Three people suffered minor burn injuries in eastern India when the battery of a Nokia mobile phone exploded while it was being charged, police said yesterday.
A 54-year-old man and his two grandchildren were slightly hurt near Kolkata, police superintendent Neeraj Kumar Singh said.
"A complaint has been lodged against the dealer who sold the mobile set," Singh said, adding that the phone had the BL-5C series battery, which the Finnish phone maker recalled last month after complaints of overheating.
The injured man said that a Nokia dealer had declared the battery safe when he took his phone to a company outlet after the manufacturer issued an advisory about potentially defective batteries.
Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile-phone maker, said it was investigating the complaint.
"We have received the complaint. Our representatives will visit the customer's home to probe the case," said Poonam Kaul, head of Nokia corporate communications in the city.
It was the third such reported incident in the state of West Bengal, where Kolkata is located, since late last month.
Nokia said last month that about 46 million batteries supplied by Japan's Matsushita Battery Industrial Co Ltd could overheat.
Separately, Nokia yesterday agreed to buy marketing company Enpocket to gain technology for placing advertisements through text messages and e-mail onto handheld devices.
The company didn't disclose terms of the deal. Closely held Enpocket is based in Boston and was founded in 2001, according to a statement by Nokia yesterday.
The US company also has offices in London, Mumbai and Singapore.
Nokia said the purchase will speed its push into mobile advertising by capitalizing on Enpocket's technology and relationships. Nokia is seeking a share of the mobile ad market, dominated by Google Inc and Yahoo Inc. Global sales are estimated to rise to US$11.4 billion by 2011 from US$2.17 billion currently, according to Informa Telecoms & Media Group.
Enpocket, whose customers include wireless operator Vodafone Group Plc and drinks maker PepsiCo Inc, can deliver ``personalized'' ads through text and video messages as well as via the Internet on mobile devices, according to its Web site. The purchase will be completed in the fourth quarter, Nokia said.
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