Apple sued over iPad overheat issue

Posted on 30 Jul 2010 at 12:15

Not everyone is as pleased with Apple's iPad slate device as its sales figures would suggest, according to reports that a lawsuit against the company is seeking class action status in the US.

A report on the case by Bloomberg states that the complaint seeks unspecified damages and class action status over the iPad's propensity to overheat when used in direct sunlight.

The symptom of what the complaint believes is an unacceptable design flaw is simple: when the internal temperature of the iPad rises, it shuts itself down in order to protect its components - with the complaint claiming that it "turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use."

While switching off to protect against abnormal levels of heat is a perfectly sensible thing for the iPad to do, the complaint claims that the fact the device "overheats so quickly under common weather conditions" means that the iPad "does not live up to the reasonable consumer's expectations created by Apple."

The complaint has been filed in the Oakland Federal Court in California - Baltazar v. Apple Inc, 10-03231 - and as yet has not been heard by a judge. Should it gain class action status - where all buyers of a product are believed to have been affected by a flaw or complaint, and any settlement negotiated applying to all members of the class - then with over three million iPads sold last quarter, the ruling could cost Apple dearly.

Author: Gareth Halfacree

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