You're moving on up to the latest and greatest in the iOS world, and to do so, you're leaving your old device behind. But before you send it off on its last voyage, you have to decide if you want to transfer its apps, data, and settings to your new iPad. If you do, you'll need to make a backup (via iTunes or, if your old iPad is running iOS 5, via iCloud) of your information.

If you're running iOS 4 or earlier on your iPad, or you want to make a backup quickly, an iTunes backup is the way to go. To update your backup (or to create a new one), connect your old device to the computer you normally sync it with via USB, open iTunes, control-click the device in the iTunes Source List, and select Back Up from the drop-down menu. You can also make a backup by pressing the Sync button.

: If you're running iOS 5 on your old iPad, and you've set up iCloud on it, you can also take advantage of to save your data. Your device will automatically make an iCloud backup once a day while locked, plugged in, and connected to a Wi-Fi network, but you can manually force a backup whenever you're on Wi-Fi by opening the Settings app on your iPad. Navigate to iCloud -> Storage & Backup, and make sure the iCloud Backup switch is toggled on. From there, you just have to tap on Back Up Now to start the process. (You should note that iCloud backups can sometimes take significantly longer than iTunes backups, so it may not be the best option if you're in a hurry to set up your new device.)