Apple Faces Lawsuit Over iPad Overheating

Bloomberg reports that Apple is facing a new lawsuit over complaints that the company's iPad tablet device overheats too quickly in direct sunlight.

The complaint, filed July 23 in federal court in Oakland, California, seeks unspecified damages and class action, or group, status. It claims the iPad "does not live up to the reasonable consumer's expectations created by Apple" because it "overheats so quickly under common weather conditions."

The iPad has a 9.7-inch touch-screen display that lets users read books and magazines, view videos, play games and surf the Internet. In direct sunlight, the tablet "turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use," according to the complaint.

Apple's iOS devices offer an emergency overheating mode that shuts down the device and displays a warning screen until the device has sufficiently cooled down to permit normal operation, allowing only emergency calls on the iPhone. Apple has maintained a support document on the topic of overheating dating back to at least the iPhone 3G, updating it periodically to now include the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad in its coverage.