Media attention to product safety is understandable, especially when the product in question comes from Apple, maker of some of the most popular computers, music players, and cell phones on the market. But coverage of recent reports of iPhones and iPods allegedly gone awry verges on overkill.
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In case you’ve been subject to a media blackout, European officials are looking into reports of two exploding iPhones in France. Apple calls these isolated incidents and says it wants to analyze the products. We are aware of these reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers, an Apple spokeswoman says. Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add.
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The reports in France follow an account of an iPod in the U.K. that, after being dropped, made a hissing noise, became very hot, and suffered an explosion that sent it 10 feet into the air. There, too, Apple wants to examine the device before commenting further.
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But some in the British press focused less on the event itself and more on Apple’s request that the customers in question sign a nondisclosure form. That’s standard procedure any time a company settles with a customer for anything more than a refund. The Times of London referred to the document as a gagging order, which in blogs morphed into a gag order, which is something only a court can issue.
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On this side of the pond, a local TV station in Seattle carried out an exclusive investigation by filing a Freedom of Information Act request for complaints about iPods to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The result: 800 pages detailing 15 incidents where iPods reportedly overheated, sparked, or burst into flame. The TV reporter called it an alarming number.
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subhead
Too Few Incidents to Warrant a Recall
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Really? I wouldn’t wish to downplay…