Apple Gets The Pip Over 'Exploding IPods'

Apple is investigating reports that some iPhones and iPods explode when exposed to direct sunlight.

Several incidents of exploding iPods have been reported across Europe and the US.

The European Commission consumer safety watchdog has launched a separate probe.

An Apple spokesman said the company was waiting to examine the individual appliances.

"We are aware of these (media) reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don't have anything further to add," the spokesman said.

Apple has told the European Commission it does not consider the incidents a widespread problem.

"Apple have come back to us ... and what they've said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents. They don't consider that there's a general problem," said Commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns.

Reports of 'exploding' iPods include the case of a French teenager who was slightly injured when his iPhone started to hiss and then shattered.

Similar stories have been reported in the UK.
Earlier this month 11-year-old Ellie Stanborough's iPod Touch blew up at her home in Liverpool.

Her family contacted Apple to report the incident and were only offered a full refund of £162 if the family agreed to keep the deal confidential.

Apple denied it issued a gagging order on the family.

The company has dealt with safety concerns about their products in the past.

Last year the Japanese Government warned the iPod Nano represented a potential fire risk.

And in 2006 the company recalled some laptops due to over-heating batteries.

Apple use Lithium-ion batteries for their products. These are more powerful than traditional nickel-based batteries, according to the Apple website.

The Silicon Valley-based company has sold in excess of 200 million iPods since the product was launched in 2001.