Apple's iPad Could be a Pain in the Neck: Study

The iPad has quickly become a a pain in the neck for Apple's competitors. Now the popular tablet computer is also becoming a pain in the neck for its users -- literally.

A new study published by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that tablet users who hold the device on or near their lap are putting more strain on their neck muscles than someone who uses a normal desktop comptuer.

The study said the findings wasn't unique to just Apple's iPad but it applied to other tablet computers as well.

"If you think about your position when you are hunched over looking down, your head is hanging out over space, so you are using your neck muscles to support the weight," Jack Dennerlein, the director of the Harvard Occupational Biomechanics Laboratory, and lead author of the paper, told The Los Angeles Times.

Ironically, notorious Apple competitor Microsoft funded the study.

The study also found that your average tablet computer user tends to move around and shift more than desktop computer users.

The authors of the study recommended investing in a good case for the iPad that can prop it up on a table, which they said is the best position for the user's neck.

Apple sold 15.43 million iPads in the last three months of 2011 and its continued growth this year is expected to make Apple that largest computer-seller in the country.

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