While RIM and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo still don’t know why their BlackBerry Bold is feeling a little toasty around the keyboard, the duo has ruled out a likely culprit, the battery, as its unwelcome heat source. Word on the street is an estimated 30 people have issued complaints about the mobile device heating up while recharging, with around 4,000 units being sold before DoCoMo halted sales. One analyst speculates the issue — which so far has affected only Japan — may be based on region-specific software of other customizations. We’re sure the pair are working around the clock to get to the bottom of this malfunction, but in the meantime, we recommend dusting off the ol’ 8707h to get that retro BlackBerry feel — y’know, just for kicks.

Filed under: Cellphones

NTT DoCoMo’s overheating BlackBerry Bold not caused by battery, says RIM originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

NTT DoCoMo halts BlackBerry Bold sales after reports of overheating originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA has yet to step in and confirm this publicly, but a purported leaked memo from the outfit has been posted over at VR-Zone. What’s it say, you ask? Only that the company “strongly recommends that customers transition to the latest revision of the NB8E-SET GPUs as soon as possible.” Said revision taps a new Hitachi underfill packaging material that “improves product quality and enhances operating life by improved thermal cycling reliability.” If you’ll recall, certain PC vendors such as Dell issued their own firmware updates to combat the weak packaging set in the chip maker’s faulty GPUs earlier this year, but it appears that NVIDIA’s solution is to just let bygones be bygones and get on with the new and improved.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

NVIDIA reportedly urging customers to buy new problem-free GPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

You think your liquid-cooled rig is pretty snazzy, don’t you? After Purdue researchers get their technology on the streets, that stuff will seriously look like old hat. The team is working on a “miniature refrigeration system small enough to fit inside laptops and personal computers,” which would hopefully boost cooling performance while enabling computers to be smaller. According to Suresh Garimella, they have “a very good handle on the technology,” but it’s still a ways from being implemented in end products. Don’t worry though, we’re sure the likes of Alienware and Voodoo PC will have it up as optional equipment just as soon as it clears the quality assurance lab.

[Via TheFutureOfThings, thanks Iddo]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Never has one company mooched off of poor design like Nyko. Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but according to the peripheral maker, the original Xbox 360 Intercooler is the top selling third-party accessory for the Xbox 360 — despite the fact that it’s known for torching consoles and leaving bits of carpet hot and bothered. Nevertheless, the long, long overdue Intercooler TS (for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) features a built-in temperature sensor and its own dedicated AC adapter, which will hopefully solve the aforesaid issues experienced with the original. This new, non-hazardous version will sell for $25, while the old, potentially hazardous iteration will somehow remain on store shelves for $20. Spend the extra $5 — it’s cheaper than a new house.

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

When everything looks like a netbook, anything out of the ordinary sticks out like a festering wound at Computex. One such sore thumb came from the Thermalright display, which saw a number of new cooling devices basking in the glory and just waiting for photographers. While most items at the booth were generally uninteresting, this particular image shows off one TR-360 — something we can only assume is a replacement heatsink for the Xbox 360. All we’ve got right now is the picture above along with one other in the read link, but here’s to hoping Thermalright gets around to sharing more information soon.

[Via Xbox-Scene, thanks Xant]

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Filed under: Gaming

Sure, you’ve heard the horror stories of faulty Xbox power cables sparking up fires in homes, but it seems the latest case involves the aforesaid console’s successor: the Xbox 360. According to Little Rock, Arkansas fire department captain Jason Weaver, a 360’s power cord was to blame for a blaze that injured no one (thankfully) but caused some $100,000 in property damage. Mr. Weaver asserted that the power supply was likely crammed in a tight spot with no “space to dissipate heat,” and while we’ve certainly seen no shortage of overheating Xbox 360s, this marks the first time that we’ve seen high temperatures wreak havoc on more than just the machine’s internals. Here’s to hoping this isn’t the start of a dreadful trend.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not even a month after three iPods got all hot and bothered on separate occasions, along comes images showing that even Apple’s iPhone isn’t immune to melting itself. Purportedly, the handset was purchased from Carphone Warehouse in December, but was never activated for one reason or another. Just this week, the owner’s son slapped it in a dock with intentions of activating, walked downstairs to catch the last few minutes of Magnum, P.I. and returned to his room to find a “stupidly hot” iPhone which had already melted in some parts and had its screen cracked from the reaction. Not surprisingly, he’s currently in the middle of a runaround trying to get someone to remedy the issue, but thankfully no Earthlings, carpets or IKEA desks were harmed.

Update: Thanks to Logan5’s quick eyes, it appears we’ve discovered a scammer in our midst. Essentially, this bloke posted the real story here noting that the crack (more on that here) actually appeared after it was mishandled and dropped. Haven’t we learned this approach doesn’t work by now?

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Filed under: Laptops

Drop those pitchforks m15x owners and prepare to update, Alienware just released a fix to your overheating (and downclocking) problems. A new beta BIOS — X29b P3A30 — features a few tweaks including the ability to spin-up the fan to a new 5400rpm max. So more noise for more speed; sounds like a reasonable trade-off to us. Unfortunately, the new BIOS is only available if you email area51_m15x@alienware.com for a copy. A general release is expected shortly. Until then, however, it looks like all m15x shipments are on hold. Ouch.

[Via Laptop, thanks Kris J.]

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