Are you carrying a bomb... I meant Ipod around?
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http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article6736587.ece
Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company.
The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement.
The case echoes previous circumstances in which Apple attempted to hush up incidents when its devices overheated.
Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month. “It made a hissing noise,” he said. “I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour”. Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where “within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air”.
Mr Stanborough contacted Apple and Argos, where he had bought the device for £162. After being passed around several departments, he spoke to an Apple executive on the telephone. As a result of the conversation, Apple sent a letter to Mr Stanborough denying liability but offering a refund.
The letter also stated that, in accepting the money, Mr Stanborough was to “agree that you will keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential”, and that any breach of confidentiality “may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief, damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties”.
“I thought it was a very disturbing letter,” said Mr Stanborough, who is self-employed and works in electronic security. He refused to sign it.
“They’re putting a life sentence on myself, my daughter and Ellie’s mum, not to say anything to anyone. If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they would take litigation against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling.
“We didn’t ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back,” he added.
Last week it emerged that Apple had tried to keep a number of cases where its iPod digital music players had started to smoke, burst into flames and even burned their owners, out of the public eye.
An American reporter obtained 800 pages of documentation on the cases from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) following a Freedom of Information Act request in that country. However, she was unable to get hold of the documents for months after “Apple’s lawyers filed exemption after exemption”.
In those cases, CPSC investigators suggested that the iPods’ lithium ion batteries could be the source of the problem.
In 2006 Apple and Dell recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems in laptop computers causing fires — some of the biggest consumer electronics recalls in history. As of September last year, 173,000,000 iPods have been sold worldwide.
A number of bloggers have reported cases where iPods have exploded — usually involving older versions of the digital music players. Last year the Japanese Government warned that iPod Nanos presented a potential fire risk, saying there had been 14 cases in the country where the players had caught alight, with two people suffering minor burns.
In March, a mother in Ohio began court proceedings against Apple, after her son’s iPod Touch allegedly exploded in his pocket, burning his leg.
An Apple spokesman said that, as the company had not looked at the Stanboroughs’ damaged iPod, it could not comment. Argos also refused to comment.
The Trading Standards Institute said that it could not comment on whether such letters were standard across the industry, but that it could understand that Apple would want to protect its reputation by trying to reach a confidential settlement.
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http://gizmodo.com/5321307/a-photo-of-a-burn-from-a-flaming-ipod
By now have probably heard a story or two about flaming iPods. After a lengthy investigation, a Seattle TV station managed to score documents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that shed light on how common this problem really is.
It took more than 7-months for KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator Amy Clancy to get her hands on documents concerning Apple's iPods from the Consumer Product Safety Commission because Apple's lawyers filed exemption after exemption. In the end, the CPSC released more than 800 pages which reveal, for the very first time, a comprehensive look that shows, on a number of occasions, iPods have suddenly burst into flames, started to smoke, and even burned their owners.
Within that 800 pages of information, 15 minor burn and fire related incidents reported by iPod owners are discussed. KIRO goes on to describe several of these incidents and how Apple knew that there were defective batteries out there, yet did nothing about it. With over 170 million iPods in circulation, it's not surprising that Apple is trying to keep things quiet. A recall would come at a huge expense—and with that amount of product on the shelves, there is bound to be a few anomalies here and there. The CPSC agrees with this point, claiming that there are not enough cases thus far to warrant any further action.
It probably doesn't matter anyway. As Fake Steve points out, the Seattle connection points to a Microsoft conspiracy. And the burns? Masochists with cigarettes looking for a quick buck most likely. Besides, even if iPods did burn you, you still wouldn't buy a Zune. [KIRO 7 via Fake Steve / Image via Daily HaHa]
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http://www.users.on.net/~eeno/photos/ipod/
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/ipod-nano-explodes-during-charge-248859.php
It seems like every month a new gadget goes up in flames. This month it's an iPod nano that was caught exploding while being charged via a PC. The owner says that the force sent his iPod flying to the ground, where it started smoking and sparking until it was unplugged. Unfortunately, the iPod was out of warranty, so the owner wasn't able to get an immediate replacement. I've had my iPod Nano for a long time now and never has it heated up, so we have to take this one with a grain of salt, but you can never be too wary when charging your gadgets.
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That's why your should always get a creative.
Afterall, getting a iPod = paying more for inferior technology but better marketing.
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http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/12/japan-orders-apple-to-investigate-exploding-ipod-nanos/
Uh oh. Japan's trade and economy ministry is now officially investigating the explosive nature of the iPod nano. The culprit is model MA099J/A -- AKA, the old black and white plastic model already reported to spew "chest high flames," cause bedroom fires, and explode across the floor. The Japan incident occurred in January when an iPod nano reportedly "shot out sparks while recharging." At this point, all odds are with the nano's lithium ion battery. Apple Japan has been ordered to investigate the issue and report back to the ministry with the cause. Kind of like asking the fox what it was doing in the hen house, eh?
Update: Apparently, the Japanese ministry "strongly warned" Apple for failing to report the incident (as required by law) when it occurred. Apple's filing with the ministry came on March 7th. -
http://news.cnet.com/apple-sued-over-exploding-ipod-touch/
Apple has been sued by the mother of a 15-year-old boy who said his 16GB iPod Touch exploded in his pants pocket, burning his leg.
Ars Technica spotted the case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Apparently one day in class the boy "heard a loud pop and immediately felt a burning sensation in his leg," according to a copy of the complaint. (Click here for a PDF copy.)
According to the complaint, the boy "realized his Apple iTouch (sic) had exploded and caught on fire in his pocket. ....Plaintiff A. V. immediately ran to the bathroom and took off his burning pants with the assistance of a friend. The Apple iTouch had burned through Plaintiff A. V.'s pants pocket and melted through his Nylon/Spandex underwear, burning his leg."
The plaintiff suffered second-degree burns as a result of the explosion, according to the complaint, and is seeking in excess of $225,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. An Apple representative said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
Mobile device explosions causing injuries are unfortunately an old story, but in many cases those explosions can be traced to faulty mobile phone batteries that are often cheap knock-offs added by the user. The battery on the iPod Touch, however, is not replaceable by the user.
There are an awful lot of facts that must come to the surface before we know exactly what happened with this particular iPod Touch, but the case bears watching.
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/iPod-Explodes-Shoots-Off-Sparks-for-Minutes-92045.shtml
We've often heard of Li-Ion batteries giving headaches to cell phone owners and mp 3 player users alike. Some stories actually claim devices started shooting off sparks spontaneously, without any outside interference, even inside a person's pocket. This story, however, is something else...
The Consumerist got hold of an iPod nano owner's complaint letter to Steve Jobs in regards to a malfunctioning iPod nano. "Dale's first-gen iPod Nano," according to the source, "was chugging power from his PC's USB port when suddenly he saw it 'explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke'". It did so for minutes, as the disappointed nano owner stated. Some excerpts are available after the jump.
I am writing this in regards to an issue I have had with an iPod nano, first generation. I have included the relevant pictures of my iPod after this incident and links to related issues.
I had plugged the iPod in to charge on Saturday August 16, 2008. I was using the USB cable that came with the iPod and charging via the USB port on my PC. After being plugged in for somewhere between 5-10 minutes I heard a sizzling sound. I looked down on the iPod just in time to see it explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke. I managed to unhook the iPod from my computer's USB port immediately.
I had noticed that a small fire had started on the table I had the laptop and the iPod sitting on, and I managed to extinguish those flames quickly before any apparent damage could be done to my laptop. Unlike in other cases, I've read about, my iPod continued to spew smoke and spit sparks while throwing out some kind of sooty substance from the inside of the iPod for several minutes after removing the cable from the computer. I moved the still spitting iPod from the table and placed it on a book case across the room. I noticed that while doing this, the iPod was still extraordinarily hot to the touch.
After calling up tech support, Dale was informed that Apple would replace his iPod regardless of the age of the device. However, knocking on his local Apple Store's door, he didn't quite get the answer he expected. The full article, along with Apple's response and more pictures of the exploded iPod, are available here. -
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/20155?comment_start=7&comment_count=20
Some of us like things that go boom, just not on our body. If you have an iPod nano, take caution. Atlanta news station WSB-TV is reporting that a man claims his iPod nano exploded in his pants. Danny Williams from Douglasville, who works at a kiosk in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, says he was at work when he suddenly looked down and saw flames coming up to his chest. He believes a glossy piece of paper in his pocket shielded him from the exploding iPod that left a hole in his pants. Lucky for him, TSA didn't see him smoking or they would've thought he was a terrorist.
The fire is believed to have originated from the lithium ion battery inside, similar to the ones recalled for setting laptops on fire. The news station sent Apple pictures of the exploding iPod nano, but Apple refused to comment on the incident—although they "vowed" to replace Williams' iPod nano. Oh, oh, sounds like Apple is in a heap of trouble. Could an iPod nano recall be in the works?
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Earlier this year, another iPod nano exploded while being charged according to Gizmodo. Be careful out there, and don't leave iPods in your pockets.
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Why need bombs when what terrorist need is... Ipods -
k, me won't buy an apple product ever again.
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Ok, I have decided to put my plans away for the iphone 3GS.
Would this thread be considered defamatory if Apple found out about it?
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What to do... now the news are spreading like fire... like saw the article on the straits time a few days ago then come sgforum did not see so revive the topic... and found a lot of similar cases on the net through google....
already state source... so would not get sued ba...
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Kindly take a look at the links below:
I found them while surfing the net.
http://forums.vr-zone.com/chit-chatting/239045-nokia-lost-case-singapore-via-small-claims.html
http://forum.omy.sg/showthread.php?t=2120
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Originally posted by dangerboi:
Kindly take a look at the links below:
I found them while surfing the net.
http://forums.vr-zone.com/chit-chatting/239045-nokia-lost-case-singapore-via-small-claims.html
http://forum.omy.sg/showthread.php?t=2120
Oh... that I read before... in sgf also... the guy was so happy and cocky that he basically posted in every forum that he can find.