respondents cited the heating issues to be one of the things they disliked about the iPad.

While one should not attach too much importance to surveys as they usually are limited in their sample sets leaving room for error. However they do provide some data that companies can use to improve their products.

When the iPhone made its way to Verizon last year breaking the exclusive hold that AT&T had on the popular smartphone, many surveys showed that subscribers would defect to Verizon in large numbers. [2] But that hasn’t happened over the past year as AT&T has consistently racked up more number of iPhone activations than Verizon every quarter.

Overheating not as big as the “Antennagate” scandal

But an important takeaway from this survey, at a time when the iPad’s heating problems seem to have caught the fancy of the blogosphere which is abuzz with concerns that the tablet’s bigger battery is causing it to heat up ominously, is that the problem is not wide-spread. Analogies drawn with the iPhone 4′s antenna and reception issues, which created a huge uproar forcing Apple to eventually offer a refund or bumpers that corrected the flaw, may just be a tad of a stretch/

In a ChangeWave survey held then to gauge the impact of the infamous “antennagate” scandal, only about two-third (64%) of the respondents had found it to be a non-issue. This time, however, the survey shows that a vast majority of the new iPad owners (89%) aren’t experiencing the overheating issues. This implies that the problem may only be limited to only a few users and should therefore not have a material impact on the new iPad’s sales.

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