That's maybe 3 hours?
I haven't used mine much because I've been so busy, so I can't help compare. I can say that I never didn't get through the day with my ipad1. I could read and surf all day without setting it down, and never had to recharge the battery till bedtime.
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Mine had about 70% when I took out the box and it got used pretty heavily last night, had just under 20% when I got up this morning. Wifi turned on the whole time, downloaded a few things and played on it a lot.
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I think your assumption is pretty safe, seeing as I have yet to speak to someone that is happy to be a victim of a crime.....:-)

But with my willingness to presign for the package, it was obviously a chance I was more than willing to take....
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I found one of the sources of my battery issues: Location Services. Apparently many apps enable this on install "xxx would would like to use your location". I turned off location services and this helped. Still looking for other culprits.
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So after my fascination with the iPad, my wife surprised me with an iPhone for my birthday. Trying to get use to it, big change from the Droid X2 that I was using. She just got the iPhone 4, which actually sells for less than the Droid X2 right now....

We'll see if it takes....
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It's really really clear. Went to an Apple store to see it but it got really hot while holding it. Quality control has gone down since Jobs died :-)
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Never had a heat issue with mine...

Apple says that the heat issue is application dependent (e.g., hi res games have the most problems) but that even then the heat was not really an issue -- more like warm to the touch...
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Same here. My 3rd gen gets slightly warmer to the touch than my 2nd gen was, but really we're talking perhaps a couple degrees at the most. I don't game beyond the odd 5 or 10 min of Angry Birds every couple of days. My use of the iPad is primarily for reading books, surfing the internet/email and remote systems administration.

You have to remember that the display models in the Apple Store (or any retail store for that matter) spend the entire day under hot lights and in almost constant use as people play around with it. The display models don't come close to approximating "normal" use any more than floor model TV's setup in demo torch mode come close to approximating what the set's colours will look like in your living room. Best bet is to try and find a friend and ask if you can demo their's for a half hour of normal use (reading, surfing, etc). That'll give you a much better impression than the floor models on the heat issue.
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Just as an FYI for anyone in the market for a full size iPad:

You can now get a refurbished iPad 3 (the one from March that still has a 30-pin connector) for $379. That is less than the current price of the iPad 2.

Link
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I will have to keep that in mind -- my wife wants to upgrade from her original iPad.

Thanks!
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I finally got myself one of these. It's an iPad 3, 16GB with the Verizon 4G. I paid $449 for it, brand new, no taxes (tyvm, Navy Exchange).

It's pretty cool, so far. I have Wi-Fi, but I signed up for the 1GB a month for $20 through Verizon.
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