August 18, 2009 3:58 PM PDT

EU's exploding-iPhone investigation heats up

by Matt Hickey

Updated at 4:43 p.m. PDT with comment from Apple.

I do not want this in my pants.

I'm on my third iPhone (having upgraded twice), and I've also owned an iPod Touch. I loved them all dearly, largely because they never exploded into flames, burning me and my family alive. Just saying.

But it seems that other people might not have been so lucky. Numerous reports say the European Commission is now looking into accounts of exploding iPhones and iPod Touches--and Apple is cooperating, according to The New York Times.

Apple said "these are isolated incidents," commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns told reporters in Brussels. "They don't consider that there's a general problem." Kearns said the company is seeking more information on the reported incidents and will do necessary tests.

Claims of iPhones exploding have surfaced in Britain and France, with at least one person, a teenager, sustaining an eye injury. In addition, KIRO TV in Seattle has turned up 800 pages of documents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that include cases of burning or flaming iPods.

There have been many well-documented cases of laptop batteries bursting into flames, so it's plausible that iPhones could heat up too, given that they use the same (or similar) battery technology.

"We are aware of these reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers," Apple said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon. "Until we have the full details, we don't have anything further to add."

Editors' note: The damage to this iPhone was the result of someone trying to hack the device.

With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt.