(RIM update below) New mobile tech can often suffer from some early teething problems shortly after being released that can normally be fixed with a simple software upgrade, but occasionally we get to hear of more potentially serious issues affecting the mobile phones we use. Today we are hearing of a problem that has hit someone’s BlackBerry Curve 9320 with it reportedly exploding and some are calling for RIM to recall the device.
It is being reported by the Coventry Telegraph that a BlackBerry Curve 9320 owned by a thirteen year old boy caught fire, with the owner’s eleven year old brother suffering burns to his legs. RIM are said to be investigating the issue with the handset that is only two weeks old, but are currently resisting calls by the boy’s parents to issue a recall on the handset.
The device was unplugged from the mains socket shortly before it apparently exploded setting a duvet and bed on fire, and the handsets plastic body melted and stuck to the legs of the owner’s younger brother.
He was then rushed to the local hospital for treatment by his parents who are now demanding the model is recalled before Christmas, and RIM have issued a statement saying that they have met with the family but currently have yet to get hold of the affected handset with the battery and charger.
The BlackBerry Curve 9320 has only been available for around six months and despite the company’s continued slide in the smartphone market would have sold a good number of the handsets. Many teenagers like BlackBerry’s for the BBM service, and even my own daughter has the Curve 9320.
I will obviously keep more of an eye on how often she leaves the handset plugged in charging, but she has had the device since the end of August with no issues so far. We will have to wait until RIM can have a look at the handset and publishes its findings before we will know if this is an isolated incident, unless more reports suddenly emerge with the same problem.
Mobile phone users as well as owners of other electrical equipment are always advised not to leave products charging unattended, and this mirrors a report we had recently of a Nexus 7 suddenly melting while on charge, but this also seems to be an isolated incident.
Are you worried about this report and have you had issues with the BlackBerry Curve 9320?
UPDATE: We have had a statement from RIM, please read –
RIM statement
“RIM takes claims of this nature very seriously and a senior member of our team met with the family today (4th December) to initiate a full investigation into this matter. In order to proceed with this investigation, we require the products that were involved in this incident to be made available for a full technical review. At this point in time, the family has not provided RIM with the battery or charger for analysis and have said they are unable to locate the device itself. We have a team on standby to conduct this investigation as a priority as soon as the family makes these products available to us. RIM is committed to ensuring our products are safe and we invest significantly in R&D and testing to ensure we meet or exceed all regulatory standards here in the UK and around the world.”