COMPUTER giant Apple tried to silence a family after a young girl's iPod exploded and they sought a refund. The firm told Ken Stanborough it would on

Apple has attempted to gag owners of exploding iPods who apply for a refund. The situation came to light after 11-year old Ellie Stanborough was given an iPod Touch, which developed a serious battery problem.

"It made a hissing noise," her father told The Times. "I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour."

Mr Stanborough threw the device out of his back door, where "within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air".

The family contacted Apple to get a refund for the faulty hardware, but were told that they would receive compensation only if they signed a gagging order preventing them from discussing the exploding iPod with anyone.

Apple also declined to admit liability for the fault, and said that it would sue for damages if the gagging order was breached.

Mr Stanborough refused to sign the order. "I thought it was a very disturbing letter. They are putting a life sentence on myself, my daughter and Ellie's mum, not to say anything to anyone," he said.

"If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they would take litigation against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling. We didn't ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back."

Increasing numbers of reports are emerging of problems with the iPod's lithium batteries. The Japanese government has issued a warning on the matter, and Apple currently faces a legal suit in Ohio after an iPod allegedly exploded in a child's pocket.

Apple will no doubt be looking to avoid the cost of a battery recall, similar to that which had to be carried out by the company and many others over exploding laptop batteries.

In 2006 Apple had to recall 1.8 million laptop batteries over similar problems. With over 170 million iPods sold so far, the cost of a recall could be staggering.



SOURCE:http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2247197/apple-tries-gagging-orders

Exploding iPod and an Apple at tempt to gag us.

COMPUTER giant Apple tried to silence a family after a young girl's iPod exploded and they sought a refund.

The firm told Ken Stanborough it would only return his money if he promised not to speak about the settlement, and threatened legal action if he did.

But he refused, saying he found their letter 'very disturbing'.

The incident, which has left the family [pounds sterling]162 out of pocket, comes after it emerged that Apple had allegedly tried to do the same to customers in the U.S. Mr Stanborough, 47, complained after he dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie's iPod Touch A flash-based iPod from Apple that was modeled after the iPhone. It is essentially a thinner iPhone without the phone capability and uses a touch screen for navigation rather than the illustrious click wheel. Like the iPhone, the only physical button displays the main menu. because it was overheating.

'It made a hissing noise,' he said. 'I could feel it getting hotter in my hand and I thought I could see vapour.' He threw the music player out of his back door and 'within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air'.

After contacting Apple and Argos, where he bought the device, Mr Stanborough managed to speak to an Apple executive.

He then received a letter in which the company denied liability but said it would offer a refund if the family agreed to 'keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential'.

It added that any breach of confidentiality 'may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief injunctive relief n. a court-ordered act or prohibition against an act or condition which has been requested, and sometimes granted, in a petition to the court for an injunction. , damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties'.

Mr Stanborough, a self-employed security worker from Liverpool, said: 'They're putting a restriction on myself, my daughter and Ellie's mum, not to say anything to anyone.

'If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they could take litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.

When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling.

'We didn't ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back.' An Apple spokesman said that the company could not comment because it had not looked at the Stanboroughs' iPod. Argos also refused to comment.

The Trading Standards Institute The Trading Standards Institute, formerly the Institute of Trading Standards Administration (founded in 1956), formerly the Incorporated Society of Inspectors of Weights and Measures (founded in 1881), is the professional association which represents trading standards professionals said it did not know whether such letters were standard across the industry. But it added it could understand that Apple would want to protect its reputation by trying to reach a confidential settlement.

Last week, it emerged that Apple tried to hush up to procure silence concerning; to suppress; to keep secret.
- Pope.

See also: Hush several similar cases of exploding iPods in the U.S.

Documents obtained from the Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested that the iPods' lithium ion A rechargeable battery technology introduced in 1991 that provides greater charge per pound than nickel metal hydride. In 1993, Toshiba introduced the first notebook in the U.S. with a Li-ion battery. batteries could be the source of the problem.

In 2006, Apple and Dell recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems in laptop computers.

And in March, a mother in Ohio began court proceedings against Apple after her son's iPod Touch allegedly exploded in his pocket, burning his leg.


SOURCE:http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Exploding+iPod+and+an+Apple+at+tempt+to+gag+us.-a0204968453

Apple tries to gag Brit over exploding iPod

Times Online has an exploding iPod story with two major elements: the size of the explosion (fortunately no one was hurt), and Apple's response. The story says:

Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie's iPod Touch last month. "It made a hissing noise," he said. "I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour". Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where "within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air".

It would have been worse if, for example, the same thing had happened on a plane.

After getting what sounds like a run-around from Argos, where he bought the device, Ken contacted Apple. The Times story says:

As a result of the conversation, Apple sent a letter to Mr Stanborough denying liability but offering a refund.
The letter also stated that, in accepting the money, Mr Stanborough was to "agree that you will keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential", and that any breach of confidentiality "may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief, damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties".

He rejects this idea, though Apple says it's "standard practice".

The story then moves on to the information dug up by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, which was the subject of a blog post here on 23 July: iPods that sometimes burst into flames

KIRO said Apple's lawyers tried to prevent the information getting out, which leads the Times to say: "Last week it emerged that Apple had tried to keep a number of cases where its iPod digital music players had started to smoke, burst into flames and even burned their owners, out of the public eye." The Times adds that:

Last year the Japanese Government warned that iPod Nanos presented a potential fire risk, saying there had been 14 cases in the country where the players had caught alight, with two people suffering minor burns.

None of this gets us very far. We already know that lithium batteries are a potential hazard, not just in iPods or iPhones but in vast numbers of similar devices. What we don't know is whether iPods are more (or even less) susceptible than other products. The sheer scale of iPod sales (173m or so) means that there are likely to be more iPod-related incidents, even though the risk appears to be very, very small.

Either way, it could be bad news for Apple, simply because news is a fashion industry. The publicity could encourage more people to come forward with exploding iPod stories (if there are any), and they are more likely to be publicised because the topic is, after all, in the news.

But it will probably be hard to see any impact on iPod sales, which fell in the Apple's last financial quarter. Unless, of course, someone gets seriously hurt.


SOURCE:http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/aug/03/uk-ipod-explodes

Apple attempts to gag iPod meltdown victim

Apple attempted to slap a gagging order on a Liverpool father who sought a refund after his 11-year-old daughter's iPod Touch overheated and melted.

The firm said it would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form, according to The Times.

The proposed agreement attempted to prevent the family from ever disclosing the terms of the settlement.

Ken Stanborough said he asked Apple for a refund, but the firm denied liability and offered a refund in return for an agreement to keep the matter quiet.

A letter from Apple said that any breach of confidentiality "may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief, damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties", he said.

An Apple spokesman said the firm had not looked at the Stanboroughs' damaged iPod and could therefore not comment.

Apple has tried to keep quiet a number of cases where its iPod music players had overheated and even burned their owners.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission provided 800 pages of documentation on the cases in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The commission's investigators said that the iPods' lithium ion batteries could be the source of the problem.

Several manufacturers, including Apple, Dell, HP and Sony, have recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems.


SOURCE:http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/08/03/237147/apple-attempts-to-gag-ipod-meltdown-victim.htm

Apple Offers to Trade Gag for Refund in Alleged Exploding iPod

When an 11-year old girls' iPod exploded, Apple UK agreed to refund the purchase price to the girl's father in exchange for a confidentiality agreement that threatened a lawsuit if the family ever disclosed the settlement terms or even its existence. This, according to Ken Stanborough, the girl's father, who told his story to The Times of London.

According to Mr. Stanborough, the story began when he dropped his daughter Ellie's iPod touch and it began making a hissing sound. "I could feel it getting hotter in my hand," he said, "and I thought I could see vapour."

Mr. Stanborough then threw the iPod out of his back door, where "within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10 feet in the air."

In the States, this would usually result in some form of litigation where the victim of the exploding device would seek hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) from Apple for the trauma associated with such an ordeal. Being English, and in England, Mr. Stanborough instead asked for a refund.

That process involved a long phone call where he was passed from department to department, and eventually talked to a local Apple UK executive who offered him the refund he was requesting, and sent him an agreement to sign. That agreement included the confidentiality clause, which The Times referred to as a gagging order.

The gagging order angered Mr. Stanborough, who was worried about signing away a "life sentence" where any even accidental mention of the incident could land him and his family in court.

"They’re putting a life sentence on myself, my daughter and Ellie's mum, not to say anything to anyone. If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they would take litigation against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling. We didn't ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back."

So, Mr. Stanborough threw away the letter and told his story to an English newspaper with a global circulation.

We should point out that this is only Mr. Stanborough's side of the story, and the incident of the exploding iPod touch is alleged only. It also involves being dropped, which goes beyond proper use of an iPod, though we would hazard that it wasn't the first iPod to be so dropped.

At the same time, however, we should point out that Apple has had to recall laptop and iPod batteries, and there have been scattered reports for several years of a very small number of various iPod models that have exploded or caught fire over the years


SOURCE:http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/apple_offers_to_trade_gag_for_refund_in_alleged_exploding_ipod/

iPad Gag Apps Missing: No iFart for iPad?

Browsing through the iPad's App Store this morning, I noticed that one mainstay of the iPhone and iPod Touch market are conspicuously absent.

There's no iPad version of iFart Mobile, Koi Pond, iBeer or Bubble Wrap -- yet. These simple, time-wasting apps are among the most popular programs for the iPhone and iPad Touch, but there's no sign of anything like them in the top downloads section of the App Store. (Click left image to enlarge)

So is the crap app dead on the iPad? It's too early to know for sure, mostly because none of the apps I mentioned above are even available in iPad form yet. In the meantime, it's possible that iPad owners are downloading the iPhone versions of these apps and running them in pixel-doubled mode, which wouldn't be reflected in the App Store charts.

Nonetheless, the iPad appears to be a different beast than the iPhone in terms of what people are downloading. The top five paid apps on the iPad charts are Pages, Numbers, Keynote (all from Apple's iWork productivity suite), GoodReader and Real Racing HD. The top five free apps are iBooks, ABC Player, Netflix, USA Today and WeatherBug Elite.

For comparison, let's look at the current top five paid and free iPhone apps. On the paid side, there's The Simpsons Arcade, Doodle Jump, Monopoly, Big Button Box Pro (a soundboard) and MLB.com At Bat 2010. The current top performing free apps are The Impossible Test (a touch-based reaction game), MicroCars, the historic events calendar On This Day, Batter Up Baseball and the silly picture mash-up program PhotoChop.

The difference is clear: iPad apps are more serious. There are fewer games in the charts and no mindless diversions. Having spent the weekend with an iPad, it makes sense. After using the iPad for a few hours, the iPhone feels like a toy. It's conducive to apps of little consequence. But the iPad is more like a computer. You want to watch videos and read books on it, and maybe even get some work done.

While we haven't seen the likes of iBeer and iFart Mobile on the iPad yet, the iPad App Store might not be so hospitable to these iPhone mainstays. At least in that regard, the iPad is not just an oversized iPod Touch

SOURCE:http://www.pcworld.com/article/193450/ipad_gag_apps_missing_no_ifart_for_ipad.html

iPod Explodes, Refund Offered Only With Gag Order

"Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child's iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company. The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement."

If your product explodes, endangering the owner, the least you can do is offer to replace that product, no strings attached. Apple, in their typically controlling manner, was only willing to offer a replacement product if the owners agreed to never tell anyone about what happened, on fear of prosecution. That's not unusual when we're talking about multi-million dollar settlements, but for an iPod? Gross overkill.

SOURCE:http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/94704/ipod-explodes-refund-offered-only-with-gag-order.html

Apple tried to silence owner of exploding iPod with gagging order

Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company.

The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement.

The case echoes previous circumstances in which Apple attempted to hush up incidents when its devices overheated.

Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month. “It made a hissing noise,” he said. “I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour”. Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where “within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air”.

Mr Stanborough contacted Apple and Argos, where he had bought the device for £162. After being passed around several departments, he spoke to an Apple executive on the telephone. As a result of the conversation, Apple sent a letter to Mr Stanborough denying liability but offering a refund.

The letter also stated that, in accepting the money, Mr Stanborough was to “agree that you will keep the terms and existence of this settlement agreement completely confidential”, and that any breach of confidentiality “may result in Apple seeking injunctive relief, damages and legal costs against the defaulting persons or parties”.

“I thought it was a very disturbing letter,” said Mr Stanborough, who is self-employed and works in electronic security. He refused to sign it.

“They’re putting a life sentence on myself, my daughter and Ellie’s mum, not to say anything to anyone. If we inadvertently did say anything, no matter what, they would take litigation against us. I thought that was absolutely appalling.

“We didn’t ask for compensation, we just asked for our money back,” he added.

Last week it emerged that Apple had tried to keep a number of cases where its iPod digital music players had started to smoke, burst into flames and even burned their owners, out of the public eye.

An American reporter obtained 800 pages of documentation on the cases from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) following a Freedom of Information Act request in that country. However, she was unable to get hold of the documents for months after “Apple’s lawyers filed exemption after exemption”.

In those cases, CPSC investigators suggested that the iPods’ lithium ion batteries could be the source of the problem.

In 2006 Apple and Dell recalled millions of lithium ion batteries because of overheating problems in laptop computers causing fires — some of the biggest consumer electronics recalls in history. As of September last year, 173,000,000 iPods have been sold worldwide.

A number of bloggers have reported cases where iPods have exploded — usually involving older versions of the digital music players. Last year the Japanese Government warned that iPod Nanos presented a potential fire risk, saying there had been 14 cases in the country where the players had caught alight, with two people suffering minor burns.

In March, a mother in Ohio began court proceedings against Apple, after her son’s iPod Touch allegedly exploded in his pocket, burning his leg.

An Apple spokesman said that, as the company had not looked at the Stanboroughs’ damaged iPod, it could not comment. Argos also refused to comment.

The Trading Standards Institute said that it could not comment on whether such letters were standard across the industry, but that it could understand that Apple would want to protect its reputation by trying to reach a confidential settlement.


SOURCE:http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article6736587.ece

Apple gags schoolgirl over exploding Ipod

WHEN AN 11 YEAR-OLD GIRL'S Ipod exploded, Jobs Mob sent her family a letter threatening legal action if they blabbed about the incident.

Ken Stanborough from Liverpool accidentally dropped his daughter Ellie's Ipod. The device started hissing and overheating rapidly, so he threw it into the garden where it exploded with a pop and jumped 10 feet into the air, Stanborough told the Times.

Naturally enough, Stanborough contacted retailer Argos where he'd bought the music player, and Apple, to obtain a refund.

After a telephone conversation with Apple, the company sent Stanborough a letter denying liability but offering a refund, so far so standard procedure. But the letter also ordered the family to keep news of the settlement secret, otherwise Apple would seek damages and legal costs.

Stanborough has declined to sign the letter and Apple and Argos have yet to examine Ellie's fiery Ipod.

Despite news of over-heating Ipods leaking out into the blogosphere, the fruit-themed toymaker has done its best to suppress the extent of the problem. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission released 800 pages of documentation on Ipod problems only after a Freedom of Information Act request was filed by a US reporter.


SOURCE:http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1495946/apple-gags-schoolgirl-exploding-ipod