Just a note to everyone who carries around a spare smartphone Li-ion in their rear pocket: buy thicker underwear. The scene you see above was all caused by an obviously volatile HTC Touch Pro battery, one that the pants-wearer claims is an authentic HTC cell and not a cheap-o alternative from eBay. As the story goes, a foul odor led him to a laundry pile, where he uncovered eight moist socks, a torched battery and a ruined pair of pants. Look, we're glad this guy's okay and all, but seriously, can you imagine what this testy little thing would've done when tossed into the dryer? It's a blessing in disguise, kiddo.

[Via phoneArena]

Truth be told, we aren't exactly inclined to believe this here article is entirely accurate, but nevertheless, Modern Ghana is reporting that a resident was recently killed by an exploding cellphone. Notably, this unfortunate accident wasn't due to a faulty battery, or at least that hasn't been blamed just yet. Rather, the young man simply answered his ringing mobile while it was still plugged into the wall, and seconds later, electricity flowed into the cellphone unrestricted and threw the man back. Reportedly, he was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital, and we're sincerely hoping that investigators get to the root cause of all this if indeed the tale is true.

[Via textually]

While Nokia and Matsushita were busying settling the disputes that arose when the phone maker had to recall some 46 million handset batteries, a lady in India has been injured by a Nokia-branded cell that's not on that list. Located in eastern India, the woman noted that the BL-D3 series battery "blew up about 10 minutes after it was put on charge," resulting in a "ball of fire" that led to minor burn injuries to the user. According to Nokia, the incident was "isolated," and if it finds that the handset, battery, and charger are original, the 30-year old victim will supposedly be compensated.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has ordered Nokia's Japan unit to "report by next Friday on details of a series of accidents" involving Matsushita's li-ion batteries that were recently found to have, shall we say, toasty tendencies. Reportedly, the ministry had phoned up Nokia Japan President Tyler McGee to hear his explanation, but apparently, it has deemed that more details are necessary. It seems the purpose here is to examine whether there were "any problems with Nokia Japan's handling of the overheating accidents," and considering that it purportedly took 16 days (6 more than the limit) for that unit to report initially on the problem, it may already be in a bit of hot water.

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and unfortunately, the latest case of exploding battery syndrome led to something far worse than a minor injury. Reportedly, a 22-year old Chinese welder actually perished after a cellphone battery residing in his pocket exploded. The eruption was so violent, in fact, that it "broke a rib and drove the remnants of the pack into his heart," and while rescue crews were able to get him to a hospital, he passed away shortly thereafter. Currently, the manufacturer of the phone and battery are being withheld, but expects in Jinta were dispatched in order to conduct an investigation.

[Via Inquirer, image courtesy of ABC]

We've seen dozens and dozens of aftermath photos from laptops and other random batteries suddenly possessing violently explosive tendencies, but we all know full motion video is more satisfying than simple stills. In this particular case, we're thrilled that the smoking, fizzing Nokia 6280 was filmed while in a location where humans couldn't be harmed, and initial reports are (unsurprisingly) tagging the battery or charger as the culprit. The 3 customer reported that his new handset "began fizzing white smoke" just hours after switching it on for the first time, and Nokia is reportedly investigating the issue. Of course, this isn't the first time a Nokia battery has been blamed for a fire, but unlike the previous case, we kind of doubt the firm will get off as easy here. So if you've actually hung around to read this far, we'll let you get to the fun stuff now, so go on and hit the read link for the final moments of the mobile's smoky death.

[Via TheInquirer]

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, and we actually believed (ever so slightly, mind you) that these battery recalls had reached their end, here's another 1.3 million that are being returned to sender. Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo has recalled 1.3 million Sanyo-derived batteries due to multiple reports of the Li-ion cells generating "excessive heat" and causing "ruptures" in some instances. The batteries are reportedly found in claims made by Sony, but doesn't exactly provide for happy holidays when you consider that the company actually lost users (17,500 to be exactly) overall last month, which hasn't happened since the firm opened in July 1992.

[Thanks, kaztm]