Apple Sued Over Claims IPad Tablet Overheats in Sunlight, Warm Conditions

Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable technology company, was sued over claims its iPad tablet overheats and fails to operate properly in warm conditions.

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 said July 20 that customers bought 3.27 million iPads last quarter. Introduced April 3, the iPad outsold the almost decade-old iPod music player, revenue-wise, Apple said: $2.17 billion in the quarter ended June 10 compared with $1.54 billion for the iPod.

Apple representatives Susan Lundgren and Steve Dowling didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

The case is Baltazar v. Apple Inc., 10-03231, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.