iPod Nanos on fire!

by rpshen | August 19, 2008 at 08:41 am

1206 views | 7 Recommendations | 21 comments

In March, Japan launched an investigation into iPod Nanos after one burst into flames while recharging. Initially no cause was found. This month, the Ministry of Economoy, Trade and Industry received two similar reports of iPod Nanos on fire and decided to dig deeper into their investigation. Today they released a statement warning consumers of the portable music player's risk in overheating during recharging.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) said it had begun an investigation into the incidents, which involved Nanos sold in the first year after the player’s launch in 2005.

“There have been multiple cases of overheating and fire damage, in particular during recharging, so please use caution,” it said in a statement on its website.

According to the ministry, Apple has recorded 14 similar problems with Nanos sold in Japan, including two which caused minor burns.

The ministry said the incidents were caused by four models -- MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A -- of which 1.81 million units were sold between September 2005 and September 2006 in Japan.

"Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," the ministry said in a statement, warning that particular care is needed when recharging the iPods.

What does Apple plan to do with their product? Apparently nothing. They believe that lithium ion batteries, used by iPods and commonly found in other household electronics, can overheat in extreme cases and in some carry cases, so it is not necessary to recall any iPods. And if your iPod goes on fire, please be assured that Apple will gladly exchange the defective parts.

"Our ministry told Apple to improve its technological development and probe the cause of the incidents so that similar incidents do not happen again," the official said.

There was no immediate comment from Apple. Public broadcaster NHK said the company has no plan to recall any iPods but is ready to exchange defective parts.

The US computer giant has already warned that iPod, iPod nano or iPod shuffle may generate excess heat while being charged in certain carry cases.

Lithium ion batteries, which Apple uses for iPods, are common in consumer electronics, such as mobile telephones and personal computers.

However, major battery makers, including electronics giant Sony Corp., have occasionally been forced to recall their lithium ion battery packs after reports of overheating and fire.

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Samoss13

at 10:44 on August 19th, 2008

Hi everybody :)

I'm french, and this is my picture, enjoy !

Samoss13 has contributed a photo to this story.

Samoss13

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:59 on August 19th, 2008

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

oswoldy

at 13:32 on August 19th, 2008

Picture Added.

Mike (Oswoldy)

oswoldy has contributed a photo to this story.

reverendkomissar

at 14:33 on August 19th, 2008

fortunately, my Nano hasn't yet burst into flames... though I do take it out of its hollowed-out Moleskin for charging purposes.

reverendkomissar has contributed a photo to this story.

Fackundo

at 15:13 on August 19th, 2008

I've been a happy owner of an iPod Nano for the last 5 months and I have never noted any strange behaviour. It's really cool and I enjoy it a lot. It's really hard to believe that this little device could cause a fire! Anyway, I'll wait for the results of further investigations.

Fackundo has contributed a photo to this story.

ozzie_5

at 15:15 on August 19th, 2008

Here is my pic that was selected. ENJOY!

ozzie_5 has contributed a photo to this story.

Conyr

at 16:47 on August 19th, 2008

These are my 2 ipod nano red, were brought from the USA

Conyr has contributed a photo to this story.

Uwe Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 20:51 on August 19th, 2008

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

I never seen one on fire though my self! Maybe because I still have an older model!

macintoshmad

at 21:49 on August 19th, 2008

I just took the photo of the iPod nano

macintoshmad has contributed a photo to this story.

Eleftheria G

at 22:30 on August 19th, 2008

Hi there , here are my two pods..so far no fire!!! (only in my ears when I play them tooo loud)

gmacomics

at 22:36 on August 19th, 2008

wow first time i heard this and ill take note of it when im charging my ipod. btw request approved. thanks and enjoy!

ClaireP

at 23:38 on August 19th, 2008

My Husbands ipod nano with one of my cute felt ipod nano case - handmade by me and available to buy at clairepayne.etsy.com

paynedesign has contributed a photo to this story.

Dean Lozarie

at 05:17 on August 20th, 2008

It's an iPod nano, 3rd Gen. ü

Dean Lozarie has contributed a photo to this story.

decamillo

at 06:15 on August 20th, 2008

Yeah

decamillo has contributed a photo to this story.

Skinny Boy

at 11:28 on August 20th, 2008

Skinny Boy has contributed a photo to this story.

ECOgarf

at 18:56 on August 21st, 2008

i have never had any trouble with my iPod's....
i have 4 iPod's, Video 30GB, Video 30GB, Nano 2GB Black, Nano 8GB Green, but they have been great although
my Video 30GB Black is dead because it fell from the second floor

ECOgarf has contributed a photo to this story.

Natalie Thai

at 20:13 on August 21st, 2008

My iPod Nano never caught on fire. I loved it.

Natalie Thai has contributed a photo to this story.

luisama

at 04:23 on August 22nd, 2008

Photo taken by Luis Amaral
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/luismca/2520206495/)

luisama has contributed a photo to this story.

Neha in the Afternoon

at 19:13 on August 22nd, 2008

just got really bored and hung upside down until i came up with this picture lol

Neha in the Afternoon has contributed a photo to this story.

qiethrsh (not verified)

at 21:55 on August 22nd, 2008

As a hacker point of view, the only chance that the Nano is on fire is those people must have open up the Nano and change the battery themselves. It is not the original battery from Apple.