5 things you should know about new iPad

Has less than one week passed since new iPad starting selling in 10 countries and one US territory? It seems like longer. Tomorrow, Apple's tablet will be available in 25 more. With more people set to buy new iPad, which sold 3 million units over the three-day launch weekend, time is right to discuss things you should know before plunking down your hard-earned cash.

There is suddenly lots of confusion about new iPad, with all these conflicting media reports -- blogs and news sites running praising reviews alongside stories about yet another fatal design flaw. You just don't know who to believe. Perhaps these five things will help you find clarity.

1. If you carry new iPad to Starbucks, employees will hand you a protective mat for your lap (made of the same material used for their cup holders). The coffee shop is super sensitive about hot things in your lap (and the lawsuits they might generate). There's good reason. Consumer Reports claims that Apple's newest tablet runs 10 degrees F hotter than the old one -- as much as 116 degrees F.

Nevermind that your big brick laptop probably runs even hotter and tickles with first-degree burns every time your fingers pass by the heat vent. Consumer Reports has everyone scared about the potential lap and hand hazards or the possibility your new iPad might melt into a Starbucks table.

Strange, though. My family has one of these new iPads, which doesn't seem the least bit overly hot.

2. It's best not to to charge new iPad during that quick trip to the relatives (because you'll be there a long time). The InterWebs are chock full of reports about how slowly new iPad charges, with some bloggers claiming the charger is too small for the big battery -- so much that it can't keep up with the drain. You don't want that 15 minute visit to be 15 hours.

Strange, again. Our new iPad charges up nearly as quickly as the older one. Granted, charging time wasn't exactly fast with iPad 2.

3. New iPad won't make you popular. If anything, you're more at risk carrying one. Two years ago, the original iPad could draw a crowd at the coffee shop. But now that everyone has an iPad, or wants one, it's kind of passé. Perhaps matters would be different if this and last year's models weren't almost indistinguishable even closeup.

You might instead draw attention you don't want. There are now 220 tablets for sale globally, according to ABI Research, and the majority are Androids. Fanboys are called the Android Army for a reason. They'll heckle and call you a Steve Jobs cultist. They'll preach about the benefits of choice over Apple's Way (or no way). The most aggressive will grab your iPad and perform and impromptu drop test. Eh, did you buy AppleCare+?

4. Your photos will look even worse. Apple's new iPad TV commercial touts the benefits of the greater-than HD display, with its haughty 2048 x 1536 resolution, and how your photos will look better. Banderstanch! Pics taken with your cheesy cameraphone and old Kodak digital clunker won't get better with age. The higher the display's resolution, the worse your low-res pics will look.

What about new photos taken with your swanky Canon, Fuji or Nikon digicam? HD brings out all your imperfections. There's a reason why more TV news anchors opt for plastic surgery now that broadcasts are HD. The lens doesn't lie, and there's no Photoshop for live television. There is Photoshop for iPad -- and iPhoto, too. Ten bucks per app might be the best new iPad investment you'll ever make.

5. 4G LTE is simply too fast. Besides the Retina display, Apple touts LTE as another big benefit. Too bad 4G is too costly to use. Wall Street Journal calls it a "video speed trap". Bigger pipes bring HD content faster but also burn through the data cap faster. How's a single two-hour movie to use up your monthly allowance, 2GB, from Verizon. Then the overage charges start.

I must say LTE is fast. I'm consistently seeing 27Mbps around San Diego on AT&T. But I'm scared to use it. :) Wouldn't you be?

That's a wrap and qualifier that Starbucks isn't really giving out lap-mats.