Dodgy battery behind exploding mobile
A Thai man is recovering from minor injuries after his mobile phone exploded in his hands on Saturday.
A suspect battery is thought to be responsible for the blast.
After opening his front gate by remote control, Wichai Thongwiangchan, owner of the “explosive” Nokia 3310, was puzzled as his phone had apparently turned itself off.
He removed the handset from his belt and, turning it on, saw it burst into pieces, spreading fragments over a three-metre area.
The phone, protected with a leather cover, reduced the injury to his hands, Wichai said.
Wichai said he bought a spare li-ion battery from a cut price Bangkok mobile phone shop.
Wichai speculates there may a connection with the remote control device.
Wichai said he would not be filling charges.
Nokia has issued a statement warning against replacing batteries bundled with mobile phones with cheaper, possibly fake, variants.
A similar incident happened in the Netherlands recently when a 33-year-old old woman saw her Nokia 7210 also explode in her hands.
The battery involved was not the manufacturer’s own product, Nokia said.
In another incident a supermarket worker said his phone exploded in his pocket, causing minor burns to his leg.
Nokia said in a statement: “Over the past months, cases have been reported of non-original mobile phone batteries exploding, causing damage to both batteries and phones. In all the reported cases, the battery has been a non-original battery.”
