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iPhone 5 |
Apple gadgets have a generally good safety
record with few serious defects reported since the first generation iPhone was
launched in 2007.
However, as smartphones become more
powerful, with larger batteries needing more electricity to power them, there
have been growing reports of dangerous malfunctions that have dogged the firm
in recent years.
February 2013 - Marketing manager
Shibani Bhujle, from New York,
claimed the battery of her iPhone 4S spontaneously melted, oozing acid that
destroyed the handset.
January 2013 - An Oregon fire crew blamed an apartment blaze
on an overheated MacBook battery which dropped onto a mattress.
December 2011 - An iPhone 4
reportedly began emitting smoke in a plane cabin on a flight to Australia.
December 2011 - It was reported that
an iPhone 4 was plugged in to charge overnight in Brazil when it began to emit smoke
and sparks as its owner slept nearby.
November 2011 - Apple recalled all
iPod Nanos amid fears the batteries on older models were prone to overheating
and catching fire.
In 2010, a man in northeast China was killed by an electric
shock when making a phone call with a handset that was being recharged with an
unauthorized charger, according to the China Consumers Association.
In 2008 a 3G owner
claimed his phone overheated in his pocket and burned his leg while he was
asleep.
Apple is not the only smartphone maker to
have come under fire for faulty gadgets.
Just last week, a Swiss teenager
suffered second and third degree burns when her Samsung Galaxy S3 apparently
exploded in her pocket.
In May, a Reddit user posted pictures on
the site of his charred Galaxy S3, claiming he was 'awoken by a loud noise and a weird squeaking sound'
to find it smouldering by the side of his bed.
This report came from:-