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Another Samsung Galaxy phone explodes; man being treated for second-degree burns

Monday, February 4, 2013 · 12:02 pm · 43 Comments

“Another Galaxy smartphone has exploded and injured its owner. Bupyeong Fire Station in Incheon on Sunday said a 55-year-old man reported the previous day that his smartphone battery blew up in the pocket of his pants,” The Chosun Ilbo reports.

“The man said he was carrying a Samsung Galaxy Note along with a spare battery in his pocket before they suddenly blew up,” The Chosun Ilbo reports. “He is being treated for second-degree burns to his right thigh.”

The Chosun Ilbo reports, “In March last year, a schoolboy in Gwangju suffered an injury when his Galaxy S2 smartphone exploded in his trouser pocket.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Derivative crap.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]

Categories: News

Tags: Galaxy exploded, Galaxy Note, Galaxy SII, ios, iPad, iphone, samsung, Samsung Galaxy explosion, Samsung Galaxy fire, Samsung phone explosion, stolen product

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Comment Feed

43 Comments

iSundanceTaos

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:12 pm · Reply

It’s sad that regular user got injured instead of Samsucks or Goog-pirate executives.
- coolfactor
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:39 pm · Reply
  
  It’s sad that you’d enjoy anybody being hurt.
  - auramac
    
    Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:36 pm · Reply
    
    I agree.
  - Cynic
    
    Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:58 pm · Reply
    
    Not a fan of the Stooges, eh?
    - keembo
      
      Monday, February 4, 2013 - 3:06 pm · Reply
      
      The article on the exploding phone looks to me like only owner error. Unlike the iphone 4 that exploded while charging, or the iphone 4 that exploded on the Australian plane, this owner was carrying a spare battery in his pocket. If he didn’t understand that the lithium ion battery has contacts and that if it is not protected in an insulated case..presumably plastic, and that if subjected to short circuiting by hitting metal in his pocket, then he must be very dumb. I have both an iphone and Note II. The Note II is by far much much cooler on charging and operating than my iphone. I also have an extra battery for the Note II, but it NEVER travels in pocket without being in plastic case. I feel sorry for the person, but I sincerely doubt the phone had anything to do with it, but hopefully, someone will educate the user of any smartphone that if you have a loose lithium ion battery in your pocket, you are asking for trouble. If they blow up while charging, then that is another problem altogether. I am not sure what caused the iphone to blow up on the airplane, but bashing Samsung over this owner error is a bit absurd. Neither company makes phones that blow up regularly.
      - mredofcourse
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 3:36 pm · Reply
        
        I totally disagree. Exposed battery contacts are a *design flaw*, and a dangerous one at that.
        
        I’ve had numerous batteries and battery cases for my iPhones and iPads. None of them have exposed contacts.
        
        keembo
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 5:03 pm · Reply
        
        Well, my iphone won’t even let me get to the battery, so I don’t know what you are even talking about. The N7100 battery replacement for the Note II has contacts on the bottom..they are recessed, but that in no way prevents them from contacting wrinkled gum paper or other foils one might have in pocket or small pieces of metal. As I said before. Operator error. Put extra battery in plastic case when carrying in pocket, so nothing can rub battery anywhere. I am not sure what caused the iphone, and ipod explosions, but I think charging on one. The iphone that blew up on the Australian airplane, I am not sure what was its problem. In the meantime, your so called design flaw is rather silly. If there was a design flaw, don’t you think more than one Note II would have blown up of the 8 million out there? Granted, there could have been a flawed manufactured battery. I think this is just far far overblown and probably just something cult members are using to poo poo Samsung. I think both companies make good phones. Have a good day.
        
        mredofcourse
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 5:22 pm · Reply
        
        “Well, my iphone won’t even let me get to the battery, so I don’t know what you are even talking about.”
        
        See:
        http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=iphone+external+battery&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aiphone+external+battery
        
        That’s *one* problem with user replaceable batteries. Either they’re properly designed which makes the device much more bulkier as well as the battery itself, or you end up with safety issues.
        
        Sure, you can blame the user, but the product was designed such that a user who didn’t follow the instructions ended up harming themselves. That’s a *preventable* design flaw in a product designed for the masses.
        
        You then talk about all kinds of stuff I didn’t comment on.
        
        keembo
        
        Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 12:03 am ·
        
        Mr. Edofcourse
        
        “You then talk about all kinds of stuff I didn’t comment on”
        Perhaps you didn’t comment, because you would be too embarassed at the comment you did make. Perhaps you should comment on the iphones that blew up with non accessible batteries?? There have been plenty, including those examples I noted.
        
        “but the product was designed such that a user who didn’t follow the instructions ended up harming themselves. That’s a *preventable* design flaw in a product designed for the masses.”
        
        Aren’t nearly all products designed that way, so that if the end user doesn’t follow the instructions, then adverse things can happen to them??? Wow. That is a bit of a poor argument. You sound like somebody who would blame a lawn mower manufacturer if somebody picked up their lawnmower while it was running and erased a pinky. Not following instructions can be a bummer, as apparently this smartphone user found out. If the battery just blew up out of the clear, then a faulty battery by whoever was the manufacturer is the culprit, but then again, lithium ion batteries have been known to blow up and cause fires including the ones in the new Boeing airplane. That having been said, if there were 10 thousand incidents similar to the one reported here on the Note II, then there might be something to the story and even that would be only .00125% of the smartphones or 1 in 800. The Apple folks should get over this. As I said, I have both an iphone and a Note II, and I certainly doubt one has a much greater chance of exploding.
        
        mredofcourse
        
        Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 4:48 pm · Reply
        
        “Perhaps you didn’t comment, because you would be too embarassed at the comment you did make.”
        
        I didn’t comment on it because it had nothing to do with what I was saying.
        
        “Perhaps you should comment on the iphones that blew up with non accessible batteries??”
        
        Ok, fine. When you produce millions of devices, you’re bound to have some of those devices with defective components. Apple doesn’t have a reputation for having high numbers of defects across any of product lines, although like many companies from time to time service bulletins are issues along with extended warranty coverage for components that exceed normal failure rates.
        
        So no, Apple doesn’t have some magical supply of any component where defects won’t ever occur.
        
        That’s like saying an airplane manufacturer won’t ever have a part that breaks or fails in some way. However, that is a different issue than the engineering that goes into avoiding situations where pilot error can crash a plane. When you design a plane you spend all kinds of resources to prevent both hardware failure and pilot error.
        
        You brought up Boeing (I was an aircraft engineer and a pilot).
        
        Smartphones are no different. As one issue, you try to secure the best quality components. You engineer the best you can against hardware failure, especially when it comes to safety. However, like an airplane, you also design around user error. Batteries with exposed contacts are bound to be at risk. How many users do you think won’t read the instructions and carry their batteries without cases? How many users will lose those plastic cases and carry the batteries anyway? I almost never see people carrying their batteries in cases, and often bring it up with people responding like as if it’s a myth that it’s a problem or that they’ve never heard such a thing.
        
        Bongo
        
        Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 8:51 pm ·
        
        Math lesson. 1 in 800 is 0.125%
        
        keembo
        
        Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 2:23 am ·
        
        Mredofcourse
        
        “Sure, you can blame the user, but the product was designed such that a user who didn’t follow the instructions ended up harming themselves.”
        
        Once again…isn’t that the way most products are designed? They are designed and given instructions to follow. I am sure that any battery manufacturer gives out loads of instructions on the safety of the battery. America has done away with personal responsibility, and hopefully Korea won’t follow suit. If a person puts a battery in their pocket without protection, and clearly instructions are given with the battery, then it is hardly the manufacturer’s fault…but rather “operator” error. It sounds to me that rather than reading loads of Apple cultists giggling over the fact that a Samsung owner burned themselves with an exploding battery or phone, perhaps they should direct their giggling at the person who failed to follow directions. As I said earlier, both Samsung and Apple make decent phones. I own both, but I prefer the Samsung phone, because I don’t like being tethered to a charger continually. However, I follow the battery instructions.
        
        Maria
        
        Thursday, February 28, 2013 - 10:09 am · Reply
        
        Keembo, I totally agree with you on this one!
      - Crabapple
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 7:06 pm · Reply
        
        You are blowing this out of proportion with your overblown response which borders on innuendo! What does one expect if contacts rub without a rubber protection or plastic for those who are allergic to rubber? A blow up of course of geysergic (sic) proportions!!!
Derek Currie

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:18 pm · Reply

It’s like watching porn: Watching Samsung screwing themselves over. My sympathy to all victims of Samsung.
shinolashow

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:24 pm · Reply

MDN must be slipping. This happens to apple devices.. when 3rd rate/party defective batteries are installed in them. I’d bet that’s what we have here…

“The man said he was carrying a Samsung Galaxy Note along with a spare battery in his pocket before they suddenly blew up,” The Chosun Ilbo reports.
- mossman
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:33 pm · Reply
  
  Even if one or both batteries were 3rd rate/party in this case, the very fact that these batteries are easily-replacable means Joe Average is far more likely to be using cheap 3rd-rate/party batteries with Samsung (or any other maker) phones than an iPhone.
  - shinolashow
    
    Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:47 pm · Reply
    
    That’s true, but I can’t subscribe to the fault being on samsung’s part in that situation. I don’t have all the info, samsung’s flagship battery could be the actual problem. It wouldn’t knock me out of my chair if it turned out samsung was at fault here, I guess.
    
    I’m just saying this has happened to apple products over the years, and i’m pretty sure in each and every case it was because of a third party defective battery install. And here you have a kid carrying two batteries. Kind of sounds like the ripe situation for cheap batteries. As an aside, if that doesn’t tell you about the expectations of a samsung product battery life I don’t know what would!
    - mossman
      
      Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:16 pm · Reply
      
      Nor am I saying it’s necessarily Samsung’s fault. Merely that the nature of their product’s battery options means a much higher percentage of Galaxy users, compared to iPhone users, are exposed to risk by 3rd rate/party battery products.
      - Bizlaw
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 2:57 pm · Reply
        
        No, but where is the media outrage we would be hearing if it were two iPhones that blew up? Do they just expect it because it’s Samsung?
        
        mossman
        
        Monday, February 4, 2013 - 4:47 pm · Reply
        
        That was where my point was headed. 1) this affects a larger percentage of non-iPhone users, and 2) the Galaxy line outsells iPhones depending on what source you use, so as top dog the media *should* be all over them like seagulls on yesterday’s garbage.
Jersey_Trader

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:25 pm · Reply

And again, this will not hurt anyone except Apple. Don’t know how they get away with this without anyone talking about a possible Samsung Galaxy recall. I am sure that if it comes up, the talking heads will say that this could happen to Apple too.

I just heard the talking heads talking about Apple iPhone loosing … slowing … Doesn’t anyone challenge them with the real sales increase not decrease! Getting tired of this talking head crap!
- auramac
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:38 pm · Reply
  
  Did you mean “loosing?” Or “tightening?” Ahhh… “losing!”
  
  I get it now. We need spell check for reading.
Pridon

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:26 pm · Reply

Guess that took some balls.
- auramac
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:40 pm · Reply
  
  In related news, Chaz Bono bought one for each pocket.
  
  Sick.. sick.. sorry about that…
AppleJack

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:30 pm · Reply

I’m no friend to Samsung, but it sounds like you guys are forgetting the troubles even Apple has had with Lithium-Ion batteries. Let’s hope they haven’t dealt a death-blow to Boeing and the 787.
Hiram

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:35 pm · Reply

But if it was an iPhone exploding it would be on the national news. You won’t see this on TV tonight.
Ballmer's left nut

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:41 pm · Reply

Exploding batteries on Shitsuck phones are a feature.
- situation room
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:00 pm · Reply
  
  Ah, so…the left nut still lives …
So Appy

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:50 pm · Reply

You can turn off “Explode My Phone” on Android phones. Just go to settings and turn it off. /s
Ratzafraz

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 12:56 pm · Reply

Did their stock jump up?
Ratzafraz

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:04 pm · Reply

So Appy – Darn near wet my pants laughing at your comment
David Thall

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:13 pm · Reply

Is that Samsung Galaxy Note in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Bada-boom!
- billyjackblack
  
  Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:24 pm · Reply
  
  Confucius say “Man who go through airport doors sideway going to Bangkok. Man with Samsung Galaxy Note in pocket going to Burn cock.”
  - dum honhai gai
    
    Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:33 pm · Reply
    
    …and Steve Jobs say: “you are holding phone wrong way”
    - dum honhai gui
      
      Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:35 pm · Reply
      
      dam, “wong” way
    - Alf
      
      Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:40 pm · Reply
      
      No, all manufacturer say you hold it wrong way. See user guide for proof of what I say.
  - Ballmer's left nut
    
    Monday, February 4, 2013 - 2:45 pm · Reply
    
    Plus one buddy. That was a good one.
Bobchr

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:26 pm · Reply

Yes Apple has habits trouble with lithium batteries in the past, people tend to forget that Dell and HP had similar issues in heir laptops. The article is vague as to who manufactured the batteries I the Galaxy that exploded. They showed a Galaxy and battery that had exploded in a school boy’s pants a year earlier. Also it had not yet been reported to Samsung. I’m not a fan of Samsung but the press these days just seem so find of chumming shark filled waters. If this was an Apple product at least an 8 point drop in the stock price for the day.
curio

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 1:57 pm · Reply

@billyjackblack- LOL! Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.
Jimg

Monday, February 4, 2013 - 5:20 pm · Reply

If your read more in the newspaper in which this article appeared, apparently Koreans want U.S. service people to obey their laws. While I agree with that idea, I’d suggest the Korean government get Samsung to obey U.S. laws and basic business ethics. Oh sorry, corruption in South Korean government would never have that happen.
Rick Sterner

Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - 3:09 pm · Reply

Perhaps they should rename it:
“Samsung SUPERNOVA”
MacRaven

Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 12:42 pm · Reply

Samdung’s version of “Wipe” contents?