Last week the Internet was abuzz with reports that the new iPad 3 was overheating. However, recent tests conducted by PCWorld show the thermal condition of the device is in line with rival Android tablets.

The controversy began when a number of new iPad customers took to the Apple forums complaining of overheating issues. "The iPad 3 wasn't hot, but warm enough to be uncomfortable" posted one unhappy user. "That, plus the extra weight, made it not worth the new display to me, as awesome as it is." If this all sounds familiar, then it is. The iPhone 4 was also beset with similar comments at launch.

To prove or discredit these claims, PCWorld decided to take to the labs and run infrared thermometer tests. The tests were conducted on an iPad 3, iPad 2, and Android tablets - the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime and Samsung Galaxy 10.1.

Using a Raytek Raynger ST-Handheld Infrared Thermometer, multiple temperature readings were taken on both the front face and the back of each tablet, measuring at the tablet's center, at the charging port, and on the back.

After taking baseline readings, temperatures, across devices, were tested as they were:

Charging and after being idle for 5 to 10 minutes

Had been on for an 1 hour while playing Vector Unit's graphic intensive Riptide GP game

The tests were run twice, once with each device plugged in and charging and then again with each tablet running on battery power.

While the iPad 3 ran 2-7 degrees Fahrenheit (less than 4 degrees Celsius) hotter than its predecessor, the iPad2, the temperature readings were comparable to the Android tablets.

The Raytek thermometer showed that each tablet had "its own particular hot point, and that in some instances a tablet's front can be just as warm as its back. In addition ... temperatures tended to run higher when tablets were plugged in than when they were running on battery power."

With 3 million of the new iPads sold on the opening weekend, and a total of 55 million iPads sold to date, most folks appear to be content. This is not to say that there might not be a few defective tablets that have made their way on to the market. Customers with heating issues, who have gone back to Apple retail stores, have reported that their gadgets were replaced, no questions asked.

On the plus side of this controversy, any overheating would surely be welcomed by Hilaree O'Neill who is taking the third generation iPad with him as he scales Mount Everest in the Spring for National Geographic. Frankly, you can never be too toasty when the temperature hits 100°F below zero.

(reported by Anne Nicholson, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)