More laptop battery recalls, government agency weighs in
More laptop battery recalls, government agency weighs in
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
If you're keeping count, that's about 7 million Sony batteries worldwide that have been recalled.
Toshiba is adding 840,000 batteries, on top of the 340,000 from a few weeks ago, while Fujitsu hasn't said yet how many problem batteries are out there, only that 19 laptop models are affected. Keep an eye on vendor Web sites for updated information on specific model numbers to see if you're affected.
Dell is adding another 100,000 to its recall of Sony batteries, for a grand total of 4.2 million, making it the largest electronics recall in U.S. history. In addition, Sony has announced that it is going to work with PC makers on a global replacement program for affected batteries.
Meanwhile, the government agency known as the Consumer Product Safety Commission says, "The CPSC is aware of at least 47 incidents involving smoke or fire associated with notebook computers, from January 2001 through August 2006." The agency has issued its own "Tips on Notebook Computer Use," which include the following:
- Do not use incompatible computer batteries and chargers.
- Computer batteries can get hot during normal use. Do not use your computer on your lap.
- Avoid dropping or bumping the computer.
- Do not get your computer or battery wet.