I just got my IPAD2 a few days ago concerned my battery only lasts a few hours thought it was supposed to last for ten hours. Is my new IPAD2 defective???
Although the iPad's battery life is certainly amazing (often 9 hours or more), how long it will last depends on a combination of some settings and how it's being used.
The biggest energy glutton is screen brightness. Moving the brightness from 100% to 75% or less can make a very big impact on battery life. Watching movies, GPS and other high-demand CPU activity can take a toll as well. Here's more information that might be helpful:
Optimize Your iPad Battery Settings
You might also try resetting (not restarting) your iPad. That can often smooth things out in a number of areas. (It's not needed on a regular basis mind you, only when things aren't working properly).
- Reset the iPad: You can do this by pressing the Home button and the Sleep/wake button on the top the iPad's case and holding them down together for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo. The iPad should then reset itself. The boot up process takes a few minutes and then the iPad should be responsive again. More here:
iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Turning off and on (restarting) and resetting
FWIW I can usually get 7 to 9 hours or more on my iPad in mixed daily use. My brightness level is usually set at about 60% which works very well for me inside....higher outside of course.
That said, if you've charged your iPad to 100% and it only lasts a few hours doing anything, then yes, that's not normal and you should contact Apple, either by visiting a local Apple store or...
Apple - Support - iPad - Contact Support
Apple - Support - Contact Support
Contacting Apple for support and service
BTW, I'm going to give your question its own thread so that others can respond/benefit.
Hope that helps and let us know how it goes!