FRESH FROM quenching the fire that was the iPhone 4′s antenna problems, Steve Jobs has another bit of fire fighting to do.

Three customers are suing Apple in the US because they say the iPad is rendered “virtually unusable” in common conditions such as sunlight.

The costumers say direct sunlight can put the iPad out of use, as it causes the computer to shut down after only a few minutes.

The complaint filed on July 23 by Jacob Balthazar, Claudia Keller and John Browning – at a federal court in Oakland, California makes multiple accusations against the computer giant.

The complainants say Apple used “misleading and deceptive advertising,” and that it breached business and consumer protection law. The trio also take issue with Apple’s claim that the iPad is “just like reading a book”. “Books do not close when a reader is enjoying them in sunlight,” they say.

PC Magazine editor Zach Honig put his iPad in the fridge in order to revive it when it cut out in hot weather.

Apple has yet to comment on the matter but the firm’s loyal supporters have, however come to its rescue, “I dont know any hardware that is a computing device that says operating in direct sunlight is approved,” said an Apple loyalist of the firm’s official Apple forum.

The iPad’s instruction booklet warns the device could stop working if it is used in temperatures above 95F (35C).

The iPad launched in Ireland last week and over three million iPads have been sold worldwide.