usb-cable
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Report: iPhone 4 burst into flames, faulty USB port blamed
The above picture is from from Boy Genius Report, who claim they received it from an AT&T Store employee dealing with a customer who said their iPhone 4 had spontaneously burst into flames. As you can see above, the adapter cable is completely melted, and the iPhone's stainless steel antenna band is charred. The customer said his hand was burned, and the adapter cord itself burned up, too. The AT&T store in question was apparently out of iPhones at the time, but otherwise it would have gladly exchanged the unit for a new one. Supposedly the problem was in the USB port on the computer the iPhone was attached to, so this is likely an isolated incident, not a problem with any standard hardware. But the devastation is pretty amazing -- there must have been quite a bit of power flowing off into that USB cable.
Accessory listing suggests Verizon's Motorola Calgary is near
Now that Droid mania's starting to calm down just a bit, it's time to turn our attention back to that rumored second model in Verizon's Android-powered line from Motorola, the so-called Calgary. We don't have any details on a release window, but whenever accessories show up on an authorized partner's site that list the unreleased phone by name, that's usually a promising sign. And yes, that rule applies no matter how mundane that accessory may be -- in this case, a lowly micro-USB cable that this company has the ludicrous idea of selling for 20 bucks. Of course, Instinct HD accessories showed up months before the phone's release -- back when it was known by an entirely different name, in fact -- so we wouldn't necessarily want to get any hopes up for a 2009 drop date just yet.
The USB Smart Cable: cheap and flexible, just like your prom date
We like small, we like convenient, and we love cheap. As such we're dripping our super-happy nerd juice all over this new $9.00 USB Smart Cable. The charging cable doubles as a microSD card reader (take that Plug It!) and is available in three versions supporting mini-USB, mini 18 pin, or Nokia DC 2.0 devices. Sassy.
SoundTech intros new line of USB "Lightsnakes"
SoundTech has been brightening up the otherwise dull connection between guitars and PCs for a while now, but the company seems to have finally seen fit to spread its green glow to some more widely used cables, introducing a whole range of new Lightsnake USB cables to cover most common connectivity needs. That includes USB-A to USB-B, USB-A to USB-A, and USB-A to USB 5-pin Mini-B cables, as well as a USB-A extension cable, and, last but not least, a USB to iPod Dock cable (sadly, FireWire seems to have been left in the dark). While there aren't any pics of the cables themselves just yet, all of them function the same as the company's USB cable for guitars and other instruments (pictured at right), lighting up when it's connected and flashing when there's data being transferred. Of course, blinkin' lights usually come at a premium, and the Lightsnake is no exception, with the cables set to demand a hefty fifty bucks apiece when they're released sometime before the end of this quarter.Update: Its glow may be slightly exaggerated, but the image after the break should give you a better idea of what you'll be getting for your $50.
