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USA Today
Dell to recall 4.1 million laptop batteries
No. 1 PC-maker Dell (DELL) said Tuesday it is recalling batteries of 4.1 million laptop computers because they can overheat and cause fires.
A Dell spokesman said Monday that the Sony batteries were in notebooks shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 this year. They came with more than 30 laptop models and also were sold separately.
"In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and/or fire," said Dell's Ira Williams. "It happens in rare cases, but we opted to take this broad action immediately."
Dell launched a website, http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, that described the affected models. Williams said the website tells consumers how to get free replacement batteries from Dell.
Rick Clancy, a Sony spokesman, said the companies have studied problems with the battery packs intensely for more than a month, after getting reports of about a half-dozen fires or smoking laptops in the United States.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has received six reports of the batteries overheating and causing property damage in the USA. The same type of battery dramatically caught fire at a Japanese conference earlier this year, an incident that became famous when photographs were posted online.
"We are advising consumers to take this seriously," says CPSC acting Chairman Nancy Nord. "It can go to flame pretty quickly."
Although the batteries bear the Dell name, they were made by Sony (SNE). Such manufacturing relationships are common in the PC industry, though considered trade secrets and rarely disclosed. Sony also sells batteries to many other PC makers but won't reveal which ones, Sony spokesman Rick Clancy says.
CPSC is still in talks with Sony to see whether other recalls are necessary. Dell's chief rival, No. 2 PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), says it is not affected.
The problem is caused in part by tiny metal fragments that got inside batteries during manufacturing. In most cases, the worst they do is short the battery out, preventing it from working, Clancy says. But they occasionally damage safeguards designed to prevent overheating, he says.
CPSC says there have been 176 incidents of laptop batteries and power cords overheating from 2003 to 2005. That includes smoke and some fires. Dell, HP, Apple (AAPL) and others have issued recalls in recent years.
Sony could not say whether any of the previous incidents were caused by the current problem. That's because the battery-manufacturing process evolves over time, and battery problems can vary depending on a laptop's design, Clancy says. Sony has taken steps to make sure that the problem is fixed, though Clancy wouldn't provide specifics. Dell is still a customer, he says.
Tech analysts expect Sony to absorb most recall costs, though Sony wouldn't say. Tech analyst Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates estimates that Sony will end up paying about $103 million in replacement costs. Dell says its costs will not be material.
That's a blow to Sony, which has been struggling to remake its image after a series of missteps. The company announced 10,000 job cuts last year after losing market share in televisions and portable music players. "Sony's having a pretty bad couple of years," says independent tech analyst Rob Enderle. "This is going to do some damage."
Dell to recall 4.1 million laptop batteries
No. 1 PC-maker Dell (DELL) said Tuesday it is recalling batteries of 4.1 million laptop computers because they can overheat and cause fires.
A Dell spokesman said Monday that the Sony batteries were in notebooks shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 this year. They came with more than 30 laptop models and also were sold separately.
"In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and/or fire," said Dell's Ira Williams. "It happens in rare cases, but we opted to take this broad action immediately."
Dell launched a website, http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, that described the affected models. Williams said the website tells consumers how to get free replacement batteries from Dell.
Rick Clancy, a Sony spokesman, said the companies have studied problems with the battery packs intensely for more than a month, after getting reports of about a half-dozen fires or smoking laptops in the United States.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has received six reports of the batteries overheating and causing property damage in the USA. The same type of battery dramatically caught fire at a Japanese conference earlier this year, an incident that became famous when photographs were posted online.
"We are advising consumers to take this seriously," says CPSC acting Chairman Nancy Nord. "It can go to flame pretty quickly."
Although the batteries bear the Dell name, they were made by Sony (SNE). Such manufacturing relationships are common in the PC industry, though considered trade secrets and rarely disclosed. Sony also sells batteries to many other PC makers but won't reveal which ones, Sony spokesman Rick Clancy says.
CPSC is still in talks with Sony to see whether other recalls are necessary. Dell's chief rival, No. 2 PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), says it is not affected.
The problem is caused in part by tiny metal fragments that got inside batteries during manufacturing. In most cases, the worst they do is short the battery out, preventing it from working, Clancy says. But they occasionally damage safeguards designed to prevent overheating, he says.
CPSC says there have been 176 incidents of laptop batteries and power cords overheating from 2003 to 2005. That includes smoke and some fires. Dell, HP, Apple (AAPL) and others have issued recalls in recent years.
Sony could not say whether any of the previous incidents were caused by the current problem. That's because the battery-manufacturing process evolves over time, and battery problems can vary depending on a laptop's design, Clancy says. Sony has taken steps to make sure that the problem is fixed, though Clancy wouldn't provide specifics. Dell is still a customer, he says.
Tech analysts expect Sony to absorb most recall costs, though Sony wouldn't say. Tech analyst Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates estimates that Sony will end up paying about $103 million in replacement costs. Dell says its costs will not be material.
That's a blow to Sony, which has been struggling to remake its image after a series of missteps. The company announced 10,000 job cuts last year after losing market share in televisions and portable music players. "Sony's having a pretty bad couple of years," says independent tech analyst Rob Enderle. "This is going to do some damage."