Archive for December 8, 2014

Another Samsung Phone Catches Fire

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 8, 2014 by itnerd

It seems that we have another case of a Samsung phone going up in flames. Here’s the details from CBC News:

Ontario university student Hope Casserly will never forget the night of Oct. 22, when she was awakened at around 1:30 a.m. by a loud popping sound.

She says she is still stunned by what happened next.

“My back was to the phone and ah — I saw a light going across my shoulder, which would be the inside of the battery on fire. It hit the wall and fell onto my bed,” she said.

“I realized it was a fire and so I half sat up and put out the fire with my pillow … looked over and realized there was another fire and put that out with my pillow again and … turned on all the lights to see what happened.” 

That’s not good to say the least. Here’s what Samsung had to say:

“Samsung takes product quality and customer safety very seriously. After a preliminary analysis, Samsung has determined that the battery used in Miss Casserly’s Samsung Ace II X was not a Samsung authorized battery,” the company told CBC. “We have provided the customer with a replacement device and will be following up with the customer to resolve the matter”.

Okay. That sounds reasonable, except that the student claims she wasn’t using a third party battery. That also brings up another point. If Samsung is trying to deflect blame by saying she was using a third party battery, why give her a new phone? Inquiring minds would like to know the answer to that question. Regardless, she’s too scared to use the replacement as she is afraid the same thing will happen again. I don’t blame her for feeling that way. But there are a couple of other things to point out. First is this:

This is the first case Go Public could find involving the Galaxy Ace II x battery. But there are many similar stories in the news from many parts of the world including the U.S., the U.K. and Jerusalem involving another Samsung model — the Galaxy S4.

Fox News in the U.S. recently broadcast a story about a 13-year-old Texas girl whose S4 caught fire after it slipped under her pillow while she slept.

In the U.K, a 25-year-old woman told the Daily Mail she narrowly escaped serious injury after she woke up to find her smartphone had caught fire while charging.

In July, the Jerusalem Post reported that Samsung customers there were being encouraged to take their S4 batteries to stores for a replacement. 

Samsung has always maintained the phones are safe.

Hmmm…. That’s a problem that requires a detailed answer from Samsung I think. Then there’s this: Samsung has yet to pay for the damage to her bedding which she estimates to be $1000. I suspect that she’s about to get a cheque really soon given all of the media attention that this case has attracted.

 

Typo Comes Out With iPhone 6 Keyboard… Hopes It Won’t Sued Again

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 8, 2014 by itnerd

Hoping to avoid a lawsuit, Typo, which is backed by celeb Ryan Seacrest, have a new keyboard case for the iPhone 6 that the company likely hopes will avoid the lawsuits from BlackBerry that have plagued the company. That’s what comes across from this article in Re/Code that really didn’t give a lot away on that front. Another thing to note is that the company is working on “a completely different take on a keyboard for the iPad” which is due to ship next year. That might be interesting to see when it ships. It will also be interesting to see if BlackBerry does anything about Typo’s latest product.

 

 

The IT Nerd Award For The Best Smartphone Goes To: BlackBerry Passport

Posted in Products with tags , on December 8, 2014 by itnerd

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The first award of the seven that I am handing out this week was very easy to come up with. The BlackBerry Passport is a unique phone that has a lot going for it. It has a wide screen that allows you to see more and do more. It’s fast as well as having phenomenal battery life. Plus it has a keyboard that doubles as a trackpad. If that’s not enough, BlackBerry Blend allows you to send and receive e-mails, text messages and BBMs on ANY platform unlike competing products from Apple. All of this conspires to make this phone the most unique phone on the market. Thus its no shock that it is getting a lot of positive attention. I have given this company its last rites on more than one occasion over the years, but no longer. Clearly BlackBerry has their mojo back and the Passport is proof of that. They’re a deserving winner of the best smartphone award.

Sony Possibly Hacked Again…. This Time It’s the PlayStation Network

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 8, 2014 by itnerd

The hits keep on coming for Sony, and not in a good way. I woke up to the news that the PlayStation Network was possibly hacked this morning. Global News was reporting that it was down for two hours but is now up and running. An investigation is ongoing. This is hot on the heels of the Sony Pictures hack which also had threats e-mailed to Sony Pictures employees. To add to the fun, speculation abounds that North Korea who allegedly has an army of hackers at its disposal was behind the hack because of their displeasure over the upcoming comedy film “The Interview” which is being put out by Sony and spoofs the North Korean regime. But over the weekend, they denied that they were. However they did call it a “righteous deed.”

Take it from me. There’s more to this story to come.