What lovely New York weather we had this weekend: sunny, high 80s and a light breeze. Perfect for lying around outside and reading a good book. That is, if the book you are hoping to read is not on an iPad.  It seems that some iPads do not like direct sunlight, saunas or long walks on the beach.  When the iPad first went on sale in early April, some technology reporters wrote about temperature issues with the device. But as the summer heats up and people set off for the beach, the iPad’s heat sensitivity could become apparent to more users.  It is still not clear if this is a problem with all iPads, or if some of them are more prone to it than others.  Apple’s message boards have contained sporadic complaints about the temperature problem, as has Twitter, but it does not seem to be a widespread epidemic. One message board thread titled “IPAD Overheating!” has offered a place for iPad owners to argue back and forth over the severity of the problem.  I watched over the weekend as several friends and technologists on Twitter sent messages complaining that their iPads had shut down due to a warning that proclaimed, “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.”  Baratunde Thurston, a Web editor for The Onion, set out to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the High Line park in New York City when his iPad decided to take a nap instead. Mr. Thurston said it only took five minutes before the device shut down, and another 20 minutes in the shade before it started up again.  To fix the problem Mr. Thurston said he took the iPad out of the Apple-brand rubber protective case he had purchased to protect it from drops and scratches. He theorized that the sleeve could cause the iPad to heat up quicker than normal, acting like a fur coat on a hot summer day.  Apparently some naked iPads overheat too.  Michael Galpert, who is a co-founder of Aviary.com, which makes free online design software, said he took his iPad to the beach while it was “bare” and “naked.”  After he used it for a few minutes it shut down and showed the temperature warning. Mr. Galpert explained that he then used a Kindle instead, which worked continuously for the next two hours without any heat issues.  The Kindle and iPad have the same temperature warnings, both stating that the e-readers will work in heat between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.  Although Apple did not return a request for comment, the company offers tips to avoid overheating on a support page. In addition to avoiding ”direct sunlight for extended amounts of time,” Apple suggests avoiding “certain features in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.”
Some Apple iPads are overheating in the sun, although it's unclear if this is a widespread problem or confined to a small percentage of iPads.