Apple to recall 1.8m laptop batteries
9 devices overheat; as in Dell's case, faulty cells made by Sony
SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer Inc. will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook PC batteries after nine overheated, the second major recall in the past 10 days involving battery cells made by Sony Corp.
The recall is the second-biggest in US history involving electronics or computers. Just last week, number one PC maker Dell Inc. recalled 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries, also with Sony-made cells.
Apple, like Dell, said it did not expect any ``material" financial effect on its business. Sony, however, said the two recalls would cost it between $172 million and $258 million.
The move brings to nearly 6 million the number of notebook batteries recalled in the past 10 days and highlights the potential hazards of lithium-ion batteries, which power a wide range of other portable devices, including music players and cellphones, analysts said.
``Sony clearly has a problem here," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies in San Jose, Calif. ``There's a problem with the batteries overheating." Sony shares fell $1.16 to $43.26 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.
Bajarin noted, however, that in Apple's case there were no reported notebook fires, while several of the recalled Dell computers had erupted in flames. Dell said it had reports of six batteries overheating, but no injuries were reported.
Apple's devices caused minor burns to two users, US safety regulators said.
About 100 million notebook computers are sold annually worldwide, Bajarin said. They are the fastest growing segment of the personal computer market.
Sony said in a statement yesterday it did not expect further recalls of batteries using the potentially faulty cells.
Cupertino, Calif.- based Apple will recall 1.1 million batteries sold with notebook computers in the United States and 700,000 abroad, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
``Our number one priority is to recall and replace the affected batteries free of charge," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. The reported instances of overheating were related to ``contamination" in the battery cells, he said, adding that he did not have further details. Roger Kay, president of market researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates, said the affected Sony battery cells may overheat or catch fire when tiny metal fragments, remnants of the manufacturing process, break loose and cause short-circuits.
Dell also pointed to contaminated battery cells as the cause of its problems.
The batteries were sold with Apple iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers from October 2003 through this month, according to the safety commission. None of Apple's most recent notebooks using microprocessors from Intel Corp. are affected, Dowling said.
Apple had said last week after the Dell recall that it was reviewing its notebook batteries to ensure they met its standards.
``The key message to consumers is these lithium-ion batteries can actually overheat and pose a fire hazard," said Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington.
The recall follows a smaller Apple recall of lithium-ion batteries in certain iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 notebooks sold worldwide from October 2004 through May 2005. Those batteries were made by LG Chem Ltd. of South Korea, according to Apple's website.
Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, last week began a voluntary recall of 2.7 million batteries sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold overseas. The Dell-branded batteries were in computers sold from April 2004 through July 18 of this year.
