Gizmodo
Who would have thought a series of boring laptop battery recalls could explode into such mass hysteria? Flaming tempers are running rampant at Sony executives. Though they've traditionally made some hot electronics, it hasn't paid off in their battery recalls - now totaling well over 7 million units. Dell, Apple, Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo, Fujitsu and Hitachi are all taking heat from their guilt by assonyiation. Check out our warm apple pie graph, and then hit the jump for a very special frankenreview (hint: we actually got him into a speedo).
"This is an exclusive club that decided to use Sony batteries in their laptops which inadvertently causes big ba-da booms."
"Combined, the companies have recalled more than 7.9 million batteries."
"Dell has so far received six reports of overheating units that caused property damage, but no injuries."
"The odds on my balls catching fire from my laptop exploding? Very low, and I'm just willing to risk the lives of my unborn children so I can have zero-gap internet usage."
- Maybe the companies could send the new (non-weiner-roasting) batteries first.
"Dell had only six incidents over [22] million...units, [an analyst] said, but it's 'a dangerous situation'."
"Let's assume that over the next three years, a full 60 notebooks will explode if left with at-risk batteries. Doing the math: That's a 1 in 210,000 chance per year of a recalled battery exploding. Over the next two months, should you decide to wait a bit to replace your battery: The odds are 1 in 1,260,000."
"Odds of being struck by lightning (though not necessarily dying) in a given year: 1 in 400,000."
"We are supporting Dell's recall," [Sony] said. "There will be financial assistance and we are sharing engineering data and both doing further research." He declined to specify exactly how much assistance Sony would provide."
- We are guessing quite a bit, and it's more than just "emotional support".
"[for Toshiba] failures from the...affected units will not result in a fiery death for the laptop. They would simply fail to charge and store power."
- Fail to charge, and then burn the user's legs off.
"So we're waiting for a flight in the United lounge at LAX, ...when suddenly this guy comes running the wrong way up the jetway, pushing other boarding passengers out of the way, he quickly drops his laptop [IBM] on the floor and the thing immediately flares up like a giant firework...I don't remember seeing any IBM laptops nuke themselves yet on Gizmodo, just Macbooks and Dells with Sony batteries, but it was a close call nonetheless."
"Hybrid cars and power tools, however, generally use more traditional batteries, in part because of the risk of explosion."
- Though, even that is changing.
Sources
CNET Asia
Reuters
Japan Today
Something Awful
TechYahoo
Images: Getty and Morguefile
Comments
e weighs the cost of a manufacturer's recall against the cost of a lawsuit
So, here's my question:
If these are Sony batteries, why aren't any Sony laptops exploding? Do they not use their own batteries? I smell sabotage. :)
Man Sony is screwing up a lot of s*** lately.
Lets count the ways:
PSP ( i just sold mine to get a DS)
Blu-ray (sorry Betamax)
PS3 (delay, delay, delay - no hype or good press)
UMD (do they even still sell them?)
Battery Recall
Sony DRM Rootkit
I still want to know why there hasn't been any Vaio laptop battery recalls.
Ehrm I mean Sony needs a recall coordinator to apply the formula.
Take the number of batteries in the field (A), multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement (C). A times B times C equals X...
Sony Rep: If X is less that the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
Lady: Are there a lot of these battery bombs?
Sony Rep: You wouldnt believe...
Why arnt any of Sony's laptops on the chart? Are they not having any recalled? Weird.
There are no Vaios on the recall list, I had meant to mention it. Odd indeed.
Here's an interesting thing, though... my 2-year old PowerBook's battery is on the recall list. As happens with older batteries, it's no longer capable of a full charge on recharging (down to about 80% according to my widget).
Now I get a brand new battery for free, so I'm not complaining about the recall! Especially since I filled out the recall form online, got an email back saying the replacement would take 4-6 weeks to arrive, then had it arrive the very next morning.
Has any manufacturer stopped using sony batteries yet?
sony isn't dumb enough to use their own batteries... sheesh!
Sony Vaio's just automagically explode without the help of a power source.
HP hasn't used those specific packs yet... and from what I understand, the packs in vaios are different too.
What's interesting to me is that some companies that were offered this battery pack did indeed turn it down... citing things like explosion or fire risk. What sales person finds out that their products are potientally extremely dangerous... and just goes one door down to sell to someone else?
I've heard of used car salesmen like that... but mega companies like Sony? That's a shame.
The problem is Sony needs to have their electronic manufacture in Taiwan and not China. Most of these problems arose during this time. Almost 80% of everything is being manufacture in China.
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