Flat out scary event with iPhone 4!

[Tikatika]

Makes for interesting reading!

http://www.siliconbeat.com/2013/08/29/local-man-burned-up-by-apples-response-to-iphone-fire/

 

[watchthisspace]

Apple’s representative said that simply swapping out the burned iPhone 4 for an undamaged iPhone 4 was all he was authorized to do.
“This is a big thing, and you’re treating it like a repair,” Kelly said he told the company representative.

Haha that's not a repair. He would be getting a new phone! Bashing the rep because he can't do anything more than offer a replacement is not nice either.

Kelly has been using Apple products since the Mac debuted. Given that, he feels like Apple ought to be treating him better.

“I’m a really loyal person for Apple here,” he said.

So what? Just because he's loyal doesn't mean he deserves special treatment.

As someone who has been involved in marketing for years, Kelly is disappointed at how Apple has handled his incident. The company could have won itself some positive publicity if it had quickly offered to replace his phone with a more recent model, he argued.

Again, he doesn't deserve a more recent phone, even under this circumstance.


Here's a question, was he using a genuine Apple charger?

What happened is really bad, yes, but his expectation from Apple is just a bit too much and who is to say there is more to the story than he is telling?

EDIT: The more I think about it, I would expect Apple would have a say or be able to provide assistance as to what to do about the smoke and if any inhalation would need medical attention.

 

[ajt1995]

Why would he want a newer phone? He had an iPhone 4. And if he got a 4s/5 many apple customers would whine because they're "entitled" to a newer phone because of a "potential risk"... I know of a TON of people who have iPhone 4's and none have caught fire, sir, it's a freak accident, just take another iPhone 4.

 

[midwestfisherma]

I think Apple is lucky they don't have a lawsuit on their hands on this one. I'm not sure how I feel about what phone he should be given as a replacement. I can see pros and cons both ways.

 

[stormchaser]

So what the hell does this guy want then?

 

[braddick]

^
15 minutes.

 

[SR71]

So, let me get this straight... he says that he thinks the cause of the iPhone 4 catching fire was because of it's lithium-ion battery, yet when they offer him a NEW iPhone 4, he declines because he thinks that one might also catch on fire, but instead asks for an iPhone 4S or 5 when they also use a lithium-ion battery... because that makes sense. Honestly, these stories just piss me off. This guy acts like he's entitled to a free iPhone 4S or 5 just because he's been a longtime Apple customer.

Lithium-ion batteries are known to possibly catch fire/explode under rare circumstances. This isn't an issue with Apple, it's an issue with ALL lithium-ion batteries. The fact of the matter is that there is no better battery technology out there right now. EVERY mobile device manufacturer uses lithium-ion batteries to power their devices. The one thing I do agree on, however, is that they should've told him whether the smoke was toxic, but in Apple's defense, if he's fine now, chances are it wasn't toxic. Also, a quick google search could answer his question whether it was toxic or not.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

To be honest they could offer him an iPhone 5 or a free new iPhone at the next launch as a gesture of good will. Its quite clear this incident really shouldn't have happened and Apple could reach out a little here IMO.