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Beware the overheating Apple iPad!

By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 12:07 PM

Apple launched their new iPad tablet as a sort of lightweight “living room computer” to replace that bulky laptop and one-up your small smartphone. Like all computers, though, the iPad is subject to temperature extremes that could put its delicate internal components at risk of being damaged. And, like a computer, it can overheat. When that happens, the tablet will shut itself down and display a temperature warning. Apple has apparently built in safeguards to prevent it’s latest gadget from running its overheating processor into a messy puddle of silicon and molten metal.

Should you leave your iPad out in the or absent-mindedly slide the tablet into your oven, the device will protect itself by refusing to boot up. Rather than let you continue to overheat the internal circuitry, it’ll display the temperature warning screen and notify you that the “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.”

For the uninformed, the official operating temperature range for the Apple tablet falls between freezing and “hella hot” – in other words, you should keep your iPad between 32F and 95F. Apple says that the iPad isn’t designed to survive temperatures below -4F and above 113F, even when turned off.

Reports of overheating iPads are starting to hit the web, and could add fuel to discussions about the iPad being a bit buggy out of the gate. We’ve already heard users complain that their PC and USB hubs aren’t capable of charging the device. There are those that are complaining of crappy WiFi reception. Now, it seems the shiny new tablet can’t stand up to a brief jaunt in the sun.

But, for the sake of fairness, we’d rather have our iPad refuse to boot due to high temps than recklessly allow us to run the processor so hot that it bakes itself into oblivion. $500 is cheap for an Apple computing device, but it’s not that cheap.

[Via: Ubergizmo]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...

  • brenro

    Except that people are reporting these issues with temps in the seventy degree fahrenheit range – hardly what I’d call extreme.

  • http://scalaw.com michael leslie

    Our law firm, Scott Cole & Associates, filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for false advertising after uncovering numerous complaints like yours. So far, Apple has done nothing to address the overheating problem, despite all the complaints, and even after being served with a lawsuit. With help from consumers like you, we can bring this in front of a judge, and, hopefully, get a positive outcome for the millions of people who purchased iPads based on the assumption it would actually perform the way Apple advertised it would. Information from iPad owners will be key to convincing a judge and/or jury to hold Apple responsible , and requires only a few minutes of your time. If you’d like to help, please contact me directly at hsalassi@scalaw.com or at (510) 891-9800.

  • Faithjs

    I too have an IPad that is impossible to read while enjoying a day in the sun.   It will shut down after only a few minutes due to the temperature.  I feel Apple should do “something” to make this expensive device more user friendly.  Due to being unable to use my device I will be forced to purchase another type of device (such as a Kindle).