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IBM and Lenovo Recall Sony Batteries
Posted by
kdawson
on Thu Sep 28, 2006 03:47 PM
from the things-that-go-boom dept.
from the things-that-go-boom dept.
digihome writes "IBM and Lenovo are recalling 168,500 ThinkPad notebook battery packs in the United States and another 357,000 worldwide, saying the Sony-made lithium-ion batteries can 'cause overheating, posing a fire hazard to consumers.'" The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has more details.
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E-gad... (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I thought you could only win a Darwin award once. After that you are merely an example/warning to others
This leaves only Acer and HP (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
anyone know?
Re:This leaves only Acer and HP (Score:5, Funny)
Spokespersons at HP defended the batteries, saying that laptop batteries routinely exploded in use: "It's a standard industry practice".
HP's stock rose on analysts predictions that sales of replacement laptops would surge following the wave of melted hardware. "They were going to have to buy all new laptops to run Vista anyway.", said one. "This way, the customers can stick it to their insurance companies."
Re: (Score:2)
Saw that one coming... (Score:4, Interesting)
...after reading this little story [engadget.com].
I have a battery from Sanyo, unfortunately, so no free, new battery for me :(
Who's the bad guy now? (Score:5, Insightful)
So why were they so bad for recalling the batteries months before everyone else again?
Or I guess a better, and more on-topic, question would be: Why is it taking everyone else so long to innitiate a recall?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Because recalls are ugly, expensive, lawsuit-exposing, and gives mostly bad PR to whoever has to initiate one. You get some small props for being responsible, but it sort of falls short in th
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Who's the bad guy now? (Score:4, Funny)
Narrator: A new battery by my company ships out in a new laptop. The battery heats up. The laptop burns with all the data trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of batteries in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?
Narrator: You wouldn't believe.
Business woman on plane: Which battery company do you work for?
Narrator: A major one.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I don't know about anyone else, but I somewhat know Lenovo's side.
Working for a Thinkpad University has a few benefits, one of them is talking to Lenovo Engineers directly at conferences, where we
A fire hazard? You don't say! (Score:2, Funny)
I would [engadget.com] never have guessed. [howardforums.com]
From Lenovo.com (Score:5, Informative)
This involves systems sold between February 2005 and September 2006, including:
ThinkPad R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e)
ThinkPad T Series (T43, T43p, T60)
ThinkPad X Series (X60, X60s)
Yes, my one month old T60 too is on the list. Though I will wait out till the initial rush dies out.
Re: (Score:2)
BINGO!
(now if only I could win something like "the lottery")
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yay, I've got a Sanyo!
Not good for Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Have Sony VAIO batteries been recalled yet? (Score:2, Interesting)
Quick check (Linux) (Score:5, Informative)
$ grep model
Then compare the output to this list:The value returned is the ASM P/N (*not* the FRU!)
Actually... (Score:3, Funny)
Check Your Battery from Linux (Score:4, Informative)
My output is listed below and does not appear to be affected ...
The list of recalled models is here [cpsc.gov].
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3)
Anonymous Cow^^^^^^^^^Professional Dell Blogger
Attempt at joke (Score:3, Funny)
Q. What does Microsoft call customers?
A. Beta testers
New tech joke...
Q. What does Sony call customers?
A. EOD. (for all you non-military types that Explosive Ordinance Disposal)
Place a curse on Sony [i-curse.com]