A Galaxy S III owner in Ireland is reporting that his newly-purchased phone burst into flames, exploding with an audible bang while he was taking a drive yesterday. Photos posted by boards.ie user dillo2k10 show a significant amount of charred and molten plastic on the bottom of the device, originating about halfway between the right edge and the microUSB port (pictured above). Samsung has already issued a statement on its blog, saying:

"There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY SIII that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device. Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question."

Lots of companies have had electronics explode over the years, and as far as we can tell, this is the only case of a Galaxy S III overheating. Still, Samsung has to be taking the claim very seriously.