Consumer Reports: From bagels to iPads

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Consumer reports is at it again, this time the organization is trying to torpedo Apple’s new iPad.

I say “torpedo” because it seems to me Consumer Reports has an agenda playing out here. I would think that would be to get as much press as possible and the way to achieve that is to find a problem with the iPad 3.

Think about this — when is the last time you heard from Consumer Reports? Right, you probably haven’t. The last press release they issued was for bagel testing, so there is probably little cause for hype on that one. (Perhaps their hands were still hot from the bagel toaster when they picked up the iPad).

Yet, when it comes to an Apple product, Consumer Reports pulls out all the stops and schedules a segment on CNBC? Stinks a little, I think.

Not only that, the great testers at Consumer Reports once again contradict themselves.

Paul Reynolds, Consumer Reports electronics editor, said on CNBC that the iPad is “hot enough to be uncomfortable at least.” But in the organizations official release it said the iPad “it felt very warm but not especially uncomfortable.”

You remember Consumer Reports contradictions about the iPhone 4 right? That’s when the iPhone 4 scored highest among all smartphones, but on the same day Consumer Reports said it couldn’t recommend the iPhone.

Simply put, I call bullshit on Consumer Reports. I have a new iPad and been using it every day and I don’t see the issues they are reporting. It’s like Consumer Reports trolls the Web to see what people are complaining about and they put that in their report.

They should stick with bagels.



  • http://www.theangrydrunk.com The Angry Drunk

    It was obvious what CR’s long-term goals were when they bough up a former Gawker shit-blog.

    THE PAGE VIEWS MUST FLOW!!!

    • Pfcgrady

      Consumerist was actually a decent blog before they bought it. Ben P. was a great consumer watch-dog. Now it’s just a diluted aggregator of day-old stories. Doesn’t offer nearly as much excellent advice as the old Consumerist did.

      • http://www.theangrydrunk.com The Angry Drunk

        No, Consumerist was and still is a shit-hole of whiny faux-anti-corporate linkbait with a sprinkle of brain dead commenters. Pretty much like everything else that’s dribbled out of Nick Denton’s festering colon.

    • lucascott

      Pretty much. They are playing on the fact that no one will question just how many units they tested to determine, how many scenarios etc. 

      For all we know, perhaps they tested only one unit, one use pattern and in general that iPad will never get that hot. Or perhaps they did get a glitch unit and the results were atypical even for the single scenario. 

  • imthedude

    CR is done anyway. It was a nice idea when you couldn’t read reviews from owners of products at any second, but all that changed with the internet. They’re probably losing money hand over foot, and this is a strategy to get views and attempt to be relevant.

    Out of all the people I know, nobody goes looking to CR for information about anything. I guess Apple will miss the 70+ demo thanks to this scathing review.

  • Adam

    There is a classic science museum exhibit: a block of wood and a slab of metal sit next to each other. Both are the same temperature — that of the ambient air temperature in the room. But when you touch them, the metal feels cooler because it’s conducting more heat away from your skin than the wood.

    All this to say that metal is a good heat conductor, and our fingertips are extremely sensitive to temperature. Previous iPads virtually never felt warm to the touch, no matter how hard you ran them. The new iPad pushes the boundaries of power consumption and thus feels warmer to the touch under similar usage. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing; merely that people in general are uncomfortable with change, especially change that they perceive to be in a negative direction. Therefore it makes sense that a vocal minority would complain about this issue, even if it has no significant impact and will likely be forgotten in a few weeks.

    I do hope that this is as far as Apple is willing to go for the sake of performance, and that next year’s iPad returns to the pattern of thinner, lighter, cooler.

  • crustyjusty

    BTW: I read the last tablet review while waiting for my kid to get his teeth cleaned.  It was from late 2011, I believe.  In their review, they did not include any bubbles for the software or apps that the tablet could run, thus putting an iPad 2 on relatively the same page as other tablets, even though the software continues to lag on competing tablets.  I don’t believe Consumer Reports has the right staff to evaluate products on anything except speeds and feeds. 

  • auramac

    There’s still a lot of media that quotes CR religiously. over the years, as a subscriber, I have not only been misled but shocked by the inadequacy of much of their ratings- particularly electronics such as VCR’s, computers, washing machines… It’s not my father’s CR, which is too bad. They used to be a bit more reliable, and no joke. Nowadays- pathetic.

  • MysteriousRacerX

    CR, please wire your heads and asses together and at least be consistent (even if it’s consistently stupid).

    “It’s hotter than the Sun!! … no wait, actually, it’s just slightly warm.”

  • Logic Wins Out

    Best way for any consume to test this for him or herself: 1)Walk into any Apple Store after, oh, let’s say, 4 P.M. 2)Walk up to an iPad display table whereupon the iPads have been on display, running an intense video screensaver alternating with heavy consumer use for the past 6 hours or so, sans reboot. 3)Pick up the iPad and see how warm it is. 4)Repeat for each device on display at as many stores as you like.

  • Logic Wins Out

    Sorry. “consume” should be “consumer.”

  • swotam

    Does anyone pay attention to Consumer Reports? I suppose they do, but it seems that all they’re interested in these days is link bait.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/6YOLOOHBSU5362ZLCIRPEOCMVQ Samuel

    My new iPad isn’t too hot, although I do notice the heat.

    Another non-issue.  Consumers Reports has always had an anti-Apple bias, not sure why and certainly not sure why it persists to this day.

    Disclaimer: I susbscribe to CR.

  • http://twitter.com/greg42 Greg

    I sure don’t hold CR as any good on its own anymore.  I might take their opinion into account along with others, but might not, depending upon what the product is.

  • http://twitter.com/Moeskido Moeskido

    Consumer Reports and Greenpeace have the same publicist, it seems. I imagine both are reaping the rewards from compromising their principles.

  • Toaster

    I do not recommend Consumer Reports. Problem?

  • Deborah M. Budd

    I saw the news footage on late-night local news.  What they provided to news media was a clip of a test person doing an infrared scan of two iPads (a 2 and a New) side by side, playing the same game for 45 minutes. So, hardly a conclusive scientific test (although the new iPad did show much “hotter” on the scan, and a picture is worth a thousand scientific protocols…)

  • Mike10001613

    As a long-time Apple cultist I believe Apple has now become The New Microsoft.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Gavin/1236650416 Jim Gavin

    Is the newest iPad hotter than the iPad2? Yup. Nuff said. BTW Dalryniple it’s NOT the iPad3. Go enjoy your bagle :-) ~