July 14, 2004
Mobile-phone user injured by exploding handset in Beijing
A man was injured when a mobile phone he was using exploded in Beijing, state media said, reports the AFP.
"He was treated for neck and hand injuries in hospital.
The phone's owner, Chen Huang, said he bought the N530i DB7000 phone by Japanese firm NEC at a Beijing shopping centre, which has agreed to compensate Chen if it is proved the battery was faulty.
However, an official in the NEC China office said the company was not responsible. "N530i is not made and sold in the Chinese mainland," he said, adding he had never heard of an NEC phone exploding before.
Poorly-made fakes are widely available in China".
Related articles and other such incidents reported around the world:
-- On July 2nd, 2004, a 16-year-old California girl suffered second degree burns Thursday when her Verizon Kyocera cell phone caught on fire in her back pocket .
-- Verizon Wireless - on June 2004 and for the second time this year - recalled 50,000 cell phone batteries some of which may be counterfeit, after reports suggesting that they may cause minor fires and injuries.
-- Good Morning America reported in January 2004, that the phone manufacturer Kyocera was voluntarily recalling batteries for one of its phones, the first-ever recall of cell-phone batteries. About 140,000 batteries custom made for the Kyocera 7135 Smartphone were recalled.
-- Nokia has confirmed that one of its 3310 handsets, which exploded and caused minor injuries to a woman in Finland in November 2003.
-- In a rare accident in Amsterdam in August 2003 a mobile phone exploded in a woman's face causing burns to her face and neck.
-- In February 2003, Cellular News reported that Nokia had admitted that cases had been reported of non-original mobile phone batteries overheating in the European, African and Asian regions, causing damage to both batteries and Nokia phones.
-- An incident in Norway was reported by Belgian newspaper Le Soir, in November 2002, when the Nokia handeset of a 15 year-old boy exploded in class. His cell phone was equipped with a non Nokia battery. No one was hurt.
-- The first case tracked down of a cellphone fault causing an explosion occured in Taiwan in June 2002, injuring its owner, and reported by Cellular News. The woman appeared on ETTV television channel saying: "The phone heated up and I could feel the heat coming from my bag, but I did not pay attention because I was eating. A few minutes later it exploded. The hot debris burned my arms and feet."
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