Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/12/04/exploding_droid_2/

My Droid EXPLODED mid phone call, says Texan

An incendiary conversation

By Dan Goodin

Posted in Personal Tech, 4th December 2010 00:10 GMT

A Texas man says he had to get four stitches in his ear after a spanking new Droid 2 smartphone exploded while he was in mid conversation.

A bandaged Aron Embry told a local Fox News affiliate he heard a popping noise but didn't think much of it until he realized he sustained minor injuries.

“I felt something dripping,” he told the news outlet. “I realized that it was probably blood. I went into the house, and as I got into the bathroom and once I got to the mirror and saw it, it was only then I kinda looked at my phone and noticed the screen had appeared to burst outward.”

Embry said his Droid 2 still works perfectly, although the model he displayed for the camera had multiple cracks in the touch screen and smears of what appeared to be dried blood.

A spokeswoman for Droid manufacturer Motorola said the company is investigating the claim.

It's the latest claim of a must-have electronic device turning against its owner. Last year, a 15-year-old boy filed a $250,000 lawsuit after claiming his iPod Touch exploded and torched his trousers. MacBooks and laptops from a variety of other manufacturers have also suffered similar claims, usually, it's said, as a result of faulty batteries. Perhaps the topper is the 2002 tale of a scientist who burned his penis after placing his notebook on his lap for an hour.

Embry, who doesn't have health insurance, said he plans to hire an attorney. We have no doubt he'll find plenty of takers. ®