Last Monday, rumors started going around about AT&T issuing an order for store managers to stop selling QuickFire GTX75 units, as well as to pull any demo handsets off the floor. While the only reason given at the time were “quality issues”, the actual circumstances surrounding the decision has been cleared now.
According to AT&T, the Sidekick-wannabe has a charging problem that sees it overheat when the charger is incorrectly plugged into the phone. The problem is detailed in a company email and SMS sent out to current Quickfire owners, which warns about “significant overheating of the phone when the AC Charger adapter is inserted incorrectly and forced”. To help avoid the unfortunate event, AT&T is including a diagram in the emails for the proper insertion of the charger into its slot.
While the phone won’t malfunction when the charger is slotted in correctly, the design allows for some awkward placement and a small wiggle room, which isn’t uncommon for many handsets. I particularly remember a couple of Sony Ericsson units I have owned which had the same fitting issues. In QuickFire’s case, however, the design flaw is fatal and can turn the trendy device into a junk shop piece in no time.
No explosions have been reported, however, which should at least provide a modicum of good news. However, the punchlines that are bound to come out of this are pretty brutal, considering how open to an obvious joke the handset’s name lends itself to.
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