Apple has issued warning regarding iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS overheating

Apple has issued warning regarding iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS overheating. Apple has issued a warning on its support pages regarding iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS overheating, marking the first time the company has officially acknowledged the problem. Reports that the iPhone 3GS is having overheating problems have surfaced last week, merely days after the devices was launched.

Over the last few days, many iPhone 3GS users have been reporting that Apple's new iPhone 3GS is getting abnormally hot when used in various environments. PC World's Melissa J. Perenson noted in her report that she was experiencing the same phenomenon with her new 16GB iPhone 3GS.

Various U.S. gadget sites such as as Gizmodo and Engadget have circulated reports of the same problem, and PC World's Tech Inciter David Coursey, a hot iPhone 3GS owner as well, was even discussing a possible iPhone 3GS recall from Apple. Others have even claimed a discoloration of the iPhone's back cover due to the device running very hot.

Though Apple has not officially acknowledged a problem with the new iPhone 3GS, the company has now issued a warnign on its support knowledge base, basically putting the blame on users. The warning prompts users not to leave their phones in a car because temperatures in parked cars can exceed the -20º and 45º C (-4º to 113º F) range the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS were designed to function in properly.

Apple says in the support article that "if the interior temperature of the device exceeds normal operating temperatures, you may experience the following as it attempts to regulate its temperature: the device stops charging, display dims, and/or weak cellular signal."

Apple also posted an image (above) of an overheated iPhone screenshot with a message that appears when the operating temperature of the devices is too hot. The company says this is a safety mechanism that protects the components of the iPhone 3G/3GS.

Other conditions that Apple deems as possible overheating causes are: leaving the phone in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time or using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for a long time. An Apple overheating scenario is using GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.

Apple further advises hot iPhone 3G and 3GS owners to turn their device off when the above-mentioned temperature warning appears on screen and move it to a cooler environment, allowing the iPhone to cool down before resuming use.

Apple has sold over one million iPhone 3GSs since the device launched on June 19.

iPhone's 3GS features the New Operating Systems: A Snappy Upgrade

iPhone's 3GS features the New Operating Systems: A Snappy Upgrade. The iPhone 3GS features the updated iPhone 3.0 operating system

It's a big week for Apple fans. On Friday, the third-generation iPhone — dubbed the 3GS — hits stores. And today Apple released its upgrade to the iPhone's operating system, an event that, for some people at least, promises to be as exciting as the repeal of Prohibition. At last, long-suffering iPhone users will be able to copy and paste information from one application to another.

That's but one of a hundred new features packed into the 3.0 upgrade, which was unveiled just in time for a midday diversion. (The upgrade is free to iPhone users, but iPod Touch owners will have to pay.) The upgrade does a comprehensive job of closing what few holes there were in the popular smartphone while extending its reputation for being the most cutting-edge gadget in the gizmosphere.

During the past few months, hundreds of thousands of software developers and other digerati have been beta-testing the upgrade and broadcasting its assorted charms. As the iPhone has evolved into a full-fledged pocket computer, with more than 50,000 applications, it has become a bit more cumbersome to use. I've got more than 120 apps, for instance, stacked 20 to a screen, that I have to arrange or alphabetize by hand. The upgrade addresses that problem by creating a universal search function that can scour all applications; many users are making this their home screen so they can instantly find the applications (or contacts) they want. With the upgrade, iPhone users will finally catch up with BlackBerry users, who have always been able to search their messages and sort them by a variety of criteria. That said, the new search function will not scan the body of messages — just subject and sender data. But that alone will doubtless make the iPhone more appealing to business people and other e-mail-intensive users.

Here are a few other reasons that this upgrade is significant:

Application alerts. The iPhone's main limitation prior to this upgrade was that it could typically run only one application at a time. Now, an application can contact you even if it's not running, meaning you don't need to be using, say, an instant-message app to be alerted that you received a message. This fix, which lets apps alert users via text messages, also means that all those cool-sounding social-network apps that let you know when a pal is nearby will finally work. In geekspeak, this alert system is known as "push notification," and it's something software developers have long wanted. The ways this feature will be used are endless, and useful.

Multimedia messaging. Users can now send photos, vCards — that is, contact info — and, with the upcoming 3GS, video the same way they send text messages. One nice upside is that this enables users to send rich media to friends who don't have e-mail on their phones.

Third-party hardware support. Apple is extending the iPhone platform to hardware makers so that they can attach all manner of things — from glucose and heart monitors to GPS mounts that plug your phone into your car's stereo.

3G tethering. Use your iPhone like a wireless modem and connect a laptop to it. Never pay for wi-fi at a hotel again! At least, that's the promise of this technology. In reality, we have no idea what U.S. cellular partner AT&T will charge users; AT&T hasn't even said yet when it will open its network to this feature.

In-app subscriptions and parental controls. As a magazine guy, I couldn't resist this one. While this feature will mainly be used by game developers — buy the game and pay for new levels, for instance — it'll be a boon to the periodicals business too. We could, theoretically, develop a TIME magazine app and sell subscriptions. And with parental controls, Apple is clearly getting out of the censorship business, putting those decisions in the hands of users.

Of course, some of the new operating system's power will be realized only on the 3GS, which promises to be faster and have a greater variety of bells and whistles (a compass, so that you can see what direction you're facing; a video camera and a 3-megapixel camera) that are missing on the current version. For Apple fans, the only thing that would make this week more exciting would be if Steve Jobs, who's been out on sick leave and is due back by the end of June, finally returned.