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Sat, Nov 21, 2009 - 03:37 PM EST  —  AAPL: 199.92 (-0.59, -0.29%)  |  NASDAQ: 2146.04 (-10.78, -0.5%)

Man claims his old Apple iPod nano burst into flames
Friday, October 05, 2007 - 12:35 PM EST

One man from Douglasville, Georgia, claims his old iPod nano got "hot enough to burst into flames," WSBTV.com reports.

"Williams said the burn hole from the pocket of his pants marks the spot of his 15 seconds of flame," WSBTV.com reports.

"'I’m still kind of freaked out that after only a year and a half my iPod caught fire in my pocket,' said Williams. The iPod uses a lithium ion battery -- the same type of battery under recall for setting laptops on fire," WSBTV.com reports.

"Williams said Apple wants him to send his iPod back and they’ve vowed to replace it," WSBTV.com reports. "After Channel 2 sent Apple pictures of the iPod, they called back but they refused to say how common the problem is. In fact, Apple refused to talk about this particular incident at all."

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Adam W." for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: If this did indeed happen, it's a one in a million - make that a one in tens of millions - isolated incident or we would have heard other reports of such a thing happening over the long time period of sales for the previous generation iPod nano .

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Oct 05, 07 - 11:39 am Comment from: Mac Ed

Sure it did... grin

Oct 05, 07 - 11:42 am Comment from: Apple TV too.

What really freaks me out is how hot my AppleTV gets.. I know that all documentation indicates that it is supposed to run hot as the unit acts as a heat sink..

But man, it gets hot enough where the unit catching flame does seem plausible.. I wish you could power it off without having to disconnect the power source

Oct 05, 07 - 11:45 am Comment from: Jake

I highly doubt this has happened! Im sure Apple wants the nano to investigate for themselves. I call BS

Oct 05, 07 - 11:46 am Comment from: KenC

What was he playing? Burnin down the House?

Oct 05, 07 - 11:48 am Comment from: jtmportland

I don't doubt that it happened... cell phones, PDAs, laptops have all been documented 'bursting' into flames. And indeed, the photo appears to show a Nano with authentic burn marks. But it also shows a cable (also burned) attached to the dock connector. So, my question is, why was he charging the iPod while it was in his pants? Seems a bit awkward to me.

Oct 05, 07 - 11:50 am Comment from: jtmportland

Actually... the photo I'm referring to was on the CNN link to the story. Maybe that's a different Nano all together?

Oct 05, 07 - 11:51 am Comment from: I love glossy

Come on, something that hot in his pocket and he did not feel it until it caught fire?

I guessing it was his cigarette ash.

Oct 05, 07 - 11:52 am Comment from: Aurthur Brown

I am the god of hell fire, and I bring you
Fire, I'll take you to burn
Fire, I'll take you to learn
I'll see you burn

You fought hard and you saved and earned
But all of it's going to burn
And your mind, your tiny mind
You know you've really been so blind
Now 's your time, burn your mind
You're falling far too far behind
Oh no, oh no, oh no, you're gonna burn

Fire, to destroy all you've done
Fire, to end all you've become
I'll feel you burn

You've been living like a little girl
In the middle of your little world
And your mind, your tiny mind
You know you've really been so blind
Now 's your time, burn your mind
You're falling far too far behind
OOhhh
Fire, I'll take you to burn
Fire, I'll take you to learn
You're gonna burn, you're gonna burn
You're gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn

Fire, I'll take you to burn
Fire, I'll take you to learn
Fire, I'll take you to bed

-a

Oct 05, 07 - 12:01 pm Comment from: BS

Hey guys,
watch the news video on the article page. Williams is interviewed. There is a tiny burn mark in his pocket & a tiny burn mark on a
shiny piece of paper that was next to the Nano.
He claims the flames came up to his chest!!......

Oct 05, 07 - 12:06 pm Comment from: Sure Am Relieved

Apple TV too:

You know about standby mode, right? (hold the play button for 6 seconds, like the iPod).

Its not a true power off, but it will be less hot (plus, its instant on), It does seem odd that it doesn't have a power off.

I can see the lack of a hibernate with inactivity - people may want to see a static picture. Still, energy saving and all that... Apple got a bit carried away on this one.

Oct 05, 07 - 12:08 pm Comment from: toonie

If this had happened to Dell, the MDN comment would have read much differently.

Oct 05, 07 - 12:19 pm Comment from: Moo

"If this had happened to Dell, the MDN comment would have read much differently."

Doesn't make what they said any less true.
Besides, duh, this isnt DellDailyNews.com.

Oct 05, 07 - 12:25 pm Comment from: Metryq

The only way I can imagine this happening is if the guy had some tiny metal object in his pocket that managed to short the power terminals in the dock connector. That would have to be a pretty narrow, metallic something.

Oct 05, 07 - 12:29 pm Comment from: derelict

He's clearly a liar

Oct 05, 07 - 12:48 pm Comment from: pyeman

my magsafe adapter melted on tuesday. Sent it to apple, and I'm using a new one right now they sent through this morning, covered in the warranty. Thanks Apple!

Slightly off topic, but what with all this fire talk and all.

Oct 05, 07 - 01:41 pm Comment from: Ray

They need to ask any witnesses if they heard him say "Hey Bubba, watch this." before the fire started.

Just my $0.02

Oct 05, 07 - 01:49 pm Comment from: lbuschjr

Notice how the news media says the lithium-ion battery is the same kind as the ones which caused laptops to burst into flames. Nothing like fanning the flames of FUD themselves.

Of course, they probably failed to mention that lithium-ion batteries are used in all kinds of electronics these days. I guess they didn't realize they could have created national attention by starting a lithium-ion battery panic and calls for a nationwide boycott!

Oct 05, 07 - 02:05 pm Comment from: KillBill

Burn down the house... naahh just Jimmy belting out "Light My Fire"

Could have been worse, he could have been listening to "Sleep now in the Fire".

Give it to Rob Endoflife and it might become "Fan the fire"

Oct 05, 07 - 02:14 pm Comment from: Denny

Ah but that's what happens when you watch porn on your Nano!

Oct 05, 07 - 02:26 pm Comment from: shiftOpt k

Am I the only one that finds this comment funny/interesting?

"'I’m still kind of freaked out that after only a year and a half my iPod caught fire in my pocket,'

So, if it'd been 3, 5, 17 years down the road it would have been acceptable? LOL! What does it matter if it happened 1-1/2 years or 10 min after ya got it… if it happened period, I'd of been pretty freaked out. The way that is phrased it sounds like he knows of some strange timeframe for iPods to catch fire or something—also, is there a diff timeframe for it to burst into flames if it's not in your pocket vs. in your pocket? LOL

Oct 05, 07 - 04:42 pm Comment from: Y-City Jim

Why doesn't the TV station test an iPod Nano to see if this happens?

Oct 05, 07 - 05:00 pm Comment from: LorD 1776

Are they still using lithium ion batteries in the new iPods or have they switched to lithium polymer like in the new laptops?

Oct 05, 07 - 10:32 pm Comment from: to Y-City jim

"Why doesn't the TV station test an iPod Nano to see if this happens?..."

My guess is that they are smart enough to figure there are millions of i-Pods, in pockets and out, that have not burst into flames. They might have to film a LONG LONG time testing an i-Pod. long wait.

Oct 06, 07 - 06:30 am Comment from: ishufflemyfeet

LiPos are indeed dangerous. This is NOT uncommon ofr them. Happens with Laptop batteries, R/C plane batteries,etc. They are easily damaged. If the case is punctured or cracked the start smoking first then send out flames. It's true. Go do a youtube search.

Oct 06, 07 - 07:22 am Comment from: Shoeman

@Moo

Doesn't make what they said any less true.
Besides, duh, this isnt DellDailyNews.com.


Couldn't agree more. As Apple Fanboys, our job is to smear anyone who dares to criticize Apple without us learning the facts. As we know, everything that doesn't have an Apple logo on it is low quality junk..

Gooooo Steve, we're behind ya buddy, no matter what you do. Wooooo Hooooo!!!!

Oct 06, 07 - 01:53 pm Comment from: Steve Ballmer

http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
iPod Sets Man's Pants on Fire! Save the Children!
Danny Williams, a young brother from Douglasville Ga. has reported to WSBtv Atlanta that his year and a half old iPod Nano burst into flames in his pocket! He said'
"So I look down and I see flames coming up to my chest!"
The traumatized Apple victim continued,
"I’m still kind of freaked out that after only a year and a half my iPod caught fire in my pocket!"
The young brother works at a kiosk in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, you could hear the anguish in his voice as he exclaimed,
“If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist!”

Why is Apple trying to roast the bro.? Why are these dangerous products on the streets at all? Do YOU have a bad one about to ignite at any moment too?
Apple told Mr. Williams to return the Nano, "we'll replace it (and get rid of the evidence?)"
Nobody knows just how widespread this problem is, except Mr. Jobs ofcourse.

Spread the news! Save a life!

Oct 06, 07 - 01:58 pm Comment from: LTD

@ Shoeman:
"everything that doesn't have an Apple logo on it is low quality junk"

These days, with so much junk floating around, Apple is one of the few that is still committed to product quality and user experience.

Your comment is dead on, even though it's sarcasm.

Oct 06, 07 - 03:38 pm Comment from: BIzarRo BalLmeR

He shouldn't have been playing pocket pool at the time.

Oct 08, 07 - 03:20 am Comment from: Evil Apple

See what happens when you load non-approved music in your iPod. You have been warned.

Oct 08, 07 - 11:09 am Comment from: allgood2

My old iPod nano—the white one— suffered from screen burn after about a year. Fortunately or unfortunately, I already had a newer iPod nano, so I didn't bother to complain. I admit at the time, I briefly thought it could be the battery, but the darn thing still works. You just can't ready the screen because there's a big old dark flame shaped (or possibly teardrop shaped) black with burnt orange trim left offset from the center.

I think it was still under warranty, I should have had it looked at. But hindsight, well and no actually flames.

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