Dell to Recall 4.1 Million Laptop Batteries
DALLAS (Aug 14) - Dell Inc. said Monday it will recall 4.1 million notebook computer batteries because they can overheat and catch fire. Dell negotiated conditions of the recall with the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, which called it the largest electronics-related recall ever conducted by the agency.
A Dell spokesman said the batteries were made by Sony Corp. and placed in notebooks that were shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 of this year.
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Dell to Recall 4.1 Million Laptop Batteries
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Virgin Atlantic restricts use of Dell, Apple laptops
Virgin Atlantic has banned the use of battery-powered Apple or Dell laptop computers on international flights after recalls over fears they could overheat and catch fire.
"Customers wanting to use an Apple or Dell laptop on board can only do so if the battery is removed," says an advisory on Virgin Atlantic's website.
The website also said that on flights where no in-seat power is provided, "the use of Apple and Dell laptops is prohibited."
Virgin is the third airline to ban the use of the Apple and Dell computers on battery power. Qantas and Korean Air both issued bans on the laptops in August.
The Lithium-ion laptop batteries in question were made by Sony. Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries last month, a move followed days later by Apple's recall of 1.8 million of the power cells.
Apple says it has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including reports of two customers who suffered minor burns from overheated computers.
The company has also received reports of minor property damage. No serious injuries have been reported.
The batteries in Dell notebooks are in machines shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 of this year.
The company said in a statement that the recall would affect approximately 95,000 battery packs sold to customers in Canada.
"In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and [or] fire," said Ira Williams, a Dell spokesman, when the recall was announced Aug. 24.
Battery packs contain cells of rolled up metal strips. Sony said that during production, crimping the rolls left tiny shards of metal loose in the cells, and some of those shards can cause batteries to short-circuit.
Batteries powering Sony's Vaio laptops don't have the same problems, according to the Tokyo-based manufacturer.
The recalls are the two biggest in computer and electronics manufacturing history, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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Virgin Atlantic has banned the use of battery-powered Apple or Dell laptop computers on international flights after recalls over fears they could overheat and catch fire.
"Customers wanting to use an Apple or Dell laptop on board can only do so if the battery is removed," says an advisory on Virgin Atlantic's website.
The website also said that on flights where no in-seat power is provided, "the use of Apple and Dell laptops is prohibited."
Virgin is the third airline to ban the use of the Apple and Dell computers on battery power. Qantas and Korean Air both issued bans on the laptops in August.
The Lithium-ion laptop batteries in question were made by Sony. Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries last month, a move followed days later by Apple's recall of 1.8 million of the power cells.
Apple says it has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including reports of two customers who suffered minor burns from overheated computers.
The company has also received reports of minor property damage. No serious injuries have been reported.
The batteries in Dell notebooks are in machines shipped between April 1, 2004, and July 18 of this year.
The company said in a statement that the recall would affect approximately 95,000 battery packs sold to customers in Canada.
"In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and [or] fire," said Ira Williams, a Dell spokesman, when the recall was announced Aug. 24.
Battery packs contain cells of rolled up metal strips. Sony said that during production, crimping the rolls left tiny shards of metal loose in the cells, and some of those shards can cause batteries to short-circuit.
Batteries powering Sony's Vaio laptops don't have the same problems, according to the Tokyo-based manufacturer.
The recalls are the two biggest in computer and electronics manufacturing history, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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Toshiba to recall 340,000 notebook computer batteries, report says
TOKYO (AP) - Toshiba is recalling 340,000 batteries worldwide made by Sony Corp. for its laptops because of problems in recharging them, the latest in a series of embarrassing battery problems for long-respected Sony.
The batteries sometimes stop recharging or run out of power, but no injuries or other accidents have been reported, Toshiba Corp. spokesman Keisuke Omori said Tuesday, while declining to give the number for reported problems.
The defect is not directly related to the problem behind last month's recall of Sony batteries by Dell and Apple, which cited concerns that the batteries could overheat and catch fire.
Dell Inc. asked customers to return 4.1 million faulty laptop batteries, while Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries worldwide.
In both those cases, the troubled lithium-ion batteries were made by Sony Energy Devices Corp., a Japan-based subsidiary of Sony Corp.
Tuesday's recall affects 100,000 laptop batteries in the U.S., 45,000 in Japan, and the rest in other parts of the world, Omori said.
The problems are found in some of the battery packs for Dynabook and Satellite laptop models manufactured by Tokyo-based Toshiba from March through May this year, and they will be replaced for free, he said.
The series of production problems at Sony comes at a crucial time when the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company behind the Walkman portable player and PlayStation video game machines has been trying to bolster its brand image under the leadership of its first foreign executive, Welsh-born Howard Stringer.
Earlier this month, Sony said it would postpone the European launch of its PlayStation 3 by four months to March over problems with producing a component in the Blu-ray disc part of the machine.
The much-awaited upgrade console is set to hit stores in November in the United States and Japan as planned, but fewer units will be available, according to Ken Kutaragi, the executive in charge of the project.
Last week, Sony said it will postpone by a week until Sept. 23 the Japanese launch of its new digital Walkman because of a malfunction of an unspecified part of the portable music player.
Sony has been fighting to make a comeback after falling behind Apple in portable music players and other rivals, including Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, in flat-panel TVs - both hit electronics products in recent years. Sony has been successful in selling slimmed down TVs lately with panels made in a joint venture with Samsung.
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TOKYO (AP) - Toshiba is recalling 340,000 batteries worldwide made by Sony Corp. for its laptops because of problems in recharging them, the latest in a series of embarrassing battery problems for long-respected Sony.
The batteries sometimes stop recharging or run out of power, but no injuries or other accidents have been reported, Toshiba Corp. spokesman Keisuke Omori said Tuesday, while declining to give the number for reported problems.
The defect is not directly related to the problem behind last month's recall of Sony batteries by Dell and Apple, which cited concerns that the batteries could overheat and catch fire.
Dell Inc. asked customers to return 4.1 million faulty laptop batteries, while Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries worldwide.
In both those cases, the troubled lithium-ion batteries were made by Sony Energy Devices Corp., a Japan-based subsidiary of Sony Corp.
Tuesday's recall affects 100,000 laptop batteries in the U.S., 45,000 in Japan, and the rest in other parts of the world, Omori said.
The problems are found in some of the battery packs for Dynabook and Satellite laptop models manufactured by Tokyo-based Toshiba from March through May this year, and they will be replaced for free, he said.
The series of production problems at Sony comes at a crucial time when the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company behind the Walkman portable player and PlayStation video game machines has been trying to bolster its brand image under the leadership of its first foreign executive, Welsh-born Howard Stringer.
Earlier this month, Sony said it would postpone the European launch of its PlayStation 3 by four months to March over problems with producing a component in the Blu-ray disc part of the machine.
The much-awaited upgrade console is set to hit stores in November in the United States and Japan as planned, but fewer units will be available, according to Ken Kutaragi, the executive in charge of the project.
Last week, Sony said it will postpone by a week until Sept. 23 the Japanese launch of its new digital Walkman because of a malfunction of an unspecified part of the portable music player.
Sony has been fighting to make a comeback after falling behind Apple in portable music players and other rivals, including Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, in flat-panel TVs - both hit electronics products in recent years. Sony has been successful in selling slimmed down TVs lately with panels made in a joint venture with Samsung.
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Toshiba announces recall of Sony batteries as embarrassment for Sony grows
Posted 9/29/2006
By Yuri Kageyama
TOKYO (AP) - Major Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Friday that it is recalling 830,000 batteries made by Sony for its laptops, the latest in a growing global recall involving Sony batteries.
Details weren't immediately available. Fujitsu spokesman Masao Sakamoto also said the Tokyo-based company will be making a decision soon about its laptops using Sony lithium-ion batteries.
The move follows an announcement from Sony Corp. earlier in the day asking manufacturers using its problem batteries to carry out exchanges.
Overnight, IBM Corp. and Lenovo Group, the world's third largest computer maker, said they were seeking the recall of rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries purchased with ThinkPad computers after one of them caught fire at Los Angeles International Airport this month.
In August, Dell asked customers to return 4.1 million batteries, and Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries worldwide, warning they could catch fire.
Last week, Toshiba said it was recalling 340,000 laptop batteries, also made by Sony, but due to a different problem that caused the laptops to run out of power.
The recalls involving Sony batteries is largest electronic-related recall in U.S. history. It's a major embarrassment for the Japanese electronics and entertainment powerhouse, which is in the midst of a major overhaul of its operations, closing plants, shutting divisions and trimming jobs.
Sony has said the batteries could catch fire in rare cases when microscopic metal particles came into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a short circuit. Typically a battery pack will power off when there is a short circuit; but on occasion the battery would catch fire instead.
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Posted 9/29/2006
By Yuri Kageyama
TOKYO (AP) - Major Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said Friday that it is recalling 830,000 batteries made by Sony for its laptops, the latest in a growing global recall involving Sony batteries.
Details weren't immediately available. Fujitsu spokesman Masao Sakamoto also said the Tokyo-based company will be making a decision soon about its laptops using Sony lithium-ion batteries.
The move follows an announcement from Sony Corp. earlier in the day asking manufacturers using its problem batteries to carry out exchanges.
Overnight, IBM Corp. and Lenovo Group, the world's third largest computer maker, said they were seeking the recall of rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries purchased with ThinkPad computers after one of them caught fire at Los Angeles International Airport this month.
In August, Dell asked customers to return 4.1 million batteries, and Apple Computer Inc. recalled 1.8 million batteries worldwide, warning they could catch fire.
Last week, Toshiba said it was recalling 340,000 laptop batteries, also made by Sony, but due to a different problem that caused the laptops to run out of power.
The recalls involving Sony batteries is largest electronic-related recall in U.S. history. It's a major embarrassment for the Japanese electronics and entertainment powerhouse, which is in the midst of a major overhaul of its operations, closing plants, shutting divisions and trimming jobs.
Sony has said the batteries could catch fire in rare cases when microscopic metal particles came into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a short circuit. Typically a battery pack will power off when there is a short circuit; but on occasion the battery would catch fire instead.
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Sony to recall own batteries
Posted 10/25/2006
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. <6758.T> said on Tuesday it may change its full-year earnings forecast because of costly recalls of its batteries and a price cut for its PlayStation 3 video game console.
Sony also said it would recall 90,000 of its Vaio brand laptop computer batteries in Japan and China, adding its name to the list of PC vendors recalling a total of about 8 million Sony batteries, which the company has said can on rare occasions overheat and catch fire.
"We are in the process of determining whether a revision to our annual earnings outlook is necessary, taking into account various factors that could affect our group earnings," the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said on its Web site.
Besides the recalls and the PS3 price cut, factors to be considered include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and the performance of its electronics and entertainment businesses, Sony said.
Shares in Sony ended down 1.8 percent at 4,790 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index <.IELEC.T> which dipped 0.33 percent.
Sony said in July that it expected its group operating profit to come in at 130 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the year to March, down 43 percent year-on-year. That compares with the consensus for a 160.9 billion yen profit in a poll of 20 analysts by Reuters Estimates.
Some analysts, however, take a more cautious view on Sony's earnings this year.
Morgan Stanley expects Sony to post an operating profit of 54.3 billion yen for the current business year.
For the following year starting April 2007, it expects Sony's operating profit to bounce up to 375.9 billion yen, driven by growing sales of game software for PS3 and robust revenues at its movie division.
Sony, which will launch the latest version of its blockbuster console on November 11 in Japan, said last month it would sell a version of PS3 with a 20-gigabyte hard disk drive for 49,980 yen ($420), down from the previously announced 62,790 yen.
It is not unusual for video game makers to incur substantial losses at the initial stage of a console launch. They often recoup the losses later from lucrative software sales.
Following Dell Inc. <DELL.O>, Apple Computer Inc. <AAPL.O>, Lenovo Group Ltd. <0992.HK>, Toshiba Corp. <6502.T> and some other PC makers, Sony said it would recall 60,000 of its own batteries in Japan and 30,000 units in mainland China.
The number of batteries it will recall in other markets is not clear at the moment, it said.
Sony shares fell over 8 percent since Dell first announce the recall in August, while the electrical machinery subindex rose 6.4 percent.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said on Tuesday the electronics maker would likely recall a total of 300,000 batteries, but Sony spokesman Kei Sakaguchi said that estimate was based on speculation.
Sony's recall troubles seemed to increase on Monday after Toshiba said it might seek compensation from Sony for possible damage to its brand image and sales from the battery recall.
Sony said in August that recalls by Dell and Apple would cost it between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen, but now it is expected to face an even heavier financial burden with the additional recalls.
http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/content ... P47365.asp
Posted 10/25/2006
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp. <6758.T> said on Tuesday it may change its full-year earnings forecast because of costly recalls of its batteries and a price cut for its PlayStation 3 video game console.
Sony also said it would recall 90,000 of its Vaio brand laptop computer batteries in Japan and China, adding its name to the list of PC vendors recalling a total of about 8 million Sony batteries, which the company has said can on rare occasions overheat and catch fire.
"We are in the process of determining whether a revision to our annual earnings outlook is necessary, taking into account various factors that could affect our group earnings," the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said on its Web site.
Besides the recalls and the PS3 price cut, factors to be considered include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and the performance of its electronics and entertainment businesses, Sony said.
Shares in Sony ended down 1.8 percent at 4,790 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index <.IELEC.T> which dipped 0.33 percent.
Sony said in July that it expected its group operating profit to come in at 130 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the year to March, down 43 percent year-on-year. That compares with the consensus for a 160.9 billion yen profit in a poll of 20 analysts by Reuters Estimates.
Some analysts, however, take a more cautious view on Sony's earnings this year.
Morgan Stanley expects Sony to post an operating profit of 54.3 billion yen for the current business year.
For the following year starting April 2007, it expects Sony's operating profit to bounce up to 375.9 billion yen, driven by growing sales of game software for PS3 and robust revenues at its movie division.
Sony, which will launch the latest version of its blockbuster console on November 11 in Japan, said last month it would sell a version of PS3 with a 20-gigabyte hard disk drive for 49,980 yen ($420), down from the previously announced 62,790 yen.
It is not unusual for video game makers to incur substantial losses at the initial stage of a console launch. They often recoup the losses later from lucrative software sales.
Following Dell Inc. <DELL.O>, Apple Computer Inc. <AAPL.O>, Lenovo Group Ltd. <0992.HK>, Toshiba Corp. <6502.T> and some other PC makers, Sony said it would recall 60,000 of its own batteries in Japan and 30,000 units in mainland China.
The number of batteries it will recall in other markets is not clear at the moment, it said.
Sony shares fell over 8 percent since Dell first announce the recall in August, while the electrical machinery subindex rose 6.4 percent.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said on Tuesday the electronics maker would likely recall a total of 300,000 batteries, but Sony spokesman Kei Sakaguchi said that estimate was based on speculation.
Sony's recall troubles seemed to increase on Monday after Toshiba said it might seek compensation from Sony for possible damage to its brand image and sales from the battery recall.
Sony said in August that recalls by Dell and Apple would cost it between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen, but now it is expected to face an even heavier financial burden with the additional recalls.
http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/content ... P47365.asp
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