We don't mean "hot" in the sense of popularity-- during the opening weekend of sales would seem to settle that issue. No, we're referring to the heated discussion in the Macworld forums and elsewhere about .

waded into the issue on Tuesday with its claim that when running some games. (That's certainly a headline-grabbing result; ' conclusion that the new iPad "felt very warm but not especially uncomfortable if held for a brief period" was buried deep in the story and got less play in the press.) Apple, for its part, said the tablet operates "well within our thermal specifications" and invited customers with any concerns to .

At Macworld Lab, we've got a third-generation iPad and a handy close at hand. Why not do some testing to check the numbers behind the chit chat?

Our results: The latest iPad does run a little warmer than its predecessor--but not so much that you'll be asking passersby, "Is it hot in here or is it just my iPad?"

To test temperatures, we let the new iPad and the iPad 2 warm up by running a series of tests using GL Benchmark 2.1.2 for about 20 minutes. Using the handheld IR thermometer, the hottest spot we could find on the new iPad was 99 degrees. The area that hit that mark was on the back, along the long edge opposite the camera. The edge with the camera read 89 degrees.