It may seem something of a departure from the usual iDB content, but just bare with us for a second.
According to Bill Colton, a VP at ExxonMobil, just one gallon of the company's gas has the power to charge an iPhone once per day for a whopping twenty years. That's a lot of charges.
While it is highly unlikely that Apple's next iPhone charger will come with a tank instead of a plug, Colton's point is well received – there's a fair bit of power in that thar gasoline...
Apple's iPhone has arguably been one of the year's hottest devices... literally. Last month we told you about the handset actually catching fire due to overheating on an airplane enroute to Sydney Australia, and it seems it's happened again.
A fire department located in the town of East Brandywine, Pennsylvania published an interesting report to its incident blog earlier this month regarding an iPhone catching fire. The exploding handset belonged to one of the firefighters...
Some people aren't happy unless they are destroying things. We've already witnessed the various "will it blend" videos showing Apple hardware being subjected to the inside of a blending machine, but the latest method of destroying an iPad really takes the cake.
For a reason we have yet to fathom, iDevice accessory maker ZooGue's CEO thought it would be a good idea to see what happens when you dip an iPad 2 into lava. Yes, you did read that right...
If you're an adrenaline junkie or just someone that likes to spend their free time at great heights, then you're no doubt very aware of the risks carrying your gadgets. Dropping your iPhone when on a ski lift or falling from 10,000 foot surely isn't a good feeling.
One company is trying to take the worry out of such daredevil feats by offering a last line of defense, should the worst happen. Drop your iPhone while bungee jumping – no, we're not sure why you would be holding it at that particular time, either – and you're golden, all thanks to the Kenu Highline.
The Highline is a special kevlar loop which acts as a mini-bungee, meaning any accidental drops will see your iDevice safe and sound instead of smashed into tiny, tiny pieces. Awesome, if you like that kind of thing...
If there is one thing you really don't want to happen, it's your iPhone setting itself on fire. If there's something you really, really don't want to happen, it's the aforementioned combustion happening on an airplane!
During a flight between Lismore and Sydney, Australia, a passenger's iPhone began to emit "a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow," which apparently isn't a good thing to happen mid-air.
The fire was extinguished and the flight landed safely, but the poor iPhone has certainly not survived...
In a novel publicity stunt, device case maker G-Form has thrown an iPad from the nose bleed-inducing height of 1300 feet.
In order to prove just how strong the company's iPad case really is, G-Form decided to drop one from a parachuting daredevil while a video plays on it, just for effect. As is predictably the case, if you'll pardon the pun, the iPad survives the fall, though it is fair to say that the case itself has seen better days...
We've already shown you the iPhone 4S that got sent into space, and now we're back with the news that two iPads will visit the International Space Station next month.
The iPad will be the first tablet sent into space, and NASA will continue to experiment on how to use tablets on future space missions. Accompanying the iPads on their maiden voyage will be, you guessed it, an Angry Birds plush doll.
Trevor Prideaux from the U.K. was born without his left arm. At age 50, he has embedded a dock for his smartphone into his fibreglass and laminate prosthetic limb.
The Telegraph reports that medical experts chiseled a fibrecast cradle for Prideaux's fake arm so that he could text and check his phone easily. The only problem? Prideaux uses a Nokia C7...
Singer Jonathan Mann decided to record a duet with Siri, Apple's newest AI interface in the iPhone 4S.
Siri is known for her attitude, and this duet demonstrates just how much of a heartbreaker Siri can be...
Many people have bought an iPhone 4S already, but none of us have sent our iPhone to space. Thats exactly what a YouTube user by the name of "FinalCutKing" did. He purchased two iPhone 4s's on launch day, and put them in a helium balloon. He then sent them up, and waited patiently for them to fall safely back to Earth. While the iPhones were up there, they took some amazing footage of the Earth's atmosphere.
Think your iPad screen is too small? If you have $35,000 to spare, we might have the solution for you. It's called PadZilla, and it's made by a company called Crunchy Logistics.
It's not totally clear how the PadZilla works, but it appears to act as an interactive accessory mounted on top of your iPad or iPhone, displaying everything on a giant multitouch screen...
The first vending machine, according to Wikipedia, was invented by Hero of Alexandria. The Greek engineer's machine would dispense holy water upon coin deposits. Obviously, it's come a long way since then.
Nowadays vending machines carry everything from drinks to candy. And in some places, (mostly airports) you can even score a digital camera and other small electronics from these digital kiosks. So, where do these things go from here?Â