Nokia exonerates 2125i cell phone in California fire
Nokia 2125i isn't to blame.
(Credit: Nokia)With cell phones being blamed for everything from bad driving to lower sperm counts these days, you might almost feel sorry for them, particularly after investigators blamed a cell phone for starting a fire earlier this week that seriously injured a California man. But now it appears the gadgets aren't all bad. Fire officials in Vallejo, Calif., reversed course and ruled out the man's Nokia 2125i as the cause of the blaze.
Today's announcement came three days after 59-year-old Luis Picaso received second- and third-degree burns from a fire that started in his residential hotel room while he was sleeping. Picaso's Nokia 2125 quickly received the blame for the fire after investigators said there were no other combustible materials in his vicinity. But Nokia officials visited the site and were able to turn on the phone, thus ruling out any short circuits or overheating. That's pretty impressive since the phone no doubt resembled a charcoal briquette. As if we needed more proof that most Nokias are indestructible.
The fire department is now back to square one but suggested Picaso may have just been smoking when he fell asleep. Yet despite the 2125i's innocence, this wasn't the first report of a cell phone fire. Remember kids, counterfeit batteries are bad.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
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