There are problems  like some of Dell's laptops smelling like cat pee  and then there are problems - like "tablet exploding in store, terrifying onlookers."

This time around, it's Apple that's the subject of the unfortunate incident. According to the Daily Mail, an iPad Air recently burst into flames at an Australian Vodafone store, forcing patrons to evacuate the outlet.

"The explosion and fire were so severe that the fire brigade had to be called in to fight the smoke and sparks that were continuing to burst out from the device," the paper said.

According to a Vodafone spokeswoman, however, the tablet involved was an older Retina display version of the iPad, not the new iPad Air. "Apple is investigating the cause," she said.

A spokesperson told the Daily Mail that flames initially appeared right around the device's charging port. That's about as much information as we currently know; "no additional information is available," Vodafone told PCMag.

"That sounds exactly like what happens when you overcharge a Li-Po (Lithium Polymer) battery, which apples specs say the air has," wrote Reddit user AeitZean. "Most devices with Li-Po batteries have overcharge protection circuits, this just sounds like the case of a rare one that had a faulty circuit. If this happens to Air's on a more regular basis then it could be a design fault, but otherwise it just sounds like a random accident."

Apple itself hasn't issued any kind of comment about the incident. Over the summer, Cupertino warned customers to use only official chargers to juice up their iOS gadgets. That came after a Chinese woman was electrocuted by a charging iPhone, while another incident in the region also left a man in a coma after he reportedly used a third-party or fake charger for his iPhone 4.

For more, see PCMag's review of the iPad Air and the slideshow above.

Editor's Note: This story was updated Monday with comment from Vodafone.

Further Reading

Tablet Reviews