Apple new iPad 3 comparable to Asus EeePad Transformer Prime in heat tests

It’s been widely reported that the new iPad runs a lot hotter than the iPad 2, but a study claims it is not much hotter than two of Android’s biggest stars – the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The report found that even though the new iPad did run hotter than the iPad 2, the difference wasn’t that big and testing by MacWorld had so far failed to replicate the “disturbingly high temperatures” some sources have reported with the new tablet.

“More important, the new iPad was not dramatically warmer than either the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE, even though its battery has a substantially higher milliampere-per-hour (mAh) rating than theirs do,” said the study.

The iPad 3 uses a 11666mAh battery, versus a 7000mAh for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 6930mAh for the Transformer Prime.

The tests were carried out using a Raytek Raynger ST-Handheld Infrared Thermometer and readings were taken on the front face and back of each tablet.

Readings were compared when the tablet was turned off, when it had been idle for 5 to 10 minutes and when it had been on and heavily used for an hour.

“The Raytek thermometer revealed that each tablet has its own particular hot point, and that in some instances a tablet’s front can be just as warm as its back. In addition, we noted that temperatures tended to run higher when tablets were plugged in than when they were running on battery power,” the study found.

So, what’s the verdict when it comes to Apple’s new iPad versus Android’s poster children?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1’s front face was generally three degrees cooler, jumping to eight or nine degrees cooler on the front and 14 degrees cooler on the back during heavy use. However, on the devices’ maximum hot points on the back there was a difference of just two degrees.

However, even at its hottest spot and in full use, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime was a lot cooler – running at five degrees less than the iPad 3.

“Given that the new iPad’s battery has an mAh rating nearly double that of the batteries on the other tablets here, we would expect it to run at least a few degrees hotter than those units,” the study concluded.