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Sony announces worldwide recall of notebook computer batteries
WASHINGTON — Sony Corp. on Thursday announced a worldwide recall and free replacement of Sony-made batteries in laptop computers after several incidences of them catching fire.
The announcement, made in the United States, came the same day IBM and China’s Lenovo announced a recall of 526,000 Sony-made batteries in notebook computers after a battery overheated and caught fire. Apple and Dell have already recalled 5.9 million Sony-made batteries.
With the worldwide recall, it is likely the reputation of the Sony brand will be damaged and business results will be affected negatively.
The company has not yet announced which batteries will be replaced or how many will be recalled, but it did say that it will provide details in the near future after consulting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Lenovo and IBM announced that they were recalling Sony-made batteries in ThinkPad notebook computers produced since February 2005. A total of 357,500 sold outside the United States are also subject to the recall. Lenovo acquired IBM’s PC business in May 2005, and continues to use the same brand name.
In one incident on Sept. 16, a passenger who boarded a plane at an airport in Los Angeles noticed that smoke was coming out of his ThinkPad while still in his bag, and got off the plane. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the battery had overheated and caught fire.
On Aug. 24, after Dell and then Apple announced recalls, Sony said it was not considering recalling any more batteries at that stage. However, it decided to issue a worldwide recall following the latest incident with Lenovo and IBM.
The other computer manufacturers that use Sony batteries, besides Sony itself, are Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Toshiba, and Hitachi. The technology press has nicknamed them “Zippo batteries.” (Mainichi)
Source : http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060929p2a00m0na006000c.html