Lawsuit Claims iPad Just Can’t Stand the Heat

Maybe it was the recent high temps which struck the U.S. East Coast, but a lawsuit now claims Apple’s wildly-popular iPad tablet device just can’t stand the heat. In a complaint filed July 23, lawyers claim the iPad “overheats so quickly under common weather conditions” and “does not live up to the reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple.”

The lawsuit also claims when placed in direct sunlight, the iPad “turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use.” Filed in a federal court in Oakland, California, the lawsuit seeks class-action status, as well as unspecified damages.

Apple had no official comment on the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the legal claim Monday. Earlier this month, the Cupertino, Calif. company said it sold 3.27 million iPads during the quarter ended June 30.

[Bloomberg, 9to5Mac]

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SuperMoose
OMG! If iPads are in 100º weather, they overheat! If you put them in direct sunlight in hot weather, they overheat! Look at all these shoddy products Apple keeps throwing at us! LETS SUE!!!!! EVERYBODY’S DOING IT!!!!
Your honour, I find it un acceptable that we are unable to use the iPad whilst in the Sauna! It does not live up to expectations! Apple owes us MILLIONS!
Lawyers, STFU and GTFO
RattyUK
There is a definite operating temperature spec. If the heat falls out of the spec range…
Environmental requirements
Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
Pretty certain 100° is outside that range.
John T
This anti-apple hysteria has gotten ridiculously out of hand.
Kavok
Bottom-feeder lawyers… that’s all this is.. just like the ones looking for medical “victims”… Reminds me of the McDonald’s lawsuit from someone burning themselves with hot coffee because it was…hot..and they were holding it in their lap while driving….
No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket.
cabrach
We don’t have high temperature problems in Canada – but my son dropped my iPad hard on the floor, dented in the aluminum case corner but it still works perfectly. We don’t have quite the same litigious environmentas USA but our lawyers are becoming more active as they have been allowed contingency fees for the past twenty years or so and it is catching on.
Gazoobee
Notice how nowhere in the available press releases do the complainants say exactly *what* temperature the iPad is failing to operate at. They just say “normal weather conditions.”
If it was a serious suit, they would quote the spec on the side of the box and then show the evidence that the iPad failed at the given spec. They don’t, so it probably doesn’t, and the whole thing is just a fishing expedition or an exercise in black journalism.
Ivan Diaz
I live in a place where we have 105° temperatures right now, and i never had a problem with my iPad, i heat the heat but no my iPad, at least not you, i think all of this is a bunch of bull
http://www.tekgoblin.com Matt
I have had my iPad since launch and have not had it overheat once yet! These people must be tossing their iPads in the oven!
Nathan
It gets close to 100 degrees and sometimes a little over in the summer where I live (BC, Canada) but I don’t spend time outside on those days – let alone sitting in that damn heat and trying to view my iPad screen in that bright sun. Frivolous lawsuit.
Ferd
Hopefully the judge remembers to ensure the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff, and also Apple lets this drag out rather than settle. Then hopefully Apple will countersue these folks for potentially lost business. It would be nice if you could sue the lawyers involved as well. They get a piece of the winnings, they should be culpable if the class is countersued.
Mezzrow
I’d say that if it’s uncomfortable for your own body to be operating, then it’s a safe bet your equipment will be uncomfortable as well. I’ve used my iPad outside in New Mexico plenty of times without problems, but I’m not stupid enough to stay outside in 100-degree-heat. I have never noticed my iPad to even feel warm.
http://www.kaplancopy.com/blog Jodi
I was at the laundromat the other day and the manager had one. It worked fine – in hot, humid conditions.
tcww
So does the iPhone 3GS! So what?
charli
Apple has been very open about the temps for use and the fact that if the devices go over or are at risk they will shut down to prevent actual damage. This case isn’t likely to go very far. Other than Apple being made to give a full refund, sans open box charge, to the unhappy buyer.
IcyFog
WTF? Really? I haven’t had any issues of it overheating.
king
I never noticed the ipad over-heating
I am guessing those people are running modded software on the ipad, maybe enabling flash on the device.
Coalition for Responsible Litigation
RattyUK hit on a very important point. Apple specifies exactly under what conditions the iPad functions, and it is in fact functioning within those perameters! So they are being sued because it “does not live up to reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple.” Common sense would lead one to believe that “reasonable customers” should read the operating specs. There are bills in congress like Senate Bill 1504 that want to make it even easier to file these sorts of claims, hard to belive in the face of this ridiculousness…