Maybe There Are Problems With Nokia Batteries
The exploding mobile phone battery issue seems to be the story of the last few months. I've stated repeatedly that Nokia has done a terrible marketing job in response to exploding phone claims. While they've been accurate in blaming the problem on non-Nokia replacement batteries, they've done little to nothing to provide any comfort to those who were victims. Now, clearly, it hasn't been their fault, but taking the "Tylenol" example, if people don't know where to turn when a dangerous problem shows up, they turn to the one company they do know. A more reasonable response would have been first to express concern and admit that they would do whatever possible to prevent the problem from happening again. Instead, they've continued to repeat the same line: "It's not our fault. It's your fault for buying a replacement battery." There are much more consumer friendly ways of getting the message out. Of course, now, a research group is saying that they actually have found problems in Nokia batteries that could cause them to explode. Nokia denies that this is possible. The repeated immediate denials from Nokia don't make me any more comfortable about their phones. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with them first investigating the issue and then explaining their findings.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team