Apple’s new Core i7-based iMac might be a performance monster, but it looks like the whole family’s having some problems getting out of the gate: in addition to the previously-noted performance issues with the Core 2 Duo models, a quick glance across Apple’s support forums and on other Mac boards around the web reveals that some machines are showing up DOA and / or with cracked screens. We’re a little more familiar with the DOA issue, since the new i7 we just bought doesn’t boot at all, but the cracked screen issue seems to be equally common and mostly affecting the bottom left corner, from what we can tell. Now, our review Core 2 Duo 27-inch iMac is perfectly fine, and Chris Ziegler’s new Core i7 machine doesn’t have any problems either, so these obviously aren’t universal issues, but if you’re about to stick one of these under the tree for someone it might be wise to do some surreptitious testing first.

Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA — including ours originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports of iPhones exploding, starting fires and killing people in cold blood have been around since the inception of the handset. They’ve also been relatively sporadic, seemingly short on evidence, and Apple hasn’t given complaints much credence or response. So when we heard a story from France the other day about a security guard’s iPhone “exploding” and sending a shard of glass into his eye (though apparently not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit), it was a little hard to believe, but with a few other stories of cracking screens due to overheating cropping up in Europe over the past couple weeks, French authorities have taken an interest in the story. Anecdotally, a teen says his phone “imploded” in Belgium and gave him a headache, a woman’s phone cracked without warning, and ten or so victims in France have come forward to complain of similar problems, picking up the interest of a French consumer watchdog group. Apple is naturally not new to the concept of overheating in its battery-powered devices — in fact, it’s just entered into its first full-on iPod nano recall in Korea of the 1st-gen players after numerous reports of battery faultiness worldwide — but with 26 million iPhones out and about, and the iPhone 3GS tending to run a bit hotter than its siblings, a systemic problem with one or all models of the handsets isn’t something consumers or Apple would take lightly.

Herve Novelli, France’s top trade official, met with Apple France’s Michel Coulomb today to discuss the problem, and so far Apple is sticking to its guns: it claims that reported incidents are in the single digits, and that all cases it’s investigated fully so far have turned out to be blamed on “external force” to the screen. Herve and Michel seem to have parted on friendly terms, promising to keep in touch over the issue, and the EU’s alert system for dangerous consumer products (inexplicably dubbed RAPEX) is staying in the loop as well, asking the 27 member nations to keep tabs on the situation. Novelli says it’s “too early to blame anyone,” and we’d have to agree, but we hope Apple keeps up the (freshly) open communication about this issue going forward.

Read - French minister meets Apple exec over iPhone problems
Read - Apple denies ‘exploding’ iPhones
Read - Apple denies battery problem with exploding iPhones
Read - Belgian teenager latest victim of exploding iPhone phenomenon

Filed under: Cellphones

Overheating iPhone reports ‘exploding’ all over France, Apple responds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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