Numerous press reports are claiming that iPhones and iPods are “exploding” — well, three isolated devices, at least so far. Apple is said to be investigating these reports and have no answers as of now.

“These are isolated incidents and… there is not a general problem, For the cases which have been reported in the media, Apple [is] trying to get more information on the details of the incidents and will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause.”

It was last August that we reported on the iPod fires that were taking place. Three recent claims in the past few months have sparked this new investigation:

• we had a teenager in France who claims his girlfriend’s iPhone blew up and sent glass flying
• an 11 year old girl who claimed her iPod “made a hissing noise and went pop”
• and on August 2, a Dutch man who claimed his iPhone 3G went up in flames and burned his car seat.

Thankfully no one was injured in any of the above incidents. With the millions of iPods and iPhones sold to date and only a very few being proven “faulty” this is nothing you should be too concerned about. In fact US Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that a total of 15 Apple devices since 2001 have been recorded as faulty, while none included any serious injury.

[Via Ars Technica]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Investigates: “Exploding” iPhones and iPods

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Join Dieter, Chris, Rene and special guest, Patrick Norton to talk about Revision3’s new AppJudgement show, as well as all the latest iPhone, iPod, iTunes, and iTablet news and rumors. Listen in!

News

iTunes, iPod, and iTablet

• Apple iPod/iTunes Event Scheduled for Sept. 9?
• UPDATED with Video: iPod touch Leaks Begin! Is This the Third Generation's New Camera?
• Third Generation iPod touch Pricing at 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399?
• iTunes Now Sells 25% of US Music
• Apple iTablet Gone Wild: Nerdfights and Molotovs and iPads, Oh My!
• Fake or Really Fake? Apple iTablet UI Goes YouTube

iPhone and iPhone OS

• iPhone 3GS: 99% Pure Customer Satisfaction!
• iPhone MMS: Apple and AT&T Sued, MMS Not Possible(?!), and When Does Summer End Anyway?
• iPhone 3GS Camera Pre-Caches Images Before You Take Them?
• Analyze This: 82+ Million iPhones a Year by 2012?

Apps and App Store

• UPDATED: TomTom Turn-by-Turn Navigation for iPhone Beginning to Appear in International App Stores and Car Kit — compatible with iPod touch and other GPS apps?
• Qik for iPhone Lands in the App Store — Without Live Streaming
Dev-Team: Palm Pre May Track User Location, but 3rd Party iPhone Apps Do Too!
• Facebook 3.0 (Sans Push) for iPhone Submitted to iTunes App Store

General

• Apple's New North Carolina Data Center Among Largest in the World
• The Competition: Android and Windows Mobile Remind Us Not to Take Future iPhone Updates for Granted?

From the Forums

• From the Forums: Push Apps, GPS Apps, Native iPhone Apps/Features, Data Usage

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #24 — Norton’ized!

Can the iPhone 3GS play back 720p and even 1080p source videos, perhaps even output them to an HDTV? Looks like it might, according to WeiPhone.com who claim to have gotten just such functionality working via the FileAid app.

Of course, we’ve heard the iPhone 3GS chipset was capable of recording in 720p before. Hey, this time last year we even heard the older, less-powerful iPhone 3G might be able to handle 1080p.

So, while not surprising, it’s important to remember that the iPhone 3GS has a 320p (480×320 to be exact) display, so actually playing the files on the device — aside from heat and battery life concerns — would result in downscaling to such an extent that it’s pretty much pointless (perhaps why Apple doesn’t surface it as a feature at this point?)

It is interesting to consider, however, that Apple has another music event just a couple weeks away, and that Microsoft is making noise about the Zune HD outputting 720p to an external display. If Apple could flip a switch in iPhone 3.1 and enable 720p or 1080p overkill out via AV cables (better yet — HDMI cable!) then that’s one less checkbox in competitors’ corner, and one more feature for iPhone and iPod touch users to enjoy.

(Of course, bigger video means more storage, like 32GB in an iPhone and 64GB in a presumed third-gen iPhone touch… Hmm… Maybe I was only partially crazy to predict an iPhone HD last year?)

[via iLounge]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 3GS Can Play Back 720p, 1080p Source Videos?

In Stock: iSkin solo FX for iPhone 3GS

iSkin solo FX [$34.99 - TiPb Store link] instantly give your beloved iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G a fashion makeover with bright, bold color and glamorous style.

Carefully crafted for a precise fit, the iSkin solo FX perfectly encapsulates the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS’ elegant contours in a beautiful, high-gloss bodysuit. The iSkin solo FX raises the style bar even further by adding an embossed designer pattern that demands attention, and a fabulous mirror film that you'll wonder how you ever lived without.

Delivering fashionable everyday protection against impact, scratches, dirt, dust, and everyday hazards, the form-fitting solo FX is also hot/cold temperature resistant, odorless, and available in a range of stunning high-gloss color options.

The iSkin solo FX is thoughtfully designed to protect your iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS without sacrificing functionality. You’ll enjoy the optimal convenience of completely unhindered screen, docking port, headphone and camera access, while your essential volume and power buttons remain safely and snugly protected.

The iSkin solo FX arrives with an enhanced non-slip surface treatment that feels fantastic and helps you keep a confident grip on your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS. It also helps stabilize your beloved device when placing it on angled surfaces.

The solo FX sports a unique mirror film that will provide touch compatible screen protection that will help guard against scratches, dust, and other damage caused by everyday use.

iSkin solo FX for iPhone 3GS/3G are available now from TiPb’s iPhone accessory store…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

In Stock: iSkin solo FX for iPhone 3GS/3G

Patrick Norton from Revision3 was gracious enough to join us last night on iPhone Live! and tell us about the new internet show he’s co-hosting, AppJudgement. According to Norton, many of the Revision3 staff were so passionate about their mobile devices they just couldn’t resist adding this show to their lineup. Check out the first episode, embedded above, and find out what Norton and friends think of iPhone twitter clients.

(They’ll also cover Android Apps, and when more are available, Palm Pre. Windows Mobile and BlackBerry should also be on the horizon).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

AppJudgment Brings Mobile Application Reviews to Revision3 Network

Did Apple CEO Steve Jobs approach former Palm CEO Ed Colligan back in 2007 with a gentleman’s agreement to stop hiring each other’s employees? (Similar to the agreement allegedly just terminated between Apple and Google?)

Bloomberg, based on communications revealed by Palm’s Derick Mains, says indeed he did. The conversation reportedly took place in August 2007, after Apple unveiled the iPhone in January and shipped it in June — and after Apple had hired 2% of Palm’s workforce to do it. Palm then brought former Apple iPod executive Jon Rubinstein on board to reboot their smartphone efforts, and it’s at this point Steve Jobs apparently stepped in:

Jobs, Apple's CEO, told Colligan he was concerned that Rubinstein was recruiting Apple employees. "We must do whatever we can to stop this," Jobs said in the communications. [...] Jobs said Apple had patents and more money than Palm if the companies ended up in a legal fight, according to the communications.

Palm’s response?

"Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual's desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal," Colligan said to Jobs, 54, according to the communications. Colligan said he thought about Jobs's proposal and considered offering hiring concessions, before deciding against it, according to the exchanges.

Palm, of course, did go on to hire liberally from Apple’s iPhone engineer ranks. Still, it’s interesting to see Palm offering up this exchange on a silver platter during a time when tech companies in general, and Apple in particular, is coming under higher government scrutiny. It comes on the heels of other recent Palm vs. Apple scrapes, of course, including the ongoing jousting match over iTunes sync and USB access, the still simmering patent dispute Jobs hints at above and that Apple and Palm have played about in the media, and of course humorous comments from investor Roger McNamee and Colligan himself about how the iPhone is/was doomed.

[via Engadget]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Steve Jobs Asked Palm’s Colligan to Stop Stealing Apple Employees?

As the typical timeframe for Apple’s annual Music Event — focused on iTunes and the iPod — draws close, rumors have once again turned to… the Beatles. Perhaps because no other band seems both as close to Apple founder Steve Jobs’ persona, and yet is still utterly missing from the digital download space.

This year, however, the Beatles do show up on Rock Band, and are releasing newly, digitally, remastered CDs, so will we finally get a Beatles on iTunes announcement this year to cap things off?

Ugh. Who knows? Why even bother to speculate any more, to track possible yellow iPod colors, to monitor McCartney’s California travel plans, to play last year’s Let’s Rock keynote backwards for clues. It’ll happen when it happens.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple is Holding a Music Event - So Beatles on iTunes Rumors, Right?