Nokia Investigating Reported Cell Phone Explosions 379
Iphtashu Fitz writes "C|Net's news.com is reporting that a man in the Netherlands suffered burns to his leg when the Nokia phone in his pants pocket exploded. This is the second reported incident of Nokia phones exploding, the first one being back in August when a Dutch woman's phone exploded in her hand. Nokia blamed the first incident on a third party battery that the woman was using and warned customers to only use Nokia parts and accessories with their phones. However this most recent explosion involved a new Nokia phone with a Nokia battery installed."
This is scary (Score:5, Interesting)
Is it about to explode? Any links on what signs to look for before your cell phone battery explodes? A search for 'exploding battery' on Nokia.com didn't return any results. Seems like they should take a more proactive approach and at least issue a warning. I couldn't find any.
Re:This is scary (Score:3, Informative)
Re:This is scary (Score:5, Funny)
Does this have anything to do with the type of calls you are making ??
Re:This is scary (Score:5, Funny)
Talking loudly can mitigate this, as the AGC(automatic gain control) detects the higher volume, and so doesn't need to amplify the radio signal quite as much. Not a big saving, but every bit counts.
You can also (if you have a phone with an external antenna) lean the tip of the antenna against a metal object(street sign, light post, scaffolding, etc) and the signal will be inducted into the object and act like a really big antenna. You can see this on those car antennas which are mounted on rear windows without drilling a hole - they use electromagnetic induction as well.
Finally, if the signal is really boarderline, you can try changing the polarization of the signal from vertical to horizontal by holding the phone parallel to the ground. This is a trick used by people on the edge of TV coverage areas, and especially on campervans and RVs. Some antennas are even motorized so you don't have to get out and fool about with a spanner and the U-bolt.
If nothing else works, try circular polarization. This is tricky, as you have to spin around with the phone's antenna as the center of rotation.
Re:This is scary (Score:5, Funny)
If the caller ID says "Mossad", do not answer.
Re:This is scary (Score:2)
Re:This is scary (Score:2)
Re:This is scary (Score:3, Informative)
All lithium laptop batteries I have seen have a little controller that meters the charge to prevent overcharging. They might skip this component for each battery cell in smaller batteries, such in cell phone
Re:This is scary (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:This is scary (Score:2)
I had that happen to me once carrying a couple in my pocket, they shorted with my keys, and the first I knew of it was when I realised my leg felt like it was burning. The things had got to being nearly
Re:This is scary (Score:4, Insightful)
We has remote control cars that took 10 NiCad AA batteries and lasted about 20 minutes. When you took out the batteries they were really hot due to how quickly the power had been drawn out of them.
It is quite normal for a battery to heat up when it is put under a high load or used for an extended period of time. When its both, as in >20 minute call, I can understand that it would heat up quite a bit.
The thing about this incident that I find concerning is that this phone exploded in the guys pocket when battery consumption is at its lowest. The other case mentioned was while the person was on the phone and if there is a defect that is when it would be most likely to show due to it being when the battery is under the highest load.
Re:This is scary (Score:3, Informative)
The one you really don't want to mess with is Lithium Ion. The chemistry inside the battery is so volatile that even slight overcharging can lead to rapid disassembly.
Re:This is scary (Score:4, Insightful)
Given that it has happened twice so far after they sold X million phones I'd worry more about lightning strikes if I was you.
They don't like the term explosion. (Score:4, Informative)
Coincidently I was looking at this stuff a couple of days ago. My Nokia 8250 had started turning itself off when in use. I wasn't sure whether it was the battery dying or the phone so I went to borrow a spare battery to test with.
When I opened the phone I noticed that rather than being flat the battery was bulging out as if it was pregnant. The bulge was enough that it was difficult to get the battery cover back on.
I now have a whole new phone (another Nokia, a 7250i).
A statement from Nokia (Score:2, Informative)
It's the power amplifier (in)efficiency (Score:5, Informative)
The PA must generate (depending on the type of phone you have--GSM, CDMA, etc.--the range to the cell tower, and other factors) somewhere between 0.2 and 1.0 Watts of RF power output. For lots of good reasons, and despite the best efforts of lots of engineers at lots of places, the conversion efficiency of battery power to RF power of cell phone PAs is around 35%--meaning that approximately two-thirds of the battery power consumed by the PA is converted to heat, instead of RF power, as you talk. Since everyone likes a small, light-weight cell phone, there is no dedicated heat sink (or external fan!) for the phone's PA; instead, most designs usually use the cell phone's frame to conduct the waste heat away from the PA. The frame, of course, conducts the heat to the outside world, which in this case includes your ear.
In many cases, to avoid the loss of an RF transmission line from the bottom to the top of the phone (which would result in even more inefficiency) the PA is placed next to the antenna, near the top of the phone--thus exacerbating the ear-heating effect. Since the heat generated by the PA has remained more-or-less constant over the years but the mass of the phone has decreased, the temperature the phone reaches in this situation has increased, making it more noticable. Handling this temperature rise is part of cell phone design, and one of the many tradeoffs that occur in them. Keep in mind that, since it is produced by energy stored in the battery that could otherwise be used to extend talk or standby time--two selling factors near and dear to the hearts of cell phone manufacturers--designers would eagerly reduce generated heat if they could do so without violating other design parameters, like product cost.
The type of heating you're experiencing sounds completely normal and safe to me. I would expect that heating of the battery itself would be unrelated to whether you talked on the phone or not. Rather, it would occur either (a) during charging with a defective or improperly designed charger, or (b) randomly, as a cell shorts out and its stored energy heats itself (and its neighbors) up, and the built-in protection circuitry either fails or (in off-brand batteries) is nonexistent. You can protect yourself against both of these possibilities (to below the lightning-strike and meteorite-collision probability levels) by simply buying and using name-brand batteries and chargers.
Re:Ah... (Score:2)
Ah.. Nokia isn't an Asian company. Try again.
Hey... (Score:5, Funny)
The thought makes me Cringe (Score:2)
Re:Hey... (Score:2)
AHHHHHHHHHH!
Exploding cell phone it is then.
Innovation!! (Score:2)
Verizon (Score:5, Funny)
*BOOM*
Re:Verizon (Score:4, Funny)
Can you hear me now? Cause I sure as hell can't hear you now...
N-Gage (Score:2, Funny)
Re:N-Gage (Score:2)
Is it really a bust? My local Gamestop was telling me they had about a gazillion preorders...
Big Deal!! (Score:5, Funny)
They've been doing that in Mission Impossible for YEARS!
Re:Big Deal!! (Score:2)
If this were America... (Score:4, Funny)
no no no.... (Score:2)
Chris
IMPORTANT (Score:5, Funny)
Re:IMPORTANT (Score:2)
Don't set your ring tone to the 1812 overture ....
He didn't. It was the Haydn's Surprise Symphony.
Okay... (Score:2, Funny)
news report... (Score:2, Informative)
That hurts, (Score:2, Funny)
Exactly what is exploding? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Exactly what is exploding? (Score:3, Insightful)
What model? (Score:2)
This sounds like ... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:This sounds like ... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:This sounds like ... (Score:2)
Re:This sounds like ... (Score:2)
hmmm (Score:3, Funny)
At least untill they have safe alchohol filled fuel cells.
Instead of these new fangled battery things.
Batteries do explode and its not just Nokia... (Score:5, Informative)
Remember, batteries are full of energy -- DUH! One defect and BAM! you have a little bomb after prolonged use. One reason you shouldn't throw them in a fire unless you are really drunk and have track shoes on.
Re:Batteries do explode and its not just Nokia... (Score:2)
Re:Batteries do explode and its not just Nokia... (Score:2)
Re:Batteries do explode and its not just Nokia... (Score:2)
Re:Batteries do explode and its not just Nokia... (Score:2)
I always have track shoes on when I'm drunk... helps me run from the fat chicks at bars...
Hmm... Terrorist batteries (Score:2)
Similarly (Score:2)
Maybe if they spent more time working on phones (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Maybe if they spent more time working on phones (Score:2)
actually... (Score:4, Informative)
*Kerin, Berkowitz, Hartley, Rudelius.
Marketing: 7th edition.
Re:Maybe if they spent more time working on phones (Score:5, Informative)
Informative? Well, at least it's not informed. Nokia has been around in one form or another for over a century. Nokia is actually a fusion of three companies and three businesses: wood (since 1865), rubber (1898) and cables (1912). The name "Nokia" is actually a place in Finland. Yes, we all know it sounds Japanese.
Through the years Nokia has bought other companies and expanded its business into new areas. In fact the company had practically nothing to do with electronics until the late 80's. The company has continued to narrow down its focus, unlike the parent suggested.
Particularly under Jorma Ollila, Nokia decided to focus on electronics and especially communications and started to sell its other functions away. Most of newly formed companies wanted to be associated with the Nokia brand, so many chose names with suitable connotations. Therefore, you now have Nokian tyres [nokiantyres.com] (the 'n' at the end of the word is the genitive case, so the word actually means "Nokia's tyres"), NK cables [nkcablesusa.com] and Nokian footwear [nokianfootwear.fi]. Pretty much every Finn has a pair of (old 'Nokia' or new 'Nokian') rubber boots. Fine boots them. Used them in the army too.
Anyway, calling Nokia simply a "cell phone company", or calling for Nokia to become one, is misinformed. Although mobile phones are definitely the most visible area to the consumer, the company provides a much wider range of communication solutions including mobile base stations and networks. In the consumer market they've made a few lemons though; the IP55 ADSL router, a rebranded Webramp, comes to mind, as does the N-Gage. :) But the MediaMaster was/is a fine product.
Re:Maybe if they spent more time working on phones (Score:2)
Nokia has been making mobiles for years, and they are no "also ran" in the field, they're practically market leaders, both in terms of technology and sales.
I've owned three handsets in my time and two of them have been Nokias. The things are so damn good from all viewpoints - ergonomics, software, etc - that I'd never even consider anything else if I was recommending a dedicated mobile phone. (And, before you ask, I've played around with virtually eve
Re:Maybe if they spent more time working on phones (Score:2)
Singin' Soprano (Score:2, Funny)
Pocket (Score:2)
Is that a phone in your pocket, or... AGH, AGH, AGH!
On Purpose? (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, this is an allegation that'd be hard to prove without insider verification. Or possibly, with some astute multimeter readings.
Re:On Purpose? (Score:4, Informative)
And before you think that maybe the current characteristics can be used, it is not possible. Current, voltage etc will change with change with temp and also with time.
Only thing may be that nokia batteries may come with current draw protection and may be more resistant to an inherent defect in the phonesRe:On Purpose? (Score:2)
Hrm. I don't have a nokia battery with me, but a motorola battery here I guess seems to be microchip free (the lump felt turned out to be a diode).
Re:On Purpose? (Score:2)
Hmmm, what if there were an RFID tag in the battery and a reader in the phone. It could be embedded in the plastic shell and never be found even in disassembly.
I'm that saying that's the case with Nokia, but it's a technical possibility, and there certainly enough companies out there snarky enough to do that.
Correcting the FUD(again) (Score:2)
Lets get to the economics too. Adding such a thing with adequate protection mechanisms will require approximate 10000 gates microchip, plus some analog circuitry. This increase in cost does not justify this.
Moreover batteries are not replaced much nowadays(in GSM). Battery life for a meduim user is around 18 months, and after that time many people change phones. And one thing what people discount is that
tsk tsk... (Score:2)
I retract my previous statement.
Not the second reported case (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, there have been two cases reported *this week* by The Register [theregister.co.uk], as well as the one back in August, so it's not the second reported incident at all.
What I want to know is, when will we see the first exploding N-Gage?
LiON and NiMH batteries... (Score:5, Informative)
Me, I'm waiting for nuclear-powered cellphones! Chernobyl in your pocket!
Re:LiON and NiMH batteries... (Score:2)
Think of the odds! (Score:5, Informative)
A: Millions
Q: How many of their phones explode each year?
A: 1 or 2
Q: How many cars are sold each year?
A: Millions
Q: How many people die on the roads each year?
A: Thousands
Conclusion: You have a greater chance of dying in a car crash than having your mobile phone explode.
Re:Think of the odds! (Score:2)
Re:Think of the odds! (Score:2)
A: None of them, presumably.
Q: How many of the cell phone explosions are preventable by Nokia?
A: All of them, presumably.
That's why this is a big deal, or at least has the potential to be a big deal.
Re:Think of the odds! (Score:2)
Well that's not what the Narrator [imdb.com] in Fight Club [imdb.com] would have us believe:
Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average ou
Re:Think of the odds! (Score:2)
A: None of them, presumably.
Q: Do anti-lock brakes (ABS) save lives?
A: Yes
Q: Do car manufacturers fit ABS as standard to all cars?
A: No
Q: Should there be legislation to make ABS compulsory on all cars?
A: ??
Re:Think of the odds! (Score:2)
Car accidents are *someone's* fault, but all to often its people who hold no blame. They are rear ended, or hit by a drunk driver, etc.
Terrorism! (Score:5, Funny)
Obviously the work of the Teleban...
Re:Terrorism! (Score:2)
Someone please mod Parent up as +1 "Punny"...
I misread this (Score:2)
What's McBride's cell phone number?
This is nothing but a field test.. (Score:2)
Perfecto!
BTW, I'm a Bush fan; however, I simply couldn't resist.
Re:This is nothing but a field test.. (Score:2)
i do. we love conan o'brien ans his gwb jokes are hilarious(with the moving mouth), we cannot let them stop! though, now we have continued supply of arnold jokes too..
anyways.. quick calculations show that nokia makes nearly 200 million phones nowadays per year, maybe they could change the battery type though.. but when talking i'd imagine bulk of explosion to go to your hand instead of your head(the battery is on the other side of the phone). i'd be intrested in also t
I *told* her! (Score:2)
Old batteries? (Score:2)
It makes sense that there would be a short usable life for rechargable batteries.
Sorry! (Score:4, Funny)
Whoops! Next: Suicide murderers in Helsinki.
(Where's Mannerheim when you need him?)
Exploding phone almost boon for Nokia (Score:2)
Second exploding cell phone: "Well, I guess Nokia parts aren't reliable either."
Turnabout is fair play (Score:2)
At least now we can watch someone sue the pants off of Nokia.
-Alex
So THAT'S where they went! (Score:2, Funny)
Was it the charger? (Score:3, Informative)
I don't remember the details, but something about heat building up during the charging vaporized something inside, making the case rupture spraying acid all over the place. Apparently, the phone could still explode a few minutes after it had been disconnected.
location, location, location (Score:2)
Obligatory Fight Club Reference (Score:2)
WRECKED AUTOMOBILE. Jack sets down his briefcase, opens it
and starts to make notes on a CLIPBOARDED FORM.
JACK (V.O.)
I'm a recall coordinator. My job is
to apply the formula. It's a story
problem.
TECHNICIAN #1
Here's where the infant went through
the windshield. Three points.
JACK (V.O.)
A new car built by my company leaves
somewhere traveling at 60 miles pe
Real world lemmings (Score:2)
We will finally be able to play Street Lemmings with real people. As soon as we know the sms code for blowing someone up, all we have to do is to give the people on the street a backpack of bricks, an axe, a parachute and a few more things.
Okay, phreaks here... (Score:2)
You all missed.. (Score:2)
..what is probably the more significant link in the article [com.com]. Worry less about 1-2 phones exploding per year, and more about the consequences 20 years down the line of putting a powerful microwave transmitter up to your head - to quote from the linked text:
Voice-only devices are giving way to real heavy Internet-ready devices with a lot more guts that, at least theoretically, may not be that great to have right next to your head, said Bryan Prohm, a wireless industry analyst at market research firm Dataqu
Re:Maybe.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:battery (Score:3, Informative)
Re:battery (Score:2)
(For AA: Take A5 sheet; put AA cell in middle of one of the short edges; roll it round the cell once; put the second cell next to it, roll it up and fold the ends over, sticking one inside the other to keep the whole thing fr
Re:Sounds like defective batteries (Score:5, Informative)
Nokia claims that they haven't changed materials... my guess is that these phones are getting hotter faster, probably drawing more current to run all the new features they keep adding, and the chemical batteries aren't reacting well.
Re:Sounds like defective batteries (Score:2)
Hacked by Chinese!
Sounds like urban legend. (Score:2, Interesting)
Batteries don't explode in a cell phone situation. It's physically just not possible. Perhaps if they were charging and provided with an external power source that's greater than they can handle. They can certainly leak, they can get warm, but there's no way a battery in use in a device without external power can just "explode"
Re:Phone battery internals (Score:2)
Lithium batteries are required to have a built in fuse, to keep them from exploding if they are shorted. Bare lithium cells have a built in thermisor based fused. Cells for OEM use in sealed battery packs don't have a built in fuse, but use an electronic one in the battery pack.
Re:Hmmmm (Score:2)
The humor increases in direct proportion... (Score:2)
Re:the new model in the incident is a Nokia 7210 (Score:2)
Teenage Boy.
Vibration Alert
Pants Pocket
I'm sure something exploded.
Re:whoa (Score:2)