Kyocera Wireless Corp. resumed shipments of several phone models following the company’s investigation into an incident of an apparent exploding phone.
“There was no explosion,” said Kyocera spokesman John Chier.
Chier said the incident was actually caused by a safety feature built into the phone’s battery. Chier said the phone’s battery short circuited, causing heat and pressure to build up inside of the battery. To prevent a “more serious failure,” Chier said the battery “vented” the heat and pressure by expelling graphite dust. The graphite dust might have led to reports of a smoky explosion, but Chier said the release of graphite dust is a safety feature common to cell-phone batteries, and the dust itself is harmless.
“This is a very unique incident,” Chier said. “We’re very confident in the safety of the battery and the phone.”
Chier said Kyocera resumed shipments of its KE400/KX400 series mobile phones late last week, following an extensive investigation into the incident. According to Nebraska TV station WOWT 6 News, an area family purchased a Kyocera phone through Cricket carrier Leap Wireless International, and it exploded without warning. None of the family members was injured in the incident, which occurred the weekend of Oct. 4.
Chier said Kyocera has been selling the type of battery involved in the incident for two years, and the company is satisfied with its performance.
