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is the iPad 3 as bad as some people say?

O

offside

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2012
2
0
Hi guys,

i have been saving to buy the new iPad (3rd gen) for a while and i'm only a bit away from having enough money.
however,while looking up reviews on youtube and on tech blogs,i have come across a scarily high number of bad reviews regarding the new iPad.some of them include;

-overheating
-ridiculous time it takes to fully charge the battery (and some more battery issues)
and a lot more issues.

i play a lot of HD,big sized games (in terms of space) and surf the web and watch a lot of videos so i'm very worried about looking at all the cons people come across with the new iPad.

my friend who owns a samsung galaxy tablet told me its better than the iPad 3 because its got way more features and freedom and the price is significantly cheaper than the iPad 3.

i do not have money to gamble so i want to be sure if its worth going for the iPad 3.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
 
I love my iPad 3. While I don't play games, I do watch a lot of videos, mostly You Tube and streaming tv shows and in my experience the battery life has been just fine. I charge it overnight so it's at 100% every morning. Today it stayed in my bag most of the day but I've been using it now for about the past two hours watching a few short HD videos, reading email, and messing around on Facebook and Twitter and it just dropped from 93 to 92%.

Of course, as someone else has already stated, if you're really concerned then just buy it locally from somewhere with a decent return policy. If you have problems, take it back.
 
No it's fine. I've used a galaxy tab before and it's terrible compared to an iPad. Just too laggy. Now once Ice Cream Sandwich is released for it, it might get better. And you're in an iPad forum so there's an obvious bias.
 
2 for 2, both have been within my tolerance for screen uniformity, but what's acceptable for me may not be for you so buy local try it out and exchange/return as you deem necessary.
 
Why not go to a place like Best Buy where you can compare tablets & features side by side? Specs are great but when it comes to screen quality, your own eyes are the best judge of what is pleasing to you.
 
offside said:
Hi guys,

i have been saving to buy the new iPad (3rd gen) for a while and i'm only a bit away from having enough money.
however,while looking up reviews on youtube and on tech blogs,i have come across a scarily high number of bad reviews regarding the new iPad.some of them include;

-overheating
-ridiculous time it takes to fully charge the battery (and some more battery issues)
and a lot more issues.

i play a lot of HD,big sized games (in terms of space) and surf the web and watch a lot of videos so i'm very worried about looking at all the cons people come across with the new iPad.

my friend who owns a samsung galaxy tablet told me its better than the iPad 3 because its got way more features and freedom and the price is significantly cheaper than the iPad 3.

i do not have money to gamble so i want to be sure if its worth going for the iPad 3.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
Click to expand...

"Overheating" and running at a high temperature are two different things. I find it only gets warm when running demanding games non stop, and that's WARM, not "F@$!". The battery charge time has not been an issue to me, I plug it in when I go to bed, its charged when I wake up, I couldn't care less when it reached that point. It's almost impossible to run it flat during the course of one day so there's little reason why you'd need to plug it in during the day. There's always going to be people who expect everything and then some, if you're not one of them, then you're going to be more than fine.
 
In my experience, it's not anywhere near as bad as some people say.

-It gets warm, but no warmer than my 4S. It's nothing compared to the heat that comes off my MacBook Pro
-The battery does take longer to charge, but I've never found it to be a problem. Just use the 10W charger and you're fine. Plug it in at night, unplug a fully charged iPad in the morning.
-As far as screen issues, I've had one iPad 3 and the screen looks perfect to me. The only glitch is a small hair under the glass at the edge of the screen that I notice maybe once a week. The resolution is incredible. You'll never want to use another tablet once you've seen how crisp it is.
 
thanks for the reply guys.

but after finding out that due to the retina display the iPad 3 optimised app sizes (space) is being increased,i've decided to buy the 32gb iPad from overseas through my cousin which saves me around $100.

i guess the only way to be sure is to buy it and hope i don't experience any issues.
 
I've been using the new iPad as my primary device for the last month. And let me tell you, it's one amazing piece of technology.

To answer your questions:


Overheating:
Like any other gadget or device... Long times of usage makes it become a bit hot. Unbearably hot? No. But hot. Not warm.

Solution: get yourself a nice case for it, and you'll never feel the heat, because you'll be in contact with the casing, not the actual iPad.
Personally, I got the Targus Versavu 360°, check it out, you'll love it! It also doubles as a stand, with many positions and angles for typing, playing games and watching movies. You can even use it while charging, as night stand clock, picture frame or aquarium (if you find the perfect app).


Long charging time:
Understand this... This is NOT an iPhone, it's not a digital camera, and it's definitely not a couple of rechargeable batteries that recharge in an hour. It's a full-blown iPad with a high resolution Retina display, and a whole bunch of high performance parts. It needs time to charge. My average ranges at about 6 to 8 hours. Just put it to charge while you sleep, and you'll find it fully charged in the morning.

Note: if you use it heavily while charging, it might not actually charge, and sometimes, you might even drain the battery a little. So when you do charge it, just go easy on it. Oh, and computers don't provide enough energy to charge it. Just use the charger that comes with it. Don't use the iPhone's charger, it'll take over 12 or 14 hours to charge.


Final advice:
Continue saving, do yourself a favor and buy it! You won't regret it. If you always listen to reviews, you'll never buy anything. It always comes to personal preference of the device. But don't let bad reviews influence your ultimate decision.
And as for which model, since you said you'll use it for big games, I'd advise you to spend a bit more for the 64GB, it'll be worth it. 4G or not, it's up to you, depending on whether you mainly use it at home with wifi, or on the road and you depend on the data service. Black or white, it's personal taste. I personally got the black one, because I have the white iPhone 4, they're a cute couple.


I hope my opinion helps.
 
Last edited:
I have owned every version of the iPad and iPhone. The iPad 3 is the best one so far, period. My family and close friends have purchased six iPad 3's and all of the screens have been fine. Charging and overheating are non-issues for me.

Buy it, try it, and return it if you do not like it.
 
offside said:
Hi guys,

i have been saving to buy the new iPad (3rd gen) for a while and i'm only a bit away from having enough money.
however,while looking up reviews on youtube and on tech blogs,i have come across a scarily high number of bad reviews regarding the new iPad.some of them include;

-overheating
-ridiculous time it takes to fully charge the battery (and some more battery issues)
and a lot more issues.

i play a lot of HD,big sized games (in terms of space) and surf the web and watch a lot of videos so i'm very worried about looking at all the cons people come across with the new iPad.

my friend who owns a samsung galaxy tablet told me its better than the iPad 3 because its got way more features and freedom and the price is significantly cheaper than the iPad 3.

i do not have money to gamble so i want to be sure if its worth going for the iPad 3.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
Click to expand...
I've got an iPad 3, and it runs cooler than my iPhone 4S and I've never worried about the latter, I'd say the heat from the 3 is perfectly fine. It takes 6 hours to fully charge vs 4 hours for the iPad 2, so it's no big deal. My unit has a flawless display, at least it seems that way, and no other problems whatsoever.

I've got a heap of the best 3D games on my iPad 3 (as well as the Apple accessory to output it to my HDTV) and I find it great.
 
Is scrolling and all that stuff as smooth and snappy as the iPad 2? Some people say it's slower because there's just too many pixels and the processor cannot handle it.
 
This was my first iPad as well, and except for the games, my usage is pretty close to yours.

The battery charging times are, it's true, very long. However, I find its battery life to be amazing. I charge it at night, and I've never had its battery die on me.

Overheating hasn't been an issue either (although as I said, I don't play games)

If you plan on putting movies on it, don't even consider getting the 16GB, or you'll be constantly juggling with space and syncing.

Like you, I was considering a cheaper Android tablet. I'm glad I got the iPad. My wife has an 11" MBA, and I think I've used it once for five minutes in the last two weeks (before getting the iPad, I was always using it)
 
MythicFrost said:
I've got an iPad 3, and it runs cooler than my iPhone 4S and I've never worried about the latter, I'd say the heat from the 3 is perfectly fine. It takes 6 hours to fully charge vs 4 hours for the iPad 2, so it's no big deal. My unit has a flawless display, at least it seems that way, and no other problems whatsoever.

I've got a heap of the best 3D games on my iPad 3 (as well as the Apple accessory to output it to my HDTV) and I find it great.
Click to expand...
Even my iPhone 4 gets hotter, and that's a single-core CPU with a single-core GPU.
 
Those "problems" are heavily exaggerated, I'd say. The iPad 3 is way better than the iPad 2, unless you don't want to use its screen. (But, then, what's the point in purchasing an iPad as opposed to, say, an iPod touch?)

All in all, don't listen to complaints, get the iPad 3.
 
I personally am not experiecing them, which doesn't mean that they don't exist but most things you read on forums are about people having problems, as less people write threads about how they are happy with x device.

Get the ipad 3 if you don't like it you can still bring it back.
 
The new iPad is the best tablet on the market right now. I have had all 3 and this is the best one yet. Reviews are to be taken lightly because the same stuff was said when the ipad 2 came out and when the ipad1 came out it was a dumb idea who is going to buy that other then apple fan boys
 
I'm now on my 3rd iPad 3 as have had screen issues and memory/sync issues, plus my 3rd one has sync issues with itunes in that it shifts the memory around. However, despite all this I still love it and I for one wouldn't contemplate any other tablet. Yes there are others that can boast that they do other things, same as other smartphones against the iphone, but I'm yet to find a product as polished. Other devices and makes just feel cheap in comparison imo, and I'm yet to find another device who's touchscreen works as well as Apple's. Yes some others are very good, just not as good as Apple. I personally think the retina display is the best on the market.
As for the current sync issue, I actually believe it's an iTunes issue rather then iPad issue as since the iTunes upgrade my iPhone hasn't synced properly either, although the workaround on the iphone is much less of a PITA than the iPad.
 
Last edited:
locoman23 said:
Is scrolling and all that stuff as smooth and snappy as the iPad 2? Some people say it's slower because there's just too many pixels and the processor cannot handle it.
Click to expand...

Some people also don't know what they are talking about. It's every bit as fast, if not faster, than the iPad 2 at everything.
 
locoman23 said:
Is scrolling and all that stuff as smooth and snappy as the iPad 2? Some people say it's slower because there's just too many pixels and the processor cannot handle it.
Click to expand...
There's a quad-core GPU in the third generation iPad, so you don't have to worry about that. :)
 
iPad 3 issues

Overheating = overblown. iPad 3 gets warm, not hot.

Thickness = non-issue. I cannot honestly tell the difference in side-by-side

Weight = barely heavier. Maybe an issue if you hold the iPad 3 while watching a 2hr movie.

Tinting = depends. I think most are being OCD. But if you feel you got a bad one, return it.

Battery life = slightly worse. Sad for early adopters if Apple upgrades CPU from 45nm to 32nm. And uses IGZO screen instead of AS. AS is huge battery hog.

Charging = longer. iPad 3 has 70% larger battery but uses same 10w/2a charger. Filling 70% larger bucket (battery) with same 2amp hose.

Wifi connectivity = sporadic. Will probably be fixed in iOS update.
 
Typing this on my new iPad 3 I love it! Buy local so if you have a technical problem you can get it sorted.

----------
Batavian said:
iPad 3 issues


Wifi connectivity = sporadic. Will probably be fixed in iOS update.
Click to expand...

I'm having slight wifi issues, but my Internet router is a cheap Chinese knockoff so that could be the problem. I would surmise it is a software/firmware issue that a software update will fix. Otherwise I'm very happy!
 
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