Exploding iPhones?

Everyone remembers when the reports of exploding laptops surfaced, and it was found that the batteries in them were overheating and bursting in to flame. In light of these previous experiences, it’s not a huge leap to think that smaller devices, like cell phones, might follow suite. Well, it seems as if that’s exactly what’s happening with iPhones, according to news sources.

In early August, Ken Stanborough of Liverpool told the London Times that Apple had offered to refund the cost of his daughter’s exploding iPod Touch when he and his daughter signed a confidentiality agreement. Apparently, the device emitted a loud hissing sound before shooting into the air.

On top of that, there are two newer reports in France concerning exploding iPhones, one of which injured a teen with flying glass. Again, the phone made hissing noises before the screen shattered. The mother of the boy was quoted as saying, “My son was frightened but he did not loose an eye.”

Although Apple has stated that this is not a general issue, KIRO, a Seattle area TV station, has found that there have been several complaints of burn-related iPod incidents. KIRO spent seven months working to find this information in an 800-page Consumer Product Safety Commission document.

It is obviously taken on some inertia. Witness the fact that the European Commission has launched an investigation spurred on by these and other reports of iPods exploding and causing fire related damage. Sources say that the EU has requested information from France and the UK as well as Apple.

I hope they get this figured out, because I love my iPhone, but not at the expense of my eye.