An overwhelming 98% of new iPad owners are either “very satisfied” (82%) or “somewhat satisfied” (16%) with their Apple tablets, a recent survey conducted by ChangeWave has determined. This is hardly a surprise, and BGR called the slate not one but two steps ahead of its competition when we reviewed the new iPad in March. Also not surprising is the fact that the majority of iPad owners don’t seem to care very much about the supposed heat issues that constantly pop up in the media’s coverage of the tablet. When ChangeWave polled 200 new iPad owners and asked what they disliked most about the third-generation Apple tablet, 7% listed excessive heat. A majority named the cost of the device as their biggest dislike (26%), and the cost of wireless data plans (23%) was the second-most disliked thing about the iPad. Despite being widely praised for its battery performance, 6% of those polled said short battery life was their most significant dislike. ChangeWave’s full press release follows below.

New iPad Owners Weigh in on the Latest Apple Tablet

BETHESDA, MD – April 2, 2012 – Two weeks ago, the new iPad hit the market with a bang. But now that the Apple tablet is in the hands of consumers, what is their initial reaction towards the new device?

A March 22-28 survey of 200 new owners looked at their impressions of the new Apple iPad, including overall satisfaction with the device, key likes and dislikes, and the impact of the heat issue. ChangeWave Research is a service of 451 Research.

Customer Satisfaction

User satisfaction with the new iPad is even higher than previous iPad ratings from a February 2012 ChangeWave survey. More than four-out-of-five new iPad owners (82%) say they are Very Satisfied with the device. Another 16% say they’re Somewhat Satisfied.

Here is a head-to-head comparison of the new iPad user survey results with previous iPad user results from the February 2012 ChangeWave survey.

Top iPad Likes and Dislikes

We also queried new iPad owners on the specific features they liked best and disliked most:

What do you like best about the new iPad? (Choose No More Than Three)

By a landslide, the High-Resolution “Retina” Display (75%) is what new iPad owners report they like best about the device. Long Battery Life (22%) comes in a distant second, followed by 4G LTE Capability (21%) and the Faster Processor (20%)

New iPad Dislikes

When asked what they dislike most about their new iPad, users cited the Cost of the Device (26%) and the Cost of the Wireless Data Plan (23%) as their two biggest gripes.

And what do you dislike most about the new iPad? (Choose No More Than Three)

Two other issues were each cited by 8% of owners – the iPad’s Size/Weight and its Amount of Flash Memory Storage.

Additional dislikes mentioned include its Integration with Other Devices (7%), Excessive Heat Coming From the Device (7%) and Battery Life (6%). No other issue was cited by more than 5% of new owners.

A Closer Look At The iPad ‘Heat’ Issue

In a recent release, Consumer Reports stated that the new iPad can heat up to as much as 116 degrees Fahrenheit when plugged in and continually running a game. While the consumer publication considered this to be “very warm,” they said it wasn’t especially uncomfortable if held for brief periods and they didn’t consider it to be a safety concern.

To gauge new iPad owner reaction to the heat issue, we presented respondents with a brief summary of the Consumer Reports findings on the new iPad and asked how much of a problem the issue of excessive heat was for them.