Apple hit with new lawsuit over iPad overheating in direct sunlight

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
A new lawsuit takes aim at Apple over the temperature of the iPad when left in direct sunlight, alleging that the company's multi-touch tablet overheats and turns off too quickly when in the heat.



Filed in a U.S. District Court in the North District of California last week, the lawsuit accuses Apple of falsely advertising the iPad as a reading device when, the defendants claim, it cannot be used outdoors due to overheating.



"Using the iPad is not 'just like a reading book' at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in the sunlight or in other normal environmental environments," the complaint reads. It alleges that Apple's iPad advertising, which claims that reading on the iPad is "just like reading a book," is false.



The suit alleges that complaints about overheating of the iPad "have become prevalent across the Internet and within technology circles." Despite these complaints, it says, Apple has taken no action to warn consumers about use of the iPad outdoors.



"The iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions that it does not function for prolonged use either indoors, or in many other warm conditions, for a variety of common uses such as, but not necessarily limited to, an e-reader, e-mail tool, Web browser and/or game/entertainment unit," it states.



The plaintiffs, Jacob Baltazar, Claudia Keller and John R. Browning, have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple. They have asserted that all consumers in the U.S. who have purchased an iPad are parties in the suit.







Apple is accused of numerous misdeeds, including fraud, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive advertising practices, intentional misrepresentation, breach of warranty, and unfair business practices under the Unfair Competition Act.



The case asks that a jury award the plaintiffs damages, and also assign punitive damages to Apple to "punish" the company and "deter others from engaging from similar misconduct in the future." It was filed on July 23 by attorney Scott Edward Cole with Scott Cole & Associates.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 118
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I have a long list of things that overheat in direct sunlight if this wins. Living in Florida I know about such things
  • Reply 2 of 118
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "The iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions that it does not function for prolonged use either indoors, or in many other warm conditions, for a variety of common uses such as, but not necessarily limited to, an e-reader, e-mail tool, Web browser and/or game/entertainment unit," it states.



    Maybe they need to learn how to ready before they start using the iPad as an eBook reader.



    Quote:

    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)



  • Reply 3 of 118
    finetunesfinetunes Posts: 2,065member
    What's wrong with sitting in the shade or in the alternative place your iPad on a large block of ice on your lap while sitting in the sun.



    Maybe Apple will be sued for skin cancer since the iPad encourages people to sit in the sun
  • Reply 4 of 118
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    I like lawsuits like this, no data to say what the temp it was outside how long before it turns off, they just say fast, and over heats what exactly does they mean. I think if you look up the operating spec of the ipad it probably says 35C or 95F so putting anything in direct sun light on a normal day over time that item will get hotter then 95 F, the dash of car in AZ on a summer day gets to 85C.
  • Reply 5 of 118
    Seriously?
  • Reply 6 of 118
    giosacconegiosaccone Posts: 121member
    Gulp!
  • Reply 7 of 118
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    Maybe they need to learn how to ready before they start using the iPad as an eBook reader.



    Correct. It's not the temperature outside as much as it's the temperature outside lowering/raising the temperature of the machine outside it's operational threshold.



    This lawsuit is going nowhere.
  • Reply 8 of 118
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    Not only can the iPad not be treated "just like a book" in regards to reading outdoors in direct sunlight - but it fails to operate after being used to balance the short leg on a coffee table, a problem not suffered by a book. In further testing I have determined that while a book can be dropped form a 10 story building with little or no effect, the same is not true of the iPad - clearly Apple is perpetrating the single most blatant of all marketing inaccuracies ever in the history of advertising and should be made to pay accordingly.



    Other problems - pages cannot be torn out and used to start a fire - drawing on it with pen, pencil, marker, etc is nothing whatsoever like writing on a book.



    Obviously - the marketing "treat it like a book" has to do with the logical interface and or content of a book - not the physical manifestation of the material from which a book it made. Well, okay it must not be obvious.



    Maybe I should sue God - I have problems operating correctly and a shortened lifespan when I am left out in the sun for too long - sounds like a serious design flaw to me.



    Now I am thinking there is a good reason why Apple's (and in fact a lot of commercial advertising) has little or nothing whatsoever to do with the product - because anytime you say anything that is not designed to be utterly meaningless some moron is going to sue you because the G4 is not really a SuperComputer.
  • Reply 9 of 118
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    In related news, lighter close to gasoline causes explosion.
  • Reply 10 of 118
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Maybe they need to add to the lawsuit the fact that the iPad, unlike paper books, can run out of battery and shutdown becoming unusable
  • Reply 11 of 118
    I can think of no better way to be the target of Jobs' full and complete rage than to attempt a completely unjust suit, right now.
  • Reply 12 of 118
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Correct. It's not the temperature outside as much as it's the temperature outside lowering/raising the temperature of the machine outside it's operational threshold.



    This lawsuit is going nowhere.



    Another attempt by Bloomberg to piss off Apple by making an issue of this. They were the ones who broke the story that Steve Jobs had died by publishing his obituary and also were the ones who claimed that Apple engineers had prior knowledge of the iPhone antenna issues (which Steve described as "total Bulls**t"
  • Reply 13 of 118
    This is exactly the kind of thing that ultimately turns kind kings evil. Take this crap long enough and eventually you find yourself ordering hit jobs on people.
  • Reply 14 of 118
    woofpupwoofpup Posts: 31member
    "Normal environmental environments" - seriously? What kind of lawyer wrote this?!?
  • Reply 15 of 118
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    SO if left in direct sunlight for a period of time and this thing gets too hot, it shuts down.



    That's definitely a reason to sue!



    What happened to end user responsibility for the reasonable care, maintenance and upkeep of purchases?



    The world has officially gone crazy. Hope this one is thrown out in a hurry.
  • Reply 16 of 118
    I have the same problem with chocolate. Maybe I should sue all chocolate makers because I can't enjoy my melted chocolate in direct sunlight because it overheated.



    Seriously though... all of the frivolous lawsuits have an impact on Apple earnings and shareholder equity. I think what is needed is a class action suit by Apple shareholders against all these people who file these frivolous suits. Some are justified, but ones like this are beyond intelligence.
  • Reply 17 of 118
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by woofpup View Post


    "Normal environmental environments" - seriously? What kind of lawyer wrote this?!?



    The kind that knows if he puts the actual specific temperature in the documents he filed that he wouldn't get the case heard at all.



    In other words, a corrupt shyster of a lawyer.
  • Reply 18 of 118
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    A glass of milk does the same thing.... Point??
  • Reply 19 of 118
    sourcersourcer Posts: 12member
    This is truly just taking the piss.
  • Reply 20 of 118
    The reading part seems the same to me, my eyes scan across consecutive glyphs to form phonetic approximations of words my brain recognizes, and combines them into coherent sentences and thoughts for processing.



    It doesn't say "it acts just like a book". I can't tear a page out of it, I can't lose the dust cover, I can't write with a highlighter (well I can but that damn text keeps moving around when I read the next bit and the glass keeps highlighting the old location on the glass, damn!), I can't reliably prop up a wobbly table leg without likely puncturing or fracturing the glass cover, I can't make sure all the words don't change into some other book than the one it originally contained, and it doesn't swell up when it gets wet.
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