Exploding iPod dies gruesome death

Oh dear, just when we thought we'd had our fill of exploding Apple devices, along comes an Australian forum member named eeno who saw his first generation iPod nano go up in flames, and has some snuff-esque pics of the aftermath. As is usually the case with these things, eeno's iPod was charging when it happened. He says the force of the battery's explosion sent the iPod off his PC onto the floor, where it continued to smoke and spark until he unplugged the USB charging cable from the back of his computer. Since his iPod is out of warranty, the local computer repair shop didn't do him much good, but they did take a few pics to send to Apple. Hopefully this iPod was just an anomaly, and we won't be seeing a whole wave of these explosions as 1G nanos exit their warranties and head towards retirement -- but somehow we fear the worst.

[Thanks, Kip HT]

Gallery: Exploding iPod dies gruesome death

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[js @ Apr 12th 2007 3:24PM]

It's all Dell's fault.

[govkid201 @ Apr 12th 2007 3:28PM]

explosions!

[Sinhumane @ Apr 12th 2007 3:41PM]

another reason i wont buy an ipod.

[Darren Wilson @ Apr 12th 2007 3:44PM]

Typical Apple junk! I bet the Apple fanboyz will state that it was because the PC was running Windows that caused the problem. I bet the PC is still running OK though :o)

[paul34 @ Apr 12th 2007 3:52PM]

That's about as odd as the article we have on the front page, about soda, on engadget. Very strange, like most entries in that "column." In addition, comments are disabled so no one can expose the author.

I vote Engadget's next feature to be ignoring certain posters!

cool... and let's hope that Apple does something about this guy's iPod. By something I mean figuring out what went wrong... luckily this thing wasn't in his pocket, that would have been really bad.

[Moe Abe @ Apr 12th 2007 4:42PM]

It seems he left it connected to his computer too long for recharging. Manufacturers do not recommend that you disconnect your iPod/DAP from your computer after changing, but this is good practice. It is possible that the battery continued recharging even though it was fully charged. Yes, Apple needs to investigate this problem.

[paul34 @ Apr 12th 2007 11:07PM]

Indeed... seems odd that mechanism failed (I'm assuming a big company like Apple would put that type of logic in their charging units), or whatever happened. Oh well, at least he didn't some of his leg... or worse. Eh hem.

[Electromodo @ Apr 12th 2007 3:54PM]

Apple Salesman: Your iPod is old, buy our shiny next generation oh-so-cool new iPod!
Customer: No, thanks, I am Ok.

A couple of generations later:
Apple Salesman: You are still using that old 1st generation iPod? You're crazy! We have a 3rd generation device that is way better! Buy now!
Customer: No, thanks, I like it the way it is.

Generations pass...
Apple Salesman: That customer with 1st generation iPod is tough. He still doesn't want to upgrade... Of course, our products are so reliable, that he would never buy a new one...
Apple Manager: Let's wait until our last resort - Blow-A-Batt Reminder(TM) starts working...

[anonymouspimp @ Apr 12th 2007 3:55PM]

Who cares... it was a first gen nano... All the cool kids have second gen nanos by now... he needed to upgrade anyways so he could sit at the "cool kid" lunch table again.

[Deborah Partee @ Apr 12th 2007 4:00PM]

I am not surprised. Despite the overinflated price of their stock, Apple has always struck me as being an inferior company. Dell has class!!!

[Bonez @ Apr 12th 2007 4:42PM]

Are you stoned?

[gondaba @ Apr 12th 2007 4:05PM]

ha ha

[ssuk @ Apr 12th 2007 4:05PM]

If the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod nanos didn't look like apple took a shit over the 1st gen nano, I probably would upgrade. But I like the ceramic-look of the 1st gen Nano over the cheap-looking plastic crap of older Nanos. But the thought of the battery exploding is a very negative thing to have in mind. =/

[Mike @ Apr 12th 2007 4:19PM]

Or in your pants!!!

[hubfam @ Apr 12th 2007 4:19PM]

What you need:

1 - An old iPod

2- A blow-torch

What you get:

Your pictures on Engadget, and some attention for a day!! Stupid!

[jon.leopold @ Apr 12th 2007 4:31PM]

Dell has class...action. At least for the Inspiron 5150 I had with the suicidal motherboards.

[Dell-Boy @ Apr 12th 2007 4:33PM]

It has been widely speculated that iPod are not meant to last over a year, that poor victim was already pushing his luck, glad he escape unscathed, really hope others will heed his lesson and have the conscience not buy another inferior product that was made by ill-treated Chinese workers in so-called `iPod City`

[Bonez @ Apr 12th 2007 4:39PM]

I always wonder how much voltage someone put through the wire when something like this happens. THIS IS THE INTERNETS PEOPLE! THE TUBES LIE ALL THE TIME! Stop using shitty unconfirmed stories like this (which every product in the world has some of) as if it was going to happen to every single iPod Nano. I mean, I'm SURE I could do this to mine, and probably make it LOOK like an ACCIDENT. Get real.

[Bonez @ Apr 12th 2007 4:50PM]

Because it happened once? huh.

[JL @ Apr 12th 2007 5:48PM]

"Manufacturers do not recommend that you disconnect your iPod/DAP from your computer after changing, but this is good practice."

Thats because modern rechargeable devices have some sort of cut-off logic built into them. They stop charging when the cycle is complete (battery fully charged).

My guess would be there was something faulty in the charging logic.

I'd also look at who was the battery manufacturer (Remembering how many people instantly blamed Dell for defective batteries when they were made by - oh - who - was it - um - Sony?) (ps - some Macs had those Sony batteries too, correct me if i am wrong)

[Darth Tony @ Apr 12th 2007 4:44PM]

You fear the worse? Maybe you fear the worst.
If so, I must label you alarmists. 1 iPod in 100,000,000 blows up.
Yeah... clearly, the sky is falling.

[suntiger @ Apr 12th 2007 6:50PM]

Learn to speak English, or go to your boss and ask to be fired. That goes for every other Engadget employee too (at least, those of you who clearly don't know enough English to be writing anything for a living.)

[rip @ Apr 12th 2007 4:45PM]

wow, one ipod out of 100 million is defective. And after a couple of years of use and possibly hundreds of charges? Stop the presses!

Dell would kill for that kind of reliability.

Side note, I love the unbiased comments by Dell employees, er concerned consumers...

[anonymouspimp @ Apr 12th 2007 6:49PM]

"wow, one ipod out of 100 million is defective. And after a couple of years of use and possibly hundreds of charges? Stop the presses!"

Whoah there Steve... 1 out of 100 million is defective? Better make that 3 out of 100 million... Cuz I burned through 2 iPods before I got wise and moved onto a different product (although I admit I own a nano now too, gift at work). And I am not a stupid teenager who got it from his parents, I am VERY careful with my gadgets. The first one froze and would only load that annoying Apple logo on the screen and when I took it to the Apple store they suggested I buy a new one (what the hell?!?) b/c it would cost $100+ to fix it or whatever... Like a fool I bought another one. I was even MORE careful with this new one, never dropped it, bought a protective skin for it, used it less frequently... then it decided one day that it just didn't feel like turning on anymore... you can guess what the Apple store employee suggested when I called them up. Yeah, great product... great customer service... lol

100 million iPods sold... i'd like to see how many different customers they have had... 50-60 million actual customers? I know two people on their 3rd iPod! Why? because they got sucked into iTunes and bought too much music to switch to a different player.

I love gadgets, and love that my friends always ask me about what mp3 player, phone, tv, etc to get... unless they are hell bent on getting an iPod because they are that image conscious and/or like flushing their money down the toilet... I never suggest iPod. I just tell them:

"You want to buy an iPod? Why don't you just give me $200 and i'll kick you in the balls."

[Gil @ Apr 12th 2007 4:49PM]

fake.

[Moe Abe @ Apr 12th 2007 10:38PM]

No one knows the cause of this problem. It may be just a fluke, but you have better odds at winning the lottery. Apple has sold over 100 million iPods. We do not know what the exact number of those iPods that were iPod-nano's. These devices and their batteries are designed to prevent this happening. Manufactures used to ignore problems with their products, but that time has ended. Do you remember the recall for rechargeable batteries.

[Christopher Hyland @ Apr 12th 2007 4:54PM]

Ok... I've heard of of planned obsolescence but this is just plain scarry! I'm glad Apple doesn't built cars...

[Subaru_Nation555 @ Apr 12th 2007 5:17PM]

Why does anything on this site about Apple or Microsoft always turn into a Mac vs. PC debate? People just post to bash on the other side and never even discuss the topic at hand. It's so irritating to read these over and over again.

[ablah @ Apr 12th 2007 5:20PM]

Not very surprising, as I've seen two 1G nanos where the battery basically melted through the covering.
I've seen 4-5 5G Video iPods suffer this same exact fate too.
All in the luck of the draw, of course, although it shouldn't be that way.

[zekelion @ Apr 12th 2007 5:33PM]

It looks like the exploding Macbook cake (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgBHI5xt7Yk) that I made for the Engadget birthday cake contest was relevent after all--there have been a bunch of articles about exploding Apple products since the contest ended.

[Moe Abe @ Apr 12th 2007 10:49PM]

That is correct, there a program built on a circuit or the devices firmware that is designed to prevent overheating. Thank you for clarifying what I meant to say.

[Juaquin @ Apr 12th 2007 5:53PM]

Following the success of the Shuffle philosophy, where you never know what is going to happen next, Apple incorporated the "Battery Roulette" feature into their first generation Nano's. Apple Nano - Will it explode? (TM)

[hackedbyjoe @ Apr 12th 2007 6:51PM]

No one seems to consider the possibility that the problem may have also been do to a malfunctioning usb hub. Did he check the voltage on his usb port?

[Dragod @ Apr 12th 2007 7:12PM]

Who wants to take bets on how many phone calls this guy will have to make to Apple before someone actually cares?

I'm putting my money on 4, what about the rest of you?

I'm thinking that they'll tell him "The new second generation iPod Nanos are more reliable, or perhaps you would like to buy an 80gb? It has a longer battery life and 20 times the space!"

[sumitup @ Apr 12th 2007 7:51PM]

Ok people. You want to bash Dell go ahead. My husband is a "computer dude" (not with Dell) but I will tell you that one of his clients had an iPOD nano 2nd gen, yes, thats right, 2nd gen iPOD blow up while charging in his computer. This happened twice. Fortunately it was under warranty both times. The computer was a clone.

[Zeus the God @ Apr 12th 2007 8:17PM]

I'd think this would probably be real, seeing as how Apple has been having oh-so-many problems with MB and MBP batteries exploding, expanding, and catching fire or what-not.

Really guys, stop buying iPods. Not only because they suck, but because if you guys boycott the iPod, that will make Apple strive to create a better product. By buying their product in droves like you have all been doing, buy something else.

iPods suck, and that is FACT.

[Kip HT @ Apr 12th 2007 9:42PM]

I'm famous!

[carlo @ Apr 13th 2007 12:39AM]

Funny how these things keep happening in Australia.

[Reid Conti @ Apr 13th 2007 2:12AM]

"It is widely speculated that iPods are designed to last only 1 year" ... err, okay. Thanks for the news. More like, Apple designed it to last a "reasonable amount of time," then they don't care too much what happens to it. They probably expect it to last 3 years, at which point it will be more-or-less outdated.

My 1st gen iPod lasted 3 years and was still getting more than the original promised 8 hours battery life when I sold it on eBay for most of what I paid for it.

I replaced it with a 4th gen which is not as reliable -- at the 3 year mark now, there is a "dead spot" on the click wheel that makes minute adjustments occasionally difficult, and sometimes it turns itself on even with the hold switch on. It has been retired to car duty though, where I use the stereo's controls and it is always charged, so no worries. Just bought a Nano for gym/travel.

[Tony C @ Apr 13th 2007 9:06AM]

Yeeaahhhh... Old news... This was posted on April 2 at Gizmodo... Where was Engadget two weeks ago?

[rob @ Apr 13th 2007 11:52AM]

exactly the same thing happenned to me a month ago with my 1st gen ipod nano. and just like this man, apple wouldnt do anything becasue the ipod was out of warranty.

[Jaime @ Apr 13th 2007 6:21PM]

I do not have an iPod, so could someone explain one thing. If this iPod had DRM'ed music is there a chance to de-authorize it, or has one of the itunes device permissions blown up with the device?

[L_Micaiah_K @ Apr 21st 2007 5:10PM]

My girlfriend has a first gen nano, a week ago it started expanding and cracking open. I popped it apart and the battery was twice the normal size and ready to burst, good thing I cut it out before that happened.

The nano still works plugged into a computer or adapter.

[Brent @ Jun 26th 2007 7:09AM]

Telling me that an iPod is an inferior product adds nothing to my knowledge. I already know iPods are just a status symbol for those who need an artificial method to get a mate. The screen scratches like a cat trying to find drugs underneath, if your lucky you can play a few games if you are of the very few who can get iPod Linux running, it's fragile as heck, and now the battery explodes.

A Gameboy Micro with Homebrew Cartridge can play un-DRM'd music and most of the tools to make the music ROMs are open-source (I updated the GSM player so it plays in stereo) You can get 90 minutes of stereo music into a 32 megabyte GBA file, as well as play Amiga MOD music without time-consuming conversion (take THAT! ipod!), play NES/GB/GBC games, and of course play GBA games. I've got 22 16 Megabyte GBA roms on my GB Micro with 200+ stereo songs total. If you have Meteo, you can get five to 20 minutes of video into 32 MB (the quality is fine for stuff from Youtube.) Get an EZ-Flash IV with a 1GB or 2GB MiniSD card. And if you use the original Reflective GBA (much bigger) that runs on AA batteries, you avoid the exploding battery problem completely.

Or you could get a Sony PSP and emulate the GBA. The PSP has the advantage of having WiFi (refill legal MP3's in the field), faster systems like Sega Genesis/Amiga/SNES, an infrared remote control, and of course much larger memory cards (4GB as of June 2007). However the PSP uses a Sony battery, whose safety comes into question.

Those last two arguments are irrelavant if you can't get homebrew.

If you want a LOT of songs cheaply, get a portable DVD player that can play DVD+R_DL discs filled with 8.5GB of MP3 files. Using FFMPEG or Mencoder you can play videos on it too. It's not as portable though.

Wal*Mart is selling CD-R MP3 disc players for $20. It plays about 100 songs or so, then you just swap a 30 cent CD-R with new ones when you get bored.