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]

Not even a month after three iPods got all hot and bothered on separate occasions, along comes images showing that even Apple's iPhone isn't immune to melting itself. Purportedly, the handset was purchased from Carphone Warehouse in December, but was never activated for one reason or another. Just this week, the owner's son slapped it in a dock with intentions of activating, walked downstairs to catch the last few minutes of Magnum, P.I. and returned to his room to find a "stupidly hot" iPhone which had already melted in some parts and had its screen cracked from the reaction. Not surprisingly, he's currently in the middle of a runaround trying to get someone to remedy the issue, but thankfully no Earthlings, carpets or IKEA desks were harmed.

Update: Thanks to Logan5's quick eyes, it appears we've discovered a scammer in our midst. Essentially, this bloke posted the real story here noting that the crack (more on that here) actually appeared after it was mishandled and dropped. Haven't we learned this approach doesn't work by now?

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]

This certainly won't be the first time that an exploding cellphone battery has been pegged with blame before all the facts shook out, but now it seems that the South Korean worker who perished yesterday was in fact not killed by his mobile. Reportedly, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation "said the injuries were too substantial to have been caused by a battery explosion," and an unnamed medical examiner was quoted as saying that it was "difficult to conclude that the damage of internal organs was caused by [the explosion]." Details are still likely to unfold in the coming weeks, as it will be about a fortnight before autopsy results are analyzed and a final conclusion is drawn. Seems that "virtually impossible" notion from LG may be accurate after all, eh?

[Image courtesy of Yonhap News]

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.

Not that it doesn't completely go without saying, but whenever you start hacking any battery-powered portable device, you need to freaking be careful. Otherwise you might end up like dude here who was pulling a Geohot on his iPhone when short circuited and became red hot, releasing the magic smoke hither locked inside the device's electronics. Lesson learned: you take your phone, even your life, into your own hands when screwing with components, so be gentle and careful, will you?

[Via Engadget Spanish]

C'mon, you didn't think Nokia was just going to sit around with 46 million bum batteries on its hands and not play the blame game, didya? Reportedly, when Nokia's worldwide CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was asked whether Matsushita (the batteries' manufacturer) would be held liable for the fiasco, he responded by saying that the firm was "investigating" the issue, and noted "...of course they are responsible to us." Currently, Nokia has yet to divulge what kind of financial impact this whole mess will have on the company, but it's apparently planning to pass along at least some of the connected costs to Matsushita. Furthermore, Nokia's chief refused to comment when asked about the future relationship between the two outfits, but we're sure true feelings will become evident in due time.

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 two days ago California fire department authorities pinned the blame of damaging hotel fire on a malfunctioning cellphone battery, but after further inspection, it seems that the mobile's battery isn't the culprit after all. Engineers from 2125i could not have sparked the blaze that resulted in $75,000 worth of property damage and severe burns to Luis. Upon testing the phone, they discovered that "the electronic circuitry in the phone was undamaged and that the battery was still functioning," with a Vallejo Fire Department investigator adding that the battery performed flawlessly after surviving the fire, which eliminated it from being a suspect. Unfortunately, it looks as if the real case of the blaze may "have been destroyed in the fire," but thankfully, Mr. Picaso is in "critical but stable condition" in a Sacramento hospital.

[Thanks, DeShaun]

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]

Far be it from us to revel misfortunes of others, but is it really heartless of us to have a chuckle at the thought of a little kid getting nailed in the chest by phone charger shrapnel? Yeah, we suppose it is, but at least we're on the up about it, which is more than we can say about Sony Ericsson and their CST-20 charger. Turns out a UK man recently had a run-in with a rogue CST-20 unit, which after being plugged in for 45 seconds blew up in his kitchen. The room was sprayed with shrapnel, and the man's three year-old son was nailed in the chest with the lid of the unit. Along with tripping the circuit breaker and filling the house with fumes, the explosion managed to get a vulgar yell out of the man's wife upstairs, which really seems to make it all worthwhile. The man doesn't think so, and is of course looking into the matter legally. Sony Ericsson says the CST-20 is built by a different manufacturer than the one responsible for the infamous CST-13 of 2003.

[Via textually.org]