Samsung cell phone battery explodes in man's pocket

For the second time in a year, a lithium-ion battery in a Samsung mobile device catches fire.

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The battery of a 2011 Samsung Galaxy Note was said to have caught fire in a man's pants pocket.

(Credit: CNET)

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for overheating, catching on fire, or exploding. Yet, they're in most electronics that people use daily.

One such battery set ablaze over the weekend while in a man's pants pocket, according to theAssociated Press. The man was walking around with his Samsung mobile phone in his pocket when the battery caught on fire, giving him second-degree burns and a one-inch wound on his thigh. Officials said the battery was not inside the phone when it exploded.

The incident took place in South Korea, which is where Samsung is based. According to the local newspaper the battery was from a 2011 Galaxy Note, although the Associated Press said that is still unconfirmed.

This was the second known time in the last year that a Samsung battery has caught fire in South Korea, according to the Associated Press. However, the smartphone maker told the news outlet that it was not planning an investigation.

Lithium-ion batteries are known for havingissues with heat. As they have become more widely used, several similar incidents have occurred over the years. A cell phone battery spontaneously caught fire in a man's back pants pocket at Defcon last year; and, in 2009, a man was killed by his exploding phone severing his neck artery.

Nokia, Dell, Apple, Lenovo, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Fujitsu have all recalled products in the past due to overheating batteries. And, most recently, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was ordered grounded until 2014 due to on-board fires involving lithium-ion batteries.

Xbox 720 rumored to block used games

Xbox 720 rumored to block used games

This may very well be the year of new gaming consoles, folks. Sony has a PlayStation event planned for February 20 where we could finally see the PlayStation 4, and it’s also likely that we’ll hear more about Microsoft’s Xbox 720 at E3 2013 in June. Rumors have already been pouring in, but several new rumors have come in just this morning, including the speculation that the next Xbox may include technology that will block used games from being played.

EDGE Magazine has some juicy details on the Xbox 720, thanks to “sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft’s next generation console.” It’s rumored that the console will require activation codes for games, meaning that used, second-hand games are out of the question and won’t be allowed to play on the new console, meaning that new games that you bought won’t be able to be resold.

While this system could easily be thwarted by just not connecting to the internet on the console, it’s also said that the Xbox 720 will require an always-on connection to the web for just this reason. Having both the activation codes and the internet connection is certainly a great way to prevent piracy, but it may not be completely foolproof, and hackers will no doubt try to find a way around it.

This concept may seem ridiculous, but it’s far from new. Valve’s Steam gaming platform for PC, Mac, and Linux runs in a very similar fashion, where some games require activation codes and are stuck on your account, meaning you can trade or sell games that you’ve played through and are done with. Of course, this is all just speculation at this point, but it wouldn’t be absolutely crazy if Microsoft ended up implementing this kind of system in their next console.