Chinese man killed when cell phone explodes

[The Overlord]

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/118188


Nothing remotely funny about this, seems to be isolated to third-party off-brand junk they're peddling to the masses in China, and this admittedly was a worst-case scenario. Some people of a more religious bent might say it was his time to go; at the very least safe to say he jacked over by quantum probability. Anyhoo, if you follow the link, check out the jpeg embedded in the article...I'm guessing that ain't it.  :)

One can never be too sure about the veracity of reports that come from the Chinese press, but I can't seen any reason to specifically doubt this one, which says that an exploding mobile phone has killed a man in Guangzhou, China, after a fragment severed an artery in the man's neck.

According to reports, a computer shop employee had likely finished charging a replacement battery and, after putting the battery in the handset and dropping it into his shirt pocket, the whole affair exploded. A bang was heard and another shop employee found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

This is the ninth publicized cell phone explosion in China since 2002 and the second fatal incident, following a similar case that occurred in 2007.

Because details about the phone and battery haven't been released, it's difficult to analyze what exactly went wrong, but past cases like these have typically revolved around faulty batteries, not phones, much like in the case of the recent laptop battery fires and recalls. The real problem involves off-brand, third-party batteries, which are frequently not built to the same standards that most original manufacturers require. In the case of the 2007 explosion, excessive heat from an iron mill is believed to have been the catalyst for the catastrophe.

Advice provided by the Chinese media is just as good over here: Don't use third-party batteries and always use the original charger as well (aftermarket chargers may not run at the proper electrical specs). As with all electronics, keep the temperature under control and -- it should go without saying -- if your cell phone heats up to the point where it's uncomfortably hot to the touch, turn it off immediately and remove the battery (and consider replacing it).

[Mathim]

Can they really confirm if it's true or not? I mean it's not that unbelievable but still, the odds of something like that happening have to be pretty slim. How big a battery/phone are we talking about, anyway? I've seen some pretty big mobile phones so if they have to use those kind there, maybe it's not so unfeasible.

[HairyHeretic]

Exploding phone batteries have cropped up a few times in the news.

[Eleanor]

o_o I have literally, five minutes ago, purchased a cheap laptop battery from china...

[Oniya]

If your cell phone laptop heats up to the point where it's uncomfortably hot to the touch, turn it off immediately and remove the battery (and consider replacing it)

As for the feasibility, the article said he was killed by the shrapnel.  If the phone shattered while he had it up against his neck (I'm thinking of the pose where someone holds the phone with their shoulder so they can use both hands for something else), then a sharp bit of plastic could easily have been in the area of the carotid/jugular.

[The Overlord]

If your cell phone laptop heats up to the point where it's uncomfortably hot to the touch, turn it off immediately and remove the battery (and consider replacing it)

Actually, if it's that hot, it's probably moments from blowing up, I'd call it a risk fiddling with it just to get the batteries out. That crap where the bomb experts stave off an explosion with one or two seconds left on the timer happens only on TV...I'd be more prone to throw it in the backyard and let it explode. Then later I'll get a few of the bigger pieces and mail it to the battery supplier as proof of the brand new laptop/phone they just bought me.

[Oniya]

Probably depends on your definition of 'uncomfortably hot', too. 

[The Overlord]

I'd play it by feel, if it's more like 'hot enough that I remotely think it could blow up', I'm getting some distance from it.

[magnamos]

The fault is not in the device but in the batterypack. It's known that quiet cheap LiPo and LiIo from China and Russia are likely to explode. Usually there are certain specifications those batterypacks have to fill. Those off-brand battery often reach much lower charging states than they should. It results in an overload if used with a common loading device. If you're notebook battery is off bad quality it will be charged to 130% while the OEM Battery would be charged to 100% in the same time.

There are two ways to prevent that. The best way is to always buy OEM Batterys or even the original Batterys. The other way would be the use of an intelligent charging device. It will measure the loading state of all cells before it's starts the charging and therefore, an overload is much more unlikely (still can occure though).

In regards of exploding power. Don't underestimate a battery!

This is an exploding Laptop from Japan.

Scientist are working on batterys with a special nano-structure. They're more powerfull, can be charged faster (reaching 80% capacity after <1 Minute loading time), pack more power and can't explode anymore (operation temprature ranges from -35°C to +75°C). Once they're in the market I don't think we have to care about counterfeit battery-bombs anymore.

[The Overlord]

I've never actually seen a battery explode on an electronic device of any sort, but I've watched a car battery blow up...they'll do some damage for sure.

[Chris Brady]

I've seen a laptop explode.  One of the tech workers I was with needed to go to the hospital for burns and plastic shrapnel in his chest and arms.

[kylie]

A burning laptop generates a good deal of smoke, so I can just imagine the explosion.
*Coughs and blushes.*

The cell phone sounds like something out of a spy novel, but I could see it happening too.