More Sony batteries recalled
2pnet.net News:- The Sony Corp battery scandal is taking on the dimensions of the Sony BGM rootkit spyware scandal as the company recalls a further 526,000 laptop batteries worldwide.
The latest company to experience serious problems with the lithium-ion power packs was China’s Lenovo with it and IBM announcing the recall after a ThinkPad notebook explosively caught fire at Los Angeles airport.
To extend battery life, battery makers have been putting more flammable liquid into them and making other parts smaller and thinner, says CHina state news agency Xinhua, going on:
"This, in turn, increases the potential problem, as it is more likely that thinner materials will come loose and interfere with the proper working of the battery cell."
The recall impacts laptops produced from Feburary 2005 to September 2006, according to a Lenovo spokesman, says the story, going on:
"PC makers and component suppliers buy the lithium ion battery cells and design batteries around them. The cells can provide several hours of electricity to laptops but the liquid inside them is flammable.
"If a short circuit takes place, a chain chemical reaction can occur that melts the battery or causes the laptop to explode. Lenovo actually inserts technology into its batteries to prevent chain reactions and has contemplated licensing it to others."
In August, Dell asked customers to return 4.1 million faulty laptop batteries, Apple recalled 1.8 million, warning they could catch fire, and Toshiba also recalled 340,000 laptop batteries, notes Xinua, adding the Lenovo ThinkPad T43 caught at Los Angeles International Airport as the user was boarding a plane.
And a Yahoo employee’s Dell laptop burst into flames at their Mission College campus in Silicon Valley,
Sony said short circuits could occur on rare occasions when tiny metal particles come in contact with other parts of the batteries, according to Reuters, which says Toshiba’s recall brings the number of batteries recalled to more than seven million.
"Sony said the costs of the replacement program were not clear at present because details such as the duration of the program and the number of batteries to be replaced have not yet been formally established," says the story.
Also See:
Xinhua – Lenovo recalls laptop batteries made by Sony, September 29, 2006
Reuters – Sony battery woes deepen on more PC maker recalls, September 29, 2006
burst into flames - Sony powered Dell box explodes, September 22, 2006
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