They want the entire line recalled because of one uninvestigated incident?

The real story here is that Blackberries are still around.....

Apos: The real story here is that Blackberries are still around.....

Seriously. Fine, a phone caught on fire and burned a kid, I can buy that. But someone actually purchased a Blackberry for their personal use? Now I know you're full of shiat.

there's an app for that all right, but it will take ten hours of browsing to find it, 4 reboots, and a battery pull to install it.

Stupid kid should not have set the alarm to "Fire". I bet there's an audible alarm option that would have woken him up just fine.

"It could have easily been much worse if he hadn't have woken up."

Well, he was using it as an alarm.

I'm confused because TFA uses the words "Blackberry" and "popular" in the same sentence. Did this happen in 2008?

I know this is Fark and all, but I just thought I would throw out a genuine theory... FTA it sounds like perhaps there was a defect in the battery, not the phone... recharging circuitry is pretty much standard fare now, so there should not have been an overcharging situation unless of course that circuitry had failed to stop charging once the battery was charged... we'll have to wait and see i guess.

Pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame....

Even with six sigma processes there's still 3.4 defects per million units. I'd presume most of those defects would show up as non-functioning batteries in a fail soft manner, but when we're talking hundreds of millions of units and occasionally one's gonna go kablooey.

And then you have things like large model aircraft battery packs. They've got a bad enough failure rate at the amateur level they have fire resistant bags for charging, but they tend to be banged around a bit more while being big brutes compared to what's in your phone.

 

It's also an argument against using them in cars. You'd have to shock insulate them and they'd still be liable to combust after a wreck, hours later.

oh yes i forgot one thing:

wildcardjack: And then you have things like large model aircraft battery packs. They've got a bad enough failure rate at the amateur level they have fire resistant bags for charging

Lipo-safe -- you can seal yourself inside when you're dieting.

Wasn't this claimed with an iPhone and experts showed that phones don't have enough current or voltage to start a fire?

Hundreds of mobile devices spontaneous combust every year, it just isn't widely reported.

Cybernetic: I'm confused because TFA uses the words "Blackberry" and "popular" in the same sentence. Did this happen in 2008?

Almost word for word what I came here to post. I am both sad and impressed.

In other breaking news, LIPO batteries have flammable electrolyte.

/Sent from my AndroAAAAAAhhhhrrrggghhh!

The only component within a phone that could burn like that is the battery. Chances are RIM got their batteries from the same place Apple did.

His legs caught fire? Was it charging on the foot of his bed or something?

"but last Sunday she placed the charging phone"

I wonder if just what she was using to charge the phone could have caused the fire !

Damaged Lithium ion batteries are prone to thermal runaway followed by a condition known scientifically as "Venting with flame"

/It says "Do not puncture for a reason"
//$20 says he had a shiatty aftermarket battery in it.

cajunns: "but last Sunday she placed the charging phone"

I wonder if just what she was using to charge the phone could have caused the fire !

Good point.
There are some places giving away Playbooks with the 9320 (a sort of "student deal"). The Playbook comes with a "super quick" charger & that could have been the issue. It may have fried the battery.
I also recall early prototypes of the 9320 running a little hot too.

Alone in his room at night with a smartphone (supposedly charging on a nightstand), and only his legs are burned? Despite his face and chest being far closer to the nightstand? Little wanker was spanking the monkey to 2.5" porn and shorted the charging cable.

Wait... I'm confused. The headline says Smartphone, but the article says Blackberry? Which is it?

Lithium batteries: when you want "Satan Inside" to be taken literally.