In an article published on November 22, Gadget Lab incorrectly reported that iPad 3G versions don't include a proximity sensor, and wrongly criticized claims by Pong Research Corp. that its aftermarket iPad 3G cases are specifically engineered with that sensor in mind.
In fact, multiple Apple filings with the FCC indicate the presence of a proximity sensor in the iPad's design, as illustrated by the red shaded areas in the cutaway drawing above.
To satisfy FCC requirements for acceptable radiative energy in wireless devices, the iPad's proximity sensor significantly reduces 3G data transmission power when the tablet is moved very close to one's body. Pong's cases for the iPad and the iPad 2 boast a cut-out over the area of the sensor to avoid triggering that automatic power curb, just as Pong states on its website.
Gadget Lab's criticism of Pong's iPad cases was premised on the incorrect belief that iPad 3G models lack those proximity sensors. We have removed the erroneous article.
Pong also says that its case design spreads and redistributes the 3G iPad's electromagnetic radiation, lowering absorption levels to 83 percent below FCC safety limits. We have not tested that latter claim, but we have no reason to doubt it.
In a September 2009 article (which we have now also removed) Gadget Lab criticized a Pong iPhone case designed to redirect radiative energy away from the human brain. That article similarly dismissed Pong's product claims. But a month later we solicited the help of a radiation lab, and determined that Pong's iPhone case does in fact reduce the amount of radiation directed at the human brain by about two-thirds.
