From the New York Times. Hey, Sony strikes again! 
jwm
Dell Recalls Batteries Because of Fire Threat
By DAMON DARLIN
Published: August 14, 2006
Dell is recalling 4.1 million notebook computer batteries because they could erupt in flames, the company said today. This will be the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Dell, the world’s largest PC maker, said the lithium-ion batteries were made by Sony and were installed in notebooks sold between April 2004 and July 18 of this year.
The recall raises broader questions about lithium-ion batteries, which are used in a host of devices like cellphones, portable power tools, camcorders, digital cameras and MP3 players. The potential for such batteries to catch fire has been acknowledged for years and has prompted more limited recalls in the past. But a number of recent fires involving notebook computers, some aboard planes, have brought renewed scrutiny.
Dell has reported to the safety agency that it documented six instances since December in which notebooks overheated or caught on fire. None of the incidents caused injuries or death. Dell said the problems were a result of a manufacturing defect in batteries made by Sony.
The safety agency said the batteries were not unique to Dell, meaning that other companies using Sony batteries may also have to issue recalls. Sony has sold its batteries to most of the major computer makers.
The recalled batteries were used in 2.7 million computers sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold overseas. The total is about 18 percent of Dell’s notebook production during the period in question.
Depending on how many of the batteries are still in use, the cost of the recall could exceed $300 million. Dell refused to estimate the cost, but said the recall would not materially affect its profits. Sony, which affirmed today that its batteries were responsible, said it was “financially supporting” Dell in the recall.
Dell said it would notify affected customers by mail and online, advising them to remove their current laptop batteries immediately and arranging to send replacements.
The largest previous safety recall of a consumer electronics product, in October 2004, involved one million Kyocera cellphone batteries.
Dell has been bedeviled by reports of burning laptops in recent months. In June, a Dell notebook burst into flames during a conference in a hotel in Osaka, Japan. In July, firefighters in Vernon Hills, Ill., were called to the office of Tetra Pak, the food processing and packaging company, to extinguish a notebook fire hot enough to burn the desk beneath it.
That same month, a Dell notebook in the cab of a pickup parked alongside Lake Mead in Nevada caught fire, igniting ammunition in the glove box and then the gas tanks. The truck exploded. “A few minutes later and we’d have been coming up out of the canyon when the notebook blew up,” said Thomas Forqueran, owner of the laptop and truck. “Somebody is going to wind up getting killed.”
The battery problem is the latest setback for Dell, long a high-flier on Wall Street. Faced with stiffer competition that has forced price cuts, it has reported lower-than-expected sales and earnings over the last year, sending its stock down more than 40 percent. It is also spending $100 million to improve its customer service, which it found had alienated consumers.
Dell executives hope the recall, while vast, will prevent further damage to its image. “We’re getting ahead of the issue,” said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president and general manager of Dell’s products group. “I don’t want any further incidents to take place.”
Other computer makers that use Sony batteries were taking stock today of their possible exposure to similar problems.
An Apple spokeswoman, Lynn Fox, said today, “We are currently investigating whether batteries that have been supplied to Apple for our current and previous notebook lines meet our high standards for battery safety and performance.”
A Hewlett-Packard spokesman said the company’s notebooks would not be affected by the recall since its batteries are designed specifically for its products.
Lithium-ion batteries pack more energy in a smaller space than other types of batteries and are the cheapest form of battery chemistry. So more powerful batteries are increasingly being used in more types of consumer products.
What that means, said Richard Stern, associate director of fuel, electrical and recreational products at the product safety commission, is “more batteries, more likelihood for quality control problems and for design problems and so we’d expect more incidents and more recalls of these batteries.” The federal safety agency has negotiated 10 recalls of lithium-ion batteries used in notebook computers since 2000 and another 12 battery recalls for other electronic products, including a Disney-brand children’s DVD player.
Federal regulations require that lithium-ion batteries be clearly marked with warnings when they are shipped in bulk on airplanes, and various agencies are considering more stringent regulations following a fire that was detected as a United Parcel Service cargo plane began its descent into Philadelphia in February. Though a cause of that fire, which consumed and destroyed the plane after it landed, has not been determined, lithium-ion batteries are suspected. No one was hurt.
jwm
Dell Recalls Batteries Because of Fire Threat
By DAMON DARLIN
Published: August 14, 2006
Dell is recalling 4.1 million notebook computer batteries because they could erupt in flames, the company said today. This will be the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Dell, the world’s largest PC maker, said the lithium-ion batteries were made by Sony and were installed in notebooks sold between April 2004 and July 18 of this year.
The recall raises broader questions about lithium-ion batteries, which are used in a host of devices like cellphones, portable power tools, camcorders, digital cameras and MP3 players. The potential for such batteries to catch fire has been acknowledged for years and has prompted more limited recalls in the past. But a number of recent fires involving notebook computers, some aboard planes, have brought renewed scrutiny.
Dell has reported to the safety agency that it documented six instances since December in which notebooks overheated or caught on fire. None of the incidents caused injuries or death. Dell said the problems were a result of a manufacturing defect in batteries made by Sony.
The safety agency said the batteries were not unique to Dell, meaning that other companies using Sony batteries may also have to issue recalls. Sony has sold its batteries to most of the major computer makers.
The recalled batteries were used in 2.7 million computers sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold overseas. The total is about 18 percent of Dell’s notebook production during the period in question.
Depending on how many of the batteries are still in use, the cost of the recall could exceed $300 million. Dell refused to estimate the cost, but said the recall would not materially affect its profits. Sony, which affirmed today that its batteries were responsible, said it was “financially supporting” Dell in the recall.
Dell said it would notify affected customers by mail and online, advising them to remove their current laptop batteries immediately and arranging to send replacements.
The largest previous safety recall of a consumer electronics product, in October 2004, involved one million Kyocera cellphone batteries.
Dell has been bedeviled by reports of burning laptops in recent months. In June, a Dell notebook burst into flames during a conference in a hotel in Osaka, Japan. In July, firefighters in Vernon Hills, Ill., were called to the office of Tetra Pak, the food processing and packaging company, to extinguish a notebook fire hot enough to burn the desk beneath it.
That same month, a Dell notebook in the cab of a pickup parked alongside Lake Mead in Nevada caught fire, igniting ammunition in the glove box and then the gas tanks. The truck exploded. “A few minutes later and we’d have been coming up out of the canyon when the notebook blew up,” said Thomas Forqueran, owner of the laptop and truck. “Somebody is going to wind up getting killed.”
The battery problem is the latest setback for Dell, long a high-flier on Wall Street. Faced with stiffer competition that has forced price cuts, it has reported lower-than-expected sales and earnings over the last year, sending its stock down more than 40 percent. It is also spending $100 million to improve its customer service, which it found had alienated consumers.
Dell executives hope the recall, while vast, will prevent further damage to its image. “We’re getting ahead of the issue,” said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president and general manager of Dell’s products group. “I don’t want any further incidents to take place.”
Other computer makers that use Sony batteries were taking stock today of their possible exposure to similar problems.
An Apple spokeswoman, Lynn Fox, said today, “We are currently investigating whether batteries that have been supplied to Apple for our current and previous notebook lines meet our high standards for battery safety and performance.”
A Hewlett-Packard spokesman said the company’s notebooks would not be affected by the recall since its batteries are designed specifically for its products.
Lithium-ion batteries pack more energy in a smaller space than other types of batteries and are the cheapest form of battery chemistry. So more powerful batteries are increasingly being used in more types of consumer products.
What that means, said Richard Stern, associate director of fuel, electrical and recreational products at the product safety commission, is “more batteries, more likelihood for quality control problems and for design problems and so we’d expect more incidents and more recalls of these batteries.” The federal safety agency has negotiated 10 recalls of lithium-ion batteries used in notebook computers since 2000 and another 12 battery recalls for other electronic products, including a Disney-brand children’s DVD player.
Federal regulations require that lithium-ion batteries be clearly marked with warnings when they are shipped in bulk on airplanes, and various agencies are considering more stringent regulations following a fire that was detected as a United Parcel Service cargo plane began its descent into Philadelphia in February. Though a cause of that fire, which consumed and destroyed the plane after it landed, has not been determined, lithium-ion batteries are suspected. No one was hurt.
