Girl, 3, buys iPad apps, using mum's credit card
Should go far
A Sydney toddler bought AU$50 worth of apps using the family iPad, while her parents' backs were turned.
Sienna Leigh, 3, was able to buy some games from the Apple Apps Store, because, her mother, Lisa, 29 says: "It turns out that after you buy one app, which I had bought for her, it doesn't ask for the password straight away, so she's then not played the game I bought for her, [but instead] decided that 'I'm going to go into the app store and buy a whole lot of apps."
Mrs Leigh says she might consider asking for a refund, but as her older children had played the games bought by Sienna, she thinks it unlikely that she would be successful.
Apple told The Age that it was aware of a similar case and the paper has instructions on how to stop other children from buying apps.
Still, it could have been worse: in March, a A four year-old British boy bid £500 for - and won - a bookplate signed by JK Rowling - while playing with his dad's iPhone.
Article updated to correct erroneous information about credit card.
COMMENTS
Here, fixed it for you...
"Lisa Leigh, 29, says she might consider asking for a refund, but as she was hoodwinked out of over six hundred Aussie dollars for the thing in the first place, she's already accustomed to throwing money away".
Now, where's my flame-proof suit...
For my sins...
I caught part of that report.
Apparently these bills are all Apple's fault and no responsibility should attach itself to parents downloading apps offering in-game purchases, failing to switch on parental supervision mode and then allowing their precious little snowflakes to play with their x-hundred Pound phones.
Only once
True - but the iOS devices only ask you for the password once in a short period of time though (try it, buy something, then something else straight away - by default if won't ask you a second time).
The story goes (according to the source), mum bought game, gave vgame to child, child got bored and went into App Store before the password timed out.
The solution?: "I've completely turned off the Wi-Fi on her iPad so she has no chance of accessing the app store at all now"
Note, she says "*her* iPad". What sort of tool buys an iPad for their 3yr old and leaves the WiFi on??
Can't you guys watch Tele?
Dear Reg-O
Look at the Watchdog site from last week's show -- loads of UK iPad consumers have had this happen to their kids http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/09/iphone_apps.html.
Apple ain't commenting from what Mrs. Weakest Link was saying...
Here we go again!
These aren't infant toys! Jesus, my wife won't even let ME even gaze upon the Jobsian device of miracles, let alone let our kids play with it! ( Yeah alright, I have been known to fix delicate electronic gadgets the Homer Simpson way! )
Instead of trying to use a device to occupy your infants, how about you spend a little time with them? I dunno teaching them life's more useful skills like the basic art of simple conversation or God forbid, just allowing your kids to just switch off and daydream while playing some toys!
