Cool running
Regulators in Finland have objected to a get-out clause in the iPhone warranty contract which allowed sellers to give broken phones the cold shoulder.
Finland, just like the UK, requires goods to be fit for purpose, and no amount of small print in the contract can change that, so it was with some surprise that Finns have been finding that using the iPhone outdoors in their harsh sub-zero winter can void the warranty. In the small print, it defines the operational range as zero to 35 centigrade, but Finnish regulators say this is unreasonable. People expect to use mobile phones when they are mobile. Unless the sales staff specifically pointed out the limitations of the phone at the time of sale, then the Finnish customer is entitled to expect the mobile phone will work outdoors in the Finnish winter.
Whilst this story has been highlighted by Finns who take knee-deep snow in their stride, it could apply to mobile phone providers across the EU. Whilst the UK has mild winters, it is not unusual for us to have sub-zero nights. Does the small print on your phone contract say the warranty is void if you use it in extreme conditions and in even smaller print is "extreme" defined as below zero? And at the other end of the scale, are you in danger of voiding your warranty if you take an exotic Italian holiday in the summer?
These days, most of our electronic equipment becomes obsolete faster than we can change the batteries, but where equipment fails, thermal stress is often the culprit. When circuit boards heat up and cool down they expand and contract, and this eventually introduces microscopic fractures into the circuitry causing data errors and intermittent failures. The smaller our electronics become, the more damaging these micro-fractures are. If you want to prolong the life of your SatNav, for example, avoid leaving it attached to the windscreen on cold winter nights and hot summer days.
28th February 2011
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.