iPod: heats up, smoke, explosion!

An eleven year old girl watched as her mp3 player turned into a piece of burnt up plastic;. Apple are reported to have offered to give her her money back on the condition that she accept a confidentiality clause..

Spectacular and strange as it may seem, the device started to make a high-pitched noise before heating up, starting to smoke and then exploding. It would seem that this occurrence, reported by the Times, is not an isolated case.

What is even more astonishing is Apple’s reaction: they are reported to have accepted to reimburse the cost of the device on the condition that the girl keep silent about what had happened or be taken to court. It seems likely that the incident is linked to overheating of the Lithium-Ion batteries, a problem identified by Apple and which reminds us of similar problems many other manufacturers have had.