Dell recalls 4 million batteries

[KiwiCoromandel]

PC maker Dell overnight issued a recall of 4.1 million notebook computer batteries made by Sony in response to concerns about overheating and fire risk.

"Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could cause a risk of fire," Dell said today in a statement.

In recent weeks there have been a number of reports of Dell notebooks catching fire, the most well-known case happening in Osaka, Japan two months ago when a laptop computer was photographed as it burst into flames.

In Sydney yesterday, Michael Dell, founder of the PC company, gave no indication that the company was planning a recall, but said it was investigating reported incidents "to understand exactly what is going on and taking appropriate steps to provide the best outcome for our customers".

Lithium ion batteries used in laptops are believed to be behind a number of reported incidents in which the devices have caught fire. Although Dell's batteries are sold under its own brand name, they are manufactured by Sony.

In December last year, Dell announced a recall of 35,000 batteries sold with Latitude, Inspiron and Precision laptops.

Since then, further incidents have been reported on blogs and forums, and the issue has generated an increasing amount of attention with images of burnt-out laptops appearing on a regular basis.

Dell said 2.7 million of the batteries in its the latest recall had been sold in the US while a further 1.4 million were sold overseas.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which provides public information on product recalls locally, said it had not yet been notified by Dell of the latest battery problems. However a local Dell spokesperson confirmed that the recall would affect some customers in Australia. "We'll begin to contact them today," he said.

The latest recall affects batteries in certain Inspiron, Latitude, Precision and XPS models and were sold either with the units, or as a service replacement, between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006.

According to reports, this represents about 18 percent of Dell's notebook production during the period in question and The New York Times said the cost of the recall could exceed $US300 million.

It said the identification number for each battery appeared on a white sticker, and customers could contact Dell on 1300 734 947 to check if their battery was part of the recall. Alternatively, details of the recall have been posted on its site at http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com.

Dell said affected customers could continue using their notebook computers by turning the system off, ejecting the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord until a replacement battery was received.

Recalled batteries were sold with the following units:

Dell Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810

Inspiron: 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705

Dell Precision: M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations

XPS: XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.

source:AP

image:The Dell laptop that caught fire in Osaka in June.

[KiwiCoromandel]

Dell ducks the hard questions......

Yesterday morning at about 11am, Louisa (who works with me) asked Michael Dell, founder of Dell Inc, the following question at a press conference in Sydney:

"I was just wondering about the [exploding latop] incident in Osaka and whether Dell had managed to find out any more about that? It was believed to be linked to lithium ion batteries and a possible failure there and I was wondering if there's any development on that and whether it was related to last year's lithium ion battery recall?"

Mr Dell replied: "We take the safety of our customers as the highest priority. That's the most important. We are fully investigating that incident and a few other reported incidents to understand exactly what is going on and taking appropriate steps to provide the best outcome for our customers."

Five hours later - at 1am Central Daylight Time (4pm Sydney time) - Dell released a statement announcing that they were recalling 4.1 million lithium ion batteries!!!

To paraphase Republican Senator Howard Baker memorable question of thirty plus years ago: "What did Mr Dell know and when did he know it?"

By the time the news was released in Texas yesterday, Mr Dell - who was only in Sydney for 24 hours - was safely out of reach, the press conference was over.

OK, so Louisa didn't ask: "are you planning a battery recall?" But she did ask: " ... It was believed to be linked to lithium ion batteries and a possible failure there and I was wondering if there's any development on that ..."

Surely if you're putting the safety of customers first, you warn everyone - as soon as you know - that their laptops may explode, catch fire, melt down. You don't hold off 'til your boss has made an announcement about a recycling program.

source:SJ Hutcheon/smh.com.au

images:theinquirer:DELL computers...."fueled by fire"..