The talk about Apple’s iPhones in France is currently revolving around two subjects — exploding devices and multiple carrier partners. Exploding devices are catching more headlines, and the company has told news media that there is no evidence that overheating batteries or other such defects are causing the reported bursting of screens during use.
It noted that the number of reports is still very small and that, in all cases, the iPhones’ cracked glass was caused by some “external force” on the device.
Meeting with Consumer Minister
According to news reports, 10 customers in France have described such explosions, including one incident earlier this month which is said to have resulted in a minor eye injury to a teenager. Also earlier this month, Apple had to defend the safety of its smartphone before the European Union.
A French government safety agency has launched an investigation, and Apple’s representative in France, Michel Coulomb, met Friday with Herve Novelli, France’s secretary of state for trade and consumer affairs.
In a press statement, Novelli noted Apple’s findings, and mentioned that, in at least one case, the customer has refused to turn over the iPhone to Apple for examination. Novelli indicated that non-Apple experts in the U.S. were also examining several of the phones.
There have also been reports of as many as 15 iPods bursting into flames in the U.S. and Britain, possibly due to overheating batteries.
Multiple Carriers in France
While the European press is focusing on possible defective iPhones in France, at least one industry observer is looking at Apple’s approach there of having multiple carriers for the iPhone instead of an exclusive one. In his current note to investors, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is predicting that Apple will follow a multiple-carrier strategy in other countries, following the launch of a new product next year.
He…