So I splurged on an IPad 3....

[Bobby Ricigliano]

After much deliberation I pulled the trigger on an IPad 3 last week (64GB Wifi). I was a bit nervous because there were some reported issues of the unit getting really hot, as well as taking a loooong time to charge and inferior battery life compared to the IPad 2.

Well I ordered the unit from JR Electronics because the total OTD shipped price was $699, as compared to other dealers that charge both tax and shipping. Good luck finding the IPad cheaper than that for the same model. Believe me I tried, but Apple keeps a tight fix on prices.

So I received the unit and it was almost fully charged so I started using it right away. The Retina screen is really breathtakingly beautiful and the unit is very snappy and responsive. I immediately downloaded some games, including Sky Gamblers, which is one of the 'hot' new games.

I used the unit pretty hard and ran down the battery with a combination of gaming, web surfing, taking pics, and downloading a number of apps. The battery life is pretty close to the advertised rate of 10 hours. I used it for at least 8 hours over a few days and finally charged it when it got down to about 24% or so. I figure it would have got another hour or two had I kept using it.

To my immense satisfaction, this IPad does not get noticeably hot AT ALL.. I expected some warmth, but in reality there is no real discernible warmth emitting from the device even after hours of use.

I invested a little extra and bought an Otterbox Defender Case, which adds a bit of bulk but looks great and completely protects the unit. These run between $60 -$90 depending where you look but they are quite durable.

So there is my non scientific, amateurish review. I am no Apple Fanboy and prefer PC's for the most part. But having used Android and Apple portable devices, I believe the new IPad is the slickest, most user friendly and generally fun portable tablet device available. The Apple app store is far superior to the Android market as well.

Any comments or questions are welcome and thanks for reading.

[SuperSet]

Nice review and good luck with your new iPad! I researched it hard before deciding to go with the Samsung Transformer Prime, primarily because it had a slim line keyboard with a USB port, SD card slot and an extra 4 hours of battery. And when I try to play video straight out of my DSLR, the iPad 3 couldn't play it. I wish Apple would have built a professional version as I would have bought it since I wanted that screen.

[SouperMan]

Nice review and good luck with your new iPad! I researched it hard before deciding to go with the Samsung Transformer Prime, primarily because it had a slim line keyboard with a USB port, SD card slot and an extra 4 hours of battery. And when I try to play video straight out of my DSLR, the iPad 3 couldn't play it. I wish Apple would have built a professional version as I would have bought it since I wanted that screen.

I think you mean Asus Transformer Prime

OP, good to see you are enjoying your iPad!

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Nice review and good luck with your new iPad! I researched it hard before deciding to go with the Samsung Transformer Prime, primarily because it had a slim line keyboard with a USB port, SD card slot and an extra 4 hours of battery. And when I try to play video straight out of my DSLR, the iPad 3 couldn't play it. I wish Apple would have built a professional version as I would have bought it since I wanted that screen.

Well you cannot go wrong with a Samsung tablet and they make the Retina display anyway! Enjoy that Droid!

[SuperSet]

I think you mean Asus Transformer Prime

OP, good to see you are enjoying your iPad!

D'Oh, yep, ASUS Transformer Prime. Can you tell I'm not a computer person?

[ocabj]

I got the 32GB LTE on launch and gave my 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 to my mom. Battery life is about the same, but charge time is obviously longer on the new iPad.

I was actually hoping for HDMI-in on the new iPad. I want to be able to use it as a field monitor on my dSLR (HDMI-out on my Canon 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III).

[I_Love_My_.38]

I'm not sure about this but I think to get the most out of your battery you have to fully charge it first

[Mhking21]

Got my iPad 3 a few weeks ago, also put the otter box defender on it from my iPad 2. So far I like it but I gotta say aside from the retina display it feels like I'm on my iPad 2, not too much of a difference but I kind of already knew that before buying it I just wanted to upgrade so I could give my mom the iPad 2 since she had the 1 already.

[johnthomas]

No such thing as an Ipad 3. It is called, the new Ipad.

[JDay]

Of course you're not experiencing the iPad heat issue, you have an Otterbox on it.

[gorn5150]

I picked up an otterbox defender case for my original iPad when they dropped to $15. They are great. I haven't picked up a 3rd gen iPad yet but think I will. The wife has a 2nd gen but bought the one with the least amount of memory. That was a mistake.

I've never had a heat problem with either of the iPads.

[fourXfour]

Of course you're not experiencing the iPad heat issue, you have an Otterbox on it.

I believe the overheating is related to the LTE models. The wifi only models should not be affected.

[MadMax]

Just picked up a 64 gb LTE and it really does not get that hot, well mine doesn't anyway. The screen is awesome and the LTE is crazy fast, like as fast as a home connection. The screen, graphics card, camera and LTE upgrades made it a worthwhile purchase for me, now if they will just transfer this to the iPhone 5 I can finally trade in my 3GS

[Bobby Ricigliano]

No such thing as an Ipad 3. It is called, the new Ipad.

I am aware of this, but thanks.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Of course you're not experiencing the iPad heat issue, you have an Otterbox on it.

Well I closely monitored it for a few days before I put the Otterbox on and there was no heat issue. Additionally, a thick black case would exacerbate heat problems rather than conceal them. In any case, with or without the case the unit does not get hot.