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Both Apple and the European Commission's consumer protection division say they are investigating possible cases of iPhones and iPods overheating and exploding.

In one instance, a teenager in Aix-en-Provence, France, reportedly was injured when an iPhone overheated and shattered, sending debris into his eye, The New York Times reports. In another case in the Netherlands, a man last month allegedly left his iPhone in his car and returned to find that it had caught fire and severely damaged the passenger seat, the New York Daily News reports.

Details of these incidents are sketchy and have generally come through second-hand knowledge. A spokesman for Apple Europe, Ltd., told Reuters: "We are aware of these (media) reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don't have anything further to add."

The real issue is whether the malfunctioning devices are isolated incidents or are indicative of some larger problem with the company's technology and/or the batteries they use. Lithium ion batteries, which are used in iPhones, laptops and even electric cars, have a history of overheating and damaging electronics. Last year, Apple offered to replace batteries in some iPod Nano music players in Japan after the government warned that they might pose a fire risk, the Times reports. Sony has had several recalls of its lithium ion batteries. It's unclear whether these latest potential problems are caused by the battery, however.

Image of iPhone courtesy of Apple

4 Comments

1. 1. hotblack 09:44 PM 8/19/09

   I hope my iPhone explodes. The phone is nice enough, but AT&T's service completely sucks. I want out of this miserable plan pronto. Naturally, AT&T will charge you $200 for canceling, to ensure they make their money off you whether they provide you with service or not, and leave a stain on your credit record as punishment for crossing them. ...reminds me of the Long-Distance block charge. Customer says "I don't want to pay an exorbitant rate for long distance." AT&T says, "No problem, we'll take long distance off your account. That'll be an extra $15 a month." Only phone companies charge you for services you don't get.

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2. 2. Mole in reply to hotblack 12:26 AM 8/20/09

   I've been with another carrier for years, and a happy Palm user. Glad I held out on the iPhone til the Pre was released. It's nice.

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3. 3. JamesDavis 08:15 AM 8/20/09

   I have a AT&T smart phone, the Centro. It is a really good phone, but I too have hoped that it would explode because AT&T's service really sucks and is very expensive; $50.00 a month for 450 minutes. nTelos gives unlimited talk and text for the same price, but I am stuck another year with AT&T and I believe nTelos does not have service in my area, so I may be stuck with AT&T's crapy service forever.

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4. 4. mikap72 12:00 PM 8/29/09

   Apple claims, that there has been prior external force, that cracks the display. Simple manufacturing (rather than design) problem in display might still be reason for such problems. This is, anyway TOUCH SCREEN device. It will eventually wear out, if structure is weak enough. More you fiddle with it, faster it will wear out. If there is design or material issue (unlikely, but which would be major problem for Apple) or manufacturing problem (more likely, initial weakness in a batch of touch screens). You have heard about W�hler curve, have you not?

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