All this talk over the years, about whether or not cellphones are a danger to the humans that use them, usually never included phones that explode. For one man, who lives in North Texas, it would seem that he’s learned the hard way that our favorite gadgets can turn deadly in the blink of an eye. That’s probably more dramatic than it needs to be, but there’s quite a bit of blood on that Motorola Droid 2, which reportedly exploded right next to the man’s ear.

The report states that the man, who was using his brand new Motorola Droid 2 from Verizon, was about to end a call, when he heard a loud pop. It took him a moment to realize that there was blood trickling down his face, and then he looked at the phone. The glass near the speaker at the top of the phone had cracked, and there was blood, for anyone around to see. The phone itself? Still works. The battery is even unaffected.

The man is uninsured, so he’s going to seek money from Motorola and Verizon, but as of the time of this writing, neither companies have commented on the situation.

[via PhoneArena]

 

15 COMMENTS

  1. Highly suspect. The phone still works, battery is intact, and yet a “pop” (characterized as having exploded) causes the type of damage to Gorilla Glass that is apparent in that image? I find the story incredible to say the least.

    If the phone is being described as still working, I would interpret that to mean that the speaker is also working properly. Even a massive audio burst from the small transducer in these phones would likely cause NO damage, let alone the type of damage shown in the photos.

    The damage to the glass at the point of epicenter (where the speaker slot is) appears to be more from a blunt force impact than from some type of “explosion”. Further, the glass appears “dented inward” such as would be from an impact, not outward as one would expect from an explosion, since an explosion is a release of contained pressure that would push container and contents outward (hence “ex”).

    I sure hope this is investigated intensely and defended properly so as not to create a wave of such “injury” claims. If this turns out to be insurance fraud, I want to see the perpetrator brought up on charges to the maximum allowed by law.

  2. OK thats BS there is nothing located there that could even explode.

    Not to mention the stupid anouncer… “…new Android 2 phones.” That would be Droid 2 phones. I hate that Moto/HTC chose the Droid name for their Android OS phones, but I hate it more when reporters and advertisers get it wrong, because it is their job to get it right!

  3. @PhilK, I agree with you assertions, my only final consideration is perhaps the glass “exploded.” That is, that the glass shattered or ruptured violently from temperature shock, or perhaps caused from a manufacturing defect. I think that is still plausible. Not highly, but plausible.

  4. Joshua, Don’t take everything you read at face value. There are always people out there who wish to capitalize on a news-worthy event, and the press is quick to give it the coverage desired by the perpetrator. On the other hand, if this IS credible (which I would almost put my life on – isn’t), then there is FAR more to the story than what has been published so far. DerekM brings up a point that I had considered but chose not to mention.

    That said, there are examples of glass going through a catastrophic failure all at once, and essentially bursting in a huge release of stress. A perfect example is the glass being sold now by Chinese manufacturers under the Pyrex trademark.

    Pyrex used to be a Corning product but the patent was sold to a Chinese company. In their ever relentless attempt to make things cheaper, the Chinese determined they could substitute Soda Lime glass for Borosilicate glass and make glass that would withstand temperature shock nearly as well as Pyrex, but at a far lower cost to produce. They then market this Soda Lime Glass under the Pyrex trade name. The problem is that over time with repeated heating and cooling (especially rapid temperature changes), Soda Lime glass builds up microscropic stress fractures, a venerable latticework of fractures that run throughout the entire glass object eventually making the glass so unstable that in some cases all at once the glass explodes into thousands of shards under the release of that stress. Pyrex made by Corning never suffered this same problem.

    Google Pyrex exploding and you’ll see many stories of this problem. This has resulted in original Corning Pyrex bowls selling used on eBay for several times more than the original retail value.

    Anyway, Gorilla Glass is neither Soda Lime nor Borosilicate Glass, but is a proprietary Alkali-Aluminosilicate treated glass that doesn’t posess these stress traits. The former Motorola Razr did use Soda Lime Glass but was subject to breaking so the move to Gorilla Glass was made. Now of course, nobody in their right mind is going to microwave and then pour cold water onto their phone, but that’s essentially what would have to happen to cause a similar failure.

    Anyway, the risk of such a failure under “NORMAL” use is so miniscule that there is probably greater chance you’ll be killed in a car crash in your lifetime

  5. Very slim chance at any type of monetary compensation from the companies. These companies spend an extreme amount of time with engineers and developers in efforts to establish a safe and reliable piece of equipment. To have this “shattered”, if you would, is preposterous! I believe this is a desperate attempt for the “15 min of fame”. It is sad the things that one would do to themselves for a quick buck.

  6. I hope that Motorola buys the phone back, takes it apart, then discovers NOTHING exploded. The speaker slot looks mainly undamaged. Maybe it did pop. I am just says it is highly unlikely motorola’s fault. My first stop would have been the hospital not to get photos.

  7. Considering the weather we have been having lately (I’m in Chicago) it was about 20 degrees the other day. If this man’s phone was outside for long enough, and then he put it up to his ear, it’s quite possible that the temperature difference in addition to a weakness in the glass could of caused this. But that news report is such bull. They blow it way out of proportion with the music and their emphasis on the “danger”. Wow.

  8. Guy probobly got slapped upside his head and it smashed th phone into his head and ear. Looser if anything inside that phone exploded it wouldn’t work such a crock. Prob some crackhead tryin to get his next scheme on

  9. $4000 for a cat scan, stitches and pain meds?! Thank goodness I live in a country with a national health service. I pity you Americans having to pay for healthcare like that, or having to battle with greedy insurance companies who don’t want to pay out.

    You know, the UK has one fifth the population of the USA, but a GDP that is one third the size. Per head of population the UK’s GDP is higher than the USA’s and the UK has an NHS! Germany had the very first NHS and still has one today and they’re an economic powerhouse too and the list goes on.

    You guys need to stop being paranoid about “socialism” (as you see it) and look after each other’s health and welfare better. $4000! My goodness, no wonder you’re always suing one another!

  10. JoshuaC & JoeJ, I completely agree…Mrwin, I know that temperature changes can cause glass to fail, especially under stress. However, his ear was likely nearly as cold as the phone was, and frankly a 20 degree piece of glass that suddenly is raised to even 98.6 degrees shouldn’t fail. It would take a much larger increase in temperature to cause the kind of damage the photos show. Even more, as said before the damage looks more like an impact damage rather than any kind of “explosion”.

    I’m with Seriously Dude and Brian B on this one. I feel like this completely bogus. Like JoeJ said, I would go to the emergency room for treatment, not my wife’s employer for a photo op.

    UknowImRight, the really sad part is no matter WHO the health care was provided by, the costs for this little “episode” are going to be bourne by everyone in the country. Besides, what does it matter whether he had national health care or not? The bill is the bill.

    As for “socialism” (which should be capitalized), it’s just another word for equality in unilateral poverty. Give me the “Land of Opportunity” and a “free market” over any socialistic economy and government any day of the week.

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