back to article Exploding iPhone injures French teen

A French teenager has been injured by his girlfriend's exploding iPhone, little more than a week after Apple was accused of trying to suppress news of an exploding iPod Touch. According to the AFP, Marie-Dominique Kolega contacted Apple after her son was hit by a flying piece of Jobsian status symbol. Apparently, the iPhone …

COMMENTS

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  1. Richard Scratcher
    Coat

    Exploding iPhone?

    There's an app for that!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Apple is scum

    But what else is new?

  3. Steve Evans
    Flame

    @Richard Scratcher

    LOL!

  4. Stevie

    Zut!

    Sarcred blue! The iphone of the young woman should not explode into the eye of the young man! He has the good luck that shards flying didn't not injure severely him.

  5. Nordrick Framelhammer
    Jobs Horns

    What's the bet...

    that crApple will start claiming the explosions of the IHaveNoPenisPhone is being caused by them being jailbroken.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Apple products just works

    Except they don't.

  7. OmniCitadel
    Joke

    Hmmm I think they picked the wrong name...

    On the drafting board was also the name: "i-Xpload" but Apple was afraid of being sued by Sony.

  8. Chas
    WTF?

    Get a grip!

    And how many devices from other manufacturers that use Li-on batteries are similarly affected? A little research shows this affects other OEMs as well, not just Apple.

    In any case, Apple don't make the batteries. Nice to see the anti-Apple whingers miss that point completely as well. For 10 nostalgia points, which Japanese manufacturer was recently humiliated by a massive recall of their defective batteries?

    =:~)

  9. Tone
    Grenade

    Lol at the reg staff..

    that said iphones dont explode in ipod story comments.

  10. Ned Ludd
    Thumb Down

    Antifanboiism aside...

    Refunding the purchase price seems fairly paltry as far as hush money goes.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Apple just works...

    Oh yes it does... fireworks!

    Mind you, if one of them things went up in your pocket, it could take your liver out!.

    You don't think.... noooo. Definately not.

  12. Coyote
    Stop

    Something odd is going on here...

    It's unlikely, and I mean HIGHLY unlikely a drop or a bump would cause the LiPoly battery to explode like that. Lithium ION batteries have a well-known "venting" hazard, and all of the exploding laptop/phone/(older)iPod stories we've heard so far involved Li Ion.

    Current generation iPods, iPhones, and now even Macbooks use Lithium Polymer batteries. One, that's the only way they can get the batteries small enough to fit in really thin devices. Two, Li Poly is supposed to eliminate that so called "energetic decomposition".

    As for the "exploding when dropped"? I have personally seen iPhones that were squashed flat in a variety of ways, including backed over by a construction vehicle and dropped several stories. In some cases, the battery was the only part of the device that wasn't damaged. In most cases, just the glass and LCD are cracked. The plastic cases of the 3G don't fare so well either.

    Even if you did damage the battery pack? Hell, there's a "will it blend" video of the iPhone. When the battery gets ground up, all you get is a lot of black dust from the carbon substrate. No smoke or flames, although some other devices with Li-Ion batteries combusted visibly in the blender.

    My hunch? When it was Nokia phones exploding, the cause was determined to be 3rd-party batteries. These 'Apple' products that exploded because someone looked at them funny are probably knockoff devices. There's a lot of them out there, and the one thing they have in common is shoddy quality.

  13. El Mono Grande
    Flame

    iBOOM!

    I wonder if the new iTablet will suffer from the same "non-issues".

  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    It just works...

    Or in this case "It just explodes"

  15. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Reasons?

    Have there been any published reasons (by Apple or others) about what is causing these explosions?

    I'm guessing that the owners of the exploding iP(od|hone)s have probably been exposing them to a temperature which they have not been designed to run in.

  16. Disco-Legend-Zeke

    The Ford Pinto of electronics.

    The amount of energy stored in a modern battery is about the same as it's weight of black powder.

    But still he didn't lose an eye... so it's therefore safer than a pointy stick.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh god no!

    15 phones out of how many?

    How many of these are using the cheap one pound chinese made iPhone chargers slogged around the word for next to nothing?

  18. h 6
    Dead Vulture

    NOTE

    Note to self: if iphone hisses, back away immediately!

    Seriously I just wonder what these people have made their iphone/touches suffer for them to explode like that. And as usual ad of late at El Reg it seems, no real news--just headlines and beating a dead horse I MEAN repeating past headlines.

    Tisk.

  19. Seán

    Apple are scum

    Apple advertise on the glen beck show in the states, their muck is proprietary they overcharge and they indulge in the scam which is software patents. Their cancerous god stevesi thinks polo necks are cool and their designs all look like trash from the late sixties painted white. AppleFanbois are suckers but at least there will be less of them now so that's a good thing.

  20. Richard Cartledge
    Thumb Up

    I don't see the problem

    This is what LiPo batteries do, you either have rubbish battery life, or ones with a very high energy density that are not user-replaceable and can shoot out a flame in protestation if they so desire.

  21. Mark Monaghan
    Grenade

    Marketing opportunity?

    Just announce that your product now has a lifetime guarantee.

  22. Adam Foxton

    @Richard Scratcher

    Alternatively: Self Destruct? There's an app for that!

    Want to try to talk to snakes? There's an app for that!

    Would "It just blew up, m'lud!" be a defence in court if you wanted to get rid of some data?

  23. rhdunn
    Flame

    Mission Impossible?

    ... this iPhone will self-destruct in 30 seconds.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    @Richard Scratcher

    very good.............

  25. Paul E

    Probably

    A cool well designed explosion though!

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Refund *if* you sign a waiver?

    I'd take a refund with no strings, thank you very much. It would be the least they could do. You'd get that for it just being under manufacturer's warranty!

    "We're sorry your iPhone exploded, but we'd be happy to perform our contractual obligation and refund your money, if only you sign this piece of paper."

  27. kain preacher

    iClaymore

    iMine, iC4. Apple should make ordnance.

  28. Paul 121
    Coat

    @Mark Monaghan

    Would that be the owner's lifetime or that of the product? If it's the former I can see this as some kind of way to avoid that guarantee.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apples new Military line

    Apple is pround to announce its new line in Military Weapons

    Introducing the iGrenade*

    If the 70s disco music doesnt kill your enemy, the exploding battery will! **

    Comming 2010, The iMine, Looks like a normal Tablet PC untill you step on it!

    *Formally knows as the iPod

    **Warning may explode without warning when dropped, damaged or looked at in a funny way!

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    iExploder

    It's an advanced form of Planned Obsolescence.

  31. Mark 65

    Simple

    Just replace the battery, doh!

  32. Steve Roper
    Flame

    If that had happened to me

    I would NOT be accepting the refund conditionally on signing an shutup contract. Australian law REQUIRES the seller of a faulty product to refund the buyer unconditionally. What I would be doing is asking for that condition in writing and then take it straight to a solicitor with a view to suing Apple not only for the dangerous product but also violations of the Trade Practices Act.

    And I thought Microsoft were scum. They're altruistic philanthropists compared to Apple. And that's why I've never bought an Apple product, and never will. Scumbags.

  33. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    aPpLe woulden´t....

    .. try to silence people if it were knockoff Iphones or if the user was responcible for the explosions. They would be very public about how tampering with them was dangerous or how knockoffs were made to kill or something. The last thing they would do was to cover it up. But they DO try which indicates that there is something VERY wrong with the Iphone.. Who should have thought..

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The "what's the problem, its only a small percentage" defence..

    Do you think that would work for boeing?

    Yes the plane did blow up without any reason but its only a small percentage so nothing to worry about people....

  35. CaptainBlue
    FAIL

    Additional operations required

    I wonder if - like their annoying TV ads - more steps are required before the explosion takes place?

  36. King Edward I
    Joke

    No!

    This was a feature. It was an Ap insalled by the girls father call iWantYouToStayAwayFromMyDaughter and when the young gentleman got too close... poof! It aimed for the eyes!

  37. ElNumbre

    Whut?

    He didn't loose an eye? Whut?

    May as well say "It didn't blow his cock off" or "His toe didn't fall off".

    CESM...

  38. tiggertaebo
    Joke

    He didnt lose an eye...

    ...so does that mean its still "all fun and games" ? :)

  39. Paul 131
    Megaphone

    @Anonymous Coward

    Show us ya balls son!

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    It took your leg...but thats fine..WTF?!

    can the fanbois PLEASE get a hold of this one.......it doesnt REALLY matter if there are a billion iphones and ipod touches out there, it doesnt REALLY matter if every other manufacturer has problems with exploding batteries. The fact of the story is this.....ipod touches and iphones CAN in SOME cases explode and Apple havent really done themselves any favours in sorting out the issue, instead just hoping to cover it up.

    Im sure that these fanbois would suddenly change their tune (or should that be itune) if THIER iphone exploded in their faces.... bloody hell.......

    anyway, I thought the iphone/ipod were built in China, hence ALL of them are cheap Chinese knock offs.......

  41. shaunm

    I smell another law suit

    Don't get me wrong apple software is sleak, easy and safe but their hardware is not what it used to be.

    Check this out: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/2723705/Macbook-cracks-upset-Apple-fans

  42. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    @Coyote

    "These 'Apple' products that exploded because someone looked at them funny are probably knockoff devices"

    Errrr, FAIL

    Apple has investigated each exploding device, and if there was the merest hint they were "knock-off" Apple would have not only kicked the claims into touch, they would have taken out played massively on how dangerous the knock-off devices are (e.g. jailbreaking can destroy cell towers!!!). However not only is Apple willing to refund the purchase price, they are attempting to hush the victims - an admission of guilt in itself!

  43. Lionel Baden
    Jobs Horns

    @vishal

    Im sure that these fanbois would suddenly change their tune (or should that be itune) if THIER iphone exploded in their faces.... bloody hell.......

    You see thats where your wrong you ever played lemmings ????

  44. lasersage
    FAIL

    @coyote

    further to ACs comments about (non)knockoffs, he's entirely incorrect about LiPo batteries, just watch a you tube clip of a LiPo from an RC model being overcharged

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DcpANRFrI4&feature=fvw

    similar things happen if you dent them bad enough to perforate the container.

  45. Shakje

    @Chas

    "In any case, Apple don't make the batteries. Nice to see the anti-Apple whingers miss that point completely as well. For 10 nostalgia points, which Japanese manufacturer was recently humiliated by a massive recall of their defective batteries?"

    So a guy goes up a ladder given to him by his boss and the rungs break. The boss' defence is "Sorry guv, but I bought it cheap from a guy down the road, it must be his fault."

    If the batteries are cheap and defective, why do Apple still buy them? And more to the point, if they're so shit why do you still buy them? Twat.

  46. Richard 102
    Flame

    That does it

    I'm going back to my WinMobile machine. [DONS HARD HAT FOR FLYING CHAIRS]

  47. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
    FAIL

    iOut

    If it were the singed punter's fault Apple would be laughing at them, not trying to get a signed agreement to keep their mouth shut.

    In a commercial world I can understand an apology, money back, compensation, good will payment and an NDA, but this just reeks of trying to sweep it under the carpet, falsely maintaining the 'iPerfect' image for the fanbois to propagate.

    Sure, other companies and products have similar problems, but how many hold their customers in such low regard ?

  48. Mark Greenwood

    @lasersage

    "similar things happen if you dent them bad enough to perforate the container"

    Nonsense. I've spent hours shooting LiPo batteries with air rifles, poking them with knives, throwing them around etc just to see if they'd burn (I was worried about my house insurance, see*). I've never managed to get any smoke out of one yet. I have however, managed to blow a hole in a concrete floor by messing around with an old Ni-Cd battery (you know, the ones that LiPos replaced that everyone said were completely safe).

    You're right about the overcharging though. Also overdischarging can do this too. The iPod/Phone software will be responsible for monitoring this and preventing it from happening.

    But I wonder how many of these exploding devices have been charged up using dodgy bits of wire they found in a cupboard?

    *and I'm a pyromaniac

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Bomb?

    Take a iphone with you on a plane. Blow up. Kill everyone.

    Blow up a plane, Only on the Iphone

  50. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    iphone-maniacs

    Wow, my comments are being culled left right and center here by the astute El Reg nimdas. I wonder how many of them have iPhones! ;-P

  51. gollux
    Alert

    Jesus phone...

    attempts to rapture user. Message was, "Sorry for the pain, but it's time to come home".

  52. relpy
    Boffin

    He didn't lose AN eye?

    What about the other one?

    Goggles next time I use my phone!

  53. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Explosive comments!

    See funny comments here, the pwnage continues:

    http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/10/review_phone_htc_hero/comments/

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