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Japan Demands Probe of iPod Nano Flameouts

Posted by kdawson on from the hot-pockets dept.

iminplaya sends in an item from TechNewsWorld that begins, "Several incidents of iPod Nanos bursting into flames have created consumer jitters in gadget-happy Japan. Apple is downplaying the problem, pointing out that no major injuries or damage have been reported. The problem is due to defective batteries, the company said, and only a tiny percentage of the devices have caught on fire." Japan has seen 14 such incidents so far, two in recent days. iminplaya adds, "I like that. Only a 'tiny percentage'... Is anybody beginning to understand why I would prefer that these devices not be allowed on airplanes?"

10 of 339 comments (clear)

  1. Yes, only a tiny percentage by XnavxeMiyyep · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sorry your honor, I only punched fourteen people in the face after taking their money. That's such a tiny percentage of the population.

    --
    I put the 't' in electrical engineering.
    1. Re:Yes, only a tiny percentage by x2A · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm sorry your honor, I only punched fourteen people in the face after taking their money. That's such a tiny percentage of the people I took money from.

      There, tried to make that funnier for you in a way that I've seen lots of people doing lately, but seem to have failed.

      There, fixed that for ya.

      --
      The revolution will not be televised... but it will have a page on Wikipedia
    2. Re:Yes, only a tiny percentage by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm hoping the /. groupthink is too distracted to notice.

  2. spontaneous combustion by OrangeTide · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only a tiny percentage of people have ever burst into flames. We shouldn't let them on airplanes either.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  3. Because You're Terrorism's Dream Date? by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Japan has seen 14 such incidents so far, two in recent days. iminplaya adds, "I like that. Only a 'tiny percentage'... Is anybody beginning to understand why I would prefer that these devices not be allowed on airplanes?"

    Yes, now I understand that you can be easily frightened into irrationally giving up reasonably safe conveniences just so long as someone says "airplane" near you.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  4. Re:No major injuries... by smittyoneeach · · Score: 5, Funny

    losing your right hand a "minor" injury.

    But in /.-land, a tremendous setback to the love life.

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  5. Re:Why banned on airplanes? by Vectronic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It would only be a nano-fire anyways...

    Besides, of the nearly 0% (0.001% according to BlueG3) of Nanos, of the far less percentage on airplanes at any given moment...

    Say one catches fire, what the hell are the odds of anything but "Shit, Not My Nano!" and a puff of smoke happening? Anyone holding/directly attached to one would notice really quick, and its not exactly a bonfire, dropping it would probably put it out, any in luggage, would probably just smolder a bit, but do nothing but wreck a shirt or two... hell, even in optimal conditions, I don't think anything of significance would happen, unless you happen to transport your nano wrapped in a bag of gasoline or something, and even then isn't the luggage compartments at atmosphere (ie: not pressurized like the cabin?)...etc...

    How many planes caught fire and crashed when smoking was still legal on planes? (still is on some airlines)... probably zero, and thats an open flame and/or ember... im sure a few seats, or maybe a curtain has caught fire from that... ive never heard of a crash or anyone dying from it though [Citation Please?] If it exists.

  6. Flying by statistic by SEWilco · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only a tiny percentage of planes burst into flames, too.

  7. Re:Why banned on airplanes? by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But considering how easy a risk it is to mitigate, it does seem silly not to.

    No no no no no.

    You could get a paper cut tomorrow from a newspaper in a subway station, and it could get infected, and you could die of gangrene! Easy to fix: ban newspapers in subway stations!

    What about that keyboard you're using? Did you know there are springs in keyboards? Did you know that a spring could pop out and go directly into your eye? We'd better ban springs in keyboards, it's easy enough to make horrible springless ones.

    The proper way to tell what should be fixed is not how easy it is to mitigate. It's how expensive it is to mitigate versus the value of doing so. And note that neither of those are measured in dollars - they're measured in a much more abstract concept, "worth".

    Weigh the chance and danger of an iPod bursting into flame on a plane (extremely low, and extremely low, multiplied together) versus the compounded irritation of every traveler in America being unable to bring the most popular music player on the planet with them on a plane (extremely high, times a huge number.) Sure, it would be easy to fix . . . but it's just not worth it.

    --
    Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
  8. Re:In Soviet Russia by BrokenHalo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The worst thing that could happen would be if one of these Nanos caught fire in luggage...

    No.

    The worst that could happen (and quite possibly will now) is that the airlines seize this opportunity to make passengers' travel even more unpleasant than it already is by banning or confiscating people's iPods. I wouldn't put it past them at all.

    It would be amusing to see a mass boycott of all the airlines by all travellers until they learn to stop being such officious pricks. The way they behave towards passengers is not much better than animals might expect from the live cattle export trade.

    The sad thing is that we have largely allowed ourselves to be cowed by this treatment.