French iPhone user seeks expert probe into 'explosion'

Relax News
Friday 13 November 2009 20:00 EST
Comments
(courtesy of Apple)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A French businessman who claims the screen of his iPhone shattered spontaneously has asked a court to appoint an independent expert to investigate the device's safety, his lawyer said Friday.

Lawyers for Apple, which makes the popular smart phone, and Bouygues, which markets it in France, opposed the call, noting that the alleged incident is the subject of a police fraud inquiry, lawyer Patrick Luciani added.

"My client wants a neutral expert to tell him what caused this problem and tell him whether he can continue to use this type of telephone," Luciani said, after lodging a motion at the commercial court in the southern city of Cannes.

Several French iPhone users have claimed in recent months that touchscreens have exploded, including one who claimed to have been hurt by flying glass, but the manufacturer insists there is no evidence of a design flaw.

French authorities have launched an investigation into the reports, but no evidence has yet been found that the phones are liable to explode without the application of an "external force", the firm has said.

The worldwide cult success of the iPhone helped California-based Apple post a massive quarterly net profit of 1.76 billion dollars last month, despite the global economic downturn.

The Cannes court is to rule on Luciani's suit on December 3.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in