unlocked cell phones: Mophie and Best Buy recall iPhone, iPod touch battery cases over fire fears

unlocked cell phones: Mophie and Best Buy recall iPhone, iPod touch battery cases over fire fears

Mophie and Best Buy recall iPhone, iPod touch battery cases over fire fears

We’ve just recently heard a couple of reports about iPhones catching fire - one on board an airplane flying to Sydney, and another one in Brazil, and now overheating concerns have caused Mophie and Best Buy to recall battery packs for the iPhone and iPod touch. Two external battery cases were recalled complying with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 

The CPSC has documented nine cases of minor burns to users, 44 issues with the case getting deformed from heat and 110 reports about excessive warming. The reason could be in a faulty integrated circuit causing overheating. Mophie has recalled 6,118 Mophie Juice Pack Airs for the iPod touch 4th gen.

But the issue is of much higher proportions over at Best Buy where 32,000 external battery packs selling under the Rocketfish brand. The cases were sold for nearly a year and a half from April 2010 to September 2011. And again, the CPSC has recorded three cases of direct burns and four with property damage, with total number of overheating-related issues standing at 14. The cases have been sold in US and Canadian Best Buy stores.

For Mophie, serial numbers of Juice Pack Airs between TR113XXXXX-XX - TR120XXXXX-XX might be affected and qualify for a replacement. Best Buy will offer a $70 gift card for those qualifying for the recall, while in Canada the sum amounts to $150.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Hands-On: Initial impressions

We have our very own Samsung Galaxy Nexus and while we haven’t had it too long, we’re going give you some initial impressions of the world’s first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone.

We’re not going to waste your time with a big intro. Onward!

HARDWARE

The first thing you notice when you open the box is that the Galaxy Nexus’ face is clean. There’s no longer any capacitive or physical buttons that disrupt the look of the device and the only thing you really can pick out is the front-facing camera and ear piece. The phone is very light, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since most of the device is made of plastic. The lightness may make it seem as if the Galaxy Nexus is a cheap handset but we can assure you that it’s not.

Other than the lightness of the device, you’ll notice two things. One is that the Galaxy Nexus is a rather large phone and the second is that even though it’s a large phone, it fits and feels great in the hand. The handset is actually pretty similar in size to the Galaxy S II, with the Galaxy Nexus being just a little taller. Even with a 4.65 inch display, the small bezel makes handling the device a breeze.

The overall design of the Galaxy Nexus reminds of a Galaxy S II mixed with a Nexus S. The curved display is a nice touch, even if it’s not as dramatic as we’d like it to be. The rear of the handset reminds us of the Galaxy S II’s textured backing but latest Nexus still stands on its own. The battery cover is actually a pain to put back on, as there are many different tabs you need to press in to secure it but it’s something you’ll likely get used to. Plus, given that there’s no removable storage on the device, chances are that you won’t be removing the battery cover all that much.

Speaking of the display, it’s seriously something to behold. The worries that the screen on the Galaxy Nexus would produce rigid edge and pixelation are quickly shot in the face, as the HD Super AMOLED display is beautiful. Colors pop and the new Roboto font is as crisp as can be. It’s really hard to say something bad about the screen. Whites are whites and blacks are black, just like you’d expect from even a standard AMOLED display. Having a 1280 x 720 resolution just helps.

Sporting a 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4460, the Galaxy Nexus definitely isn’t in short supply of raw processing power. Everything seems snappy throughout on the Galaxy Nexus and while we can thank the snappy processor for a good chunk of that, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

SOFTWARE

Ice Cream Sandwich is a dramatic departure from what we’ve seen on Android before. For one, it’s very easy on the eyes and it’s much easier to use. In my short time with the device, I’ve realized that it will be hard to overcome certain Android habits that I’m used to doing with previous versions.

You’re still given the five homescreen panels we’re used to in Android and you’ll find that there’s a Google search bar on top of all homescreens now, which can’t be removed. Ice Cream Sandwich also introduces resizable and scrollable widgets and it’s been worth the wait.

The new layout is essentially Honeycomb for phones, as you’ll find the same color scheme and navigational methods found throughout. Applications and widgets are now found in the same place, which is something I’m not used to yet. Long pressing the homescreen will only give you options for wallpapers now, so this will take some getting used to when trying to add widgets if you’ve been a long time Android user.

Gone are the days that dedicated buttons for search and menu are required, as well as physical or capacitive buttons. Navigation buttons are now found on-screen, with only the options for back, home, and multitasking. The lack of a search option irks me right now and it’s one thing I’m not sure if I want to get used to. Luckily, there’s a hack for that.

Ice Cream Sandwich trims a lot of the fat that Android had on it prior and for the most part, it’s a good thing. The OS has never looked better and even though there is a slight learning curve, you’ll be cruising on ICS highway in no time with little troubles.

We still have a lot of digging around in Ice Cream Sandwich to come up with a final verdict but we can say that it’s pretty freakin’ sweet so far.

Stay tuned for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich reviews!

Nokia N9 PR 1.2 update screenshots leak out: improved camera, gallery apps

The Nokia N9 might be the only lonely MeeGo warrior out there, but with killer looks and updates rolling out in an almost surprisingly timely manner, it’s definitely one of the interesting handsets out there. Last week, Nokia started pushing PR1.1, the first update to the platform, to N9 users, but even though not everyone has got it, a lucky user already got a chance to play with PR1.2, the next coat of bug fixing and polish for MeeGo.

The biggest thing about PR1.2 is an all-around enhancement in the photographic department. The camear app for once has more controls like flash put on the screen without the need to tap into menus. Additionally, the gallery app comes with face recognition support.

In other fields, MeeGo PR1.2 brings refreshed icon styles and apps can now be controlled via the app menu. There’s also change in Nokia’s Pure Text font, but for all of that just check out the pictures. Feel free to also share your experience with the Nokia N9 in the comments below.