The widely followed group that reviews everything from electronics to cars, said on Monday that it did not find the higher temperatures to be cause for concern.

The nonprofit organization also tested the iPad for concerns about poor battery recharging when playing an intense video game.

"The problem was limited to times when the device was playing a demanding game with the screen fully bright," it said.

Consumer Reports had earlier found that the new iPad reached temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit (47 Celsius) after 45 minutes of running an intense action game. That meant the new iPad was hotter by up to 13 degrees Fahrenheit than the previous model under similar conditions.

The third iteration of the iPad is off to a strong start with sales of more than 3 million units since it hit store shelves last month.

The group generated headlines in 2010 when it said it could not recommend the iPhone 4 to buyers due to signal reception issues.

Apple's co-founder, the late Steve Jobs, called a press conference to address the issues laid out by the publication and then gave consumers free bumpers, a frame-like cover, with the phone as the nonprofit group had said the case fixed the reception problem.

Reviews for the new iPad have generally been good. The latest version from Apple is not a complete redesign of the iPad 2, but takes advantage of faster 4G wireless technology and has a sharper display.

The iPad's "retina" display impressed Consumer Reports, which said the tablet had "achieved the highest score we've ever recorded for color accuracy in a tablet."

U.S. wireless carrier Verizon Communications Inc also drew praise for its 4G network, which the group said was fast and dependable.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Matt Driskill)

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