Hasta La Gadget!

Apple is investigating claims that an iPhone 5 owner was killed while answering a call, with Chinese police confirming the user, 23 year old Ma Ailun, was indeed electrocuted. The woman was charging the iPhone 5 at the time of the alleged incident, Chinese site Xinhuanet reports, and according to comments by her sister was killed by an electric charge through the handset. Apple has said it is cooperating fully with authorities, though declined to comment on any specifics.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family” Apple said in a statement, Reuters reports. “We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter.”

According to local police, Ma was indeed electrocuted, and that is believed to be the cause of death. However, they would not confirm whether or not her iPhone 5 was involved.

Ma’s older sister has already pinned the blame on the Cupertino firm, however, suggesting that all smartphone owners should avoid using devices while they’re plugged in. “[I] hope that Apple Inc. can give us an explanation” she wrote on messaging service Sina Weibo. “I also hope that all of you will refrain from using your mobile devices while charging.”

One possibility is that the charger itself could be at fault, particularly if it was not an official unit. Last December, a UK iPad user received an electric shock from a fake Apple charger, the Birmingham Mail reported, with a local trading standards spokesperson confirming that a similar incident had caused the death of a young boy some months earlier.

Meanwhile, US product testing and verification company UL was forced to issue a warning earlier this year after identifying counterfeit iPhone chargers that had faked its approval label. “These USB power adaptors have not been evaluated by UL to the appropriate Standards for Safety,” the company said in a statement at the time, “and it is unknown if these power adaptors comply with any safety requirements.”

Apple investigates iPhone 5 electrocution death claim in China is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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As bike rental programs get more and more popular in big, tourist-friendly cities around the world, wouldn’t it be great if occasional cyclists could get a temporary helmet on the cheap? That’s the goal of the designers behind the Paper Pulp Project, who have designed a bike helmet made from recycled newspaper that costs less than $1.50 to produce, but is claimed to protect as well as a more expensive option.

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In an attempt to improve safety and reduce the number of accidents on the world’s curviest roads, Ford has developed an experimental brake light that lets vehicles behind you know there’s slow traffic ahead, even if they can’t see your lights.

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Bicycle riders in New York now have a new weapon in the commuting wars. The CitiBike Smart Helmet will show you the way to the nearest CitiBike docking station. That’s pretty handy. Maybe I should say heady. It is a helmet after all.

The Carrera foldable helmet used for this project is embedded with LED strip lights, a FLORA accelerometer, a compass and a FLORA GPS system. All of this is used to guide the rider to the nearest bike docking station in the city, using blinking lights in the periphery of the rider’s vision to show them the way. The colorful LEDs on top serve no purpose other than to provide a cool light show, though.

That should save people a lot of time and effort. This project comes from Tyler and Justin Cooper, who have provided all the instructions to make your own CitiBike Smart Helmet if you are inclined. Pretty neat.

[Adafruit via Damn Geeky]

Now that New York has finally joined the rest of the world with a city-wide bike rental program, users are finding great ways to further improve the service. Including Adafruit’s Becky Stern who retrofitted a run-of-the-mill bike helmet with a wicked LED light show and a handy indicator that lets riders find the nearest Citi Bike station—ensuring they always get their ride back on time.

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