Dell recall a boon for Sony rivals
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Dell Inc.'s recall of 4.1 million laptop computer batteries came as embarrassing news to Sony, which supplied the problem batteries, but proved to be good news for rival Japanese electronics companies Sanyo and Matsushita, pushing the struggling company's shares higher Wednesday.
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Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. joined a growing list of computer makers recalling Sony Corp. batteries in the latest blow to consumer confidence in Sony's reputation as a manufacturer.
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By MATT SLAGLE Associated Press  Kevin Rollins isn't solely to blame for a string of problems at the PC maker, Michael Dell says.   DALLAS -- Dell Inc.
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Dell Inc., battered by battery recalls and disappointing earnings, said Wednesday that Chairman Michael Dell will return to run the company he had built into one of the world's largest makers of personal computers. Dell's appointment is effective immediately. He replaces Kevin Rollins, who also resigned as a member of the board.
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Third company announces battery recall, but its recall program is much smaller than those for Dell and Apple.
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By Crayton Harrison, The Dallas Morning News  Sep. 12--Dell Inc.'s latest snafu has put yet another dent in the Texas computer giant's once sterling reputation.
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Sanyo, which manufactured faulty batteries, may shre the cost of recalling those batteries with Lenovo.
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(InfoWorld) - Eight months after recalling potentially flammable notebook PC batteries, Toshiba is again urging its customers to trade in the defective units, saying one of its notebooks caught fire on May 24. Toshiba was one of many PC vendors that recalled more than 8 million rechargeable lithium-ion batteries made by Sony. A manufacturing defect left those batteries vulnerable to short-circuiting and catching fire if they were jostled, prompting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a broad recall. Dell was the first to recall those batteriesÂ in August 2006 and was quickly followed by Apple, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Gateway, and Sony. By October 2006, that defect had led to 16 reports of notebook computer batteries overheating, causing minor property damage and two minor burns, according to the Commission. On Tuesday, Toshiba said the latest fire was sparked by a battery that was never returned. "Recently, certain instances occurred where Sony battery packs installed in Toshiba portable computers caught fire," Toshiba said in a statement on its Web site. After an investigation with Sony, Toshiba found that the battery caused "the situation," the statement said. "The original Sony Battery Pack had not been replaced as recommended by Sony and Toshiba. We put importance on the fact that the incidents that occurred involved unreplaced Sony Battery Packs, despite our ongoing replacement program." In the original recall, the Commission warned laptop users to remove the batteries immediately and to power their PCs only by plugging them into a wall outlet until receiving a free replacement battery from the PC manufacturer. Laptop users were responsible for taking the initiative to return their own batteries, leading some analysts to predict that only a small percentage would do so. Other PC vendors may face the same challenge, although the Commission does not list any other fires. Dell is continuing to replace the faulty batteries, but a spokesman said he could not produce figures for the number of batteries replaced or whether the company had noted any overheating incidents since the recall began. "The recall's going well. Customers are taking heed to send back the affected batteries and have replacements sent to them," said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman. In response to the latest fire, Toshiba warned customers to stop using the affected batteries immediately. Users who continue running their laptops on battery power should not leave their PCs unattended while they charge and should not place PCs on a sofa, bed or other surface that could obstruct its ventilation, Toshiba said. Toshiba has not changed the list of laptops that use the affected batteries. They include various models of the company's Portege, Qosmio, Satellite, and Tecra brand PCs. As with the original recall, Toshiba will replace all affected batteries for free.
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Dell Inc. DELL.O on Friday said the   number of batteries recalled has increased to approximately 4.2   million units from 4.1 million.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell has increased by 100,000 the number of laptop batteries it is recalling due to a potential fire hazard, while Toshiba said it would take part in Sony's voluntaryÂ battery replacement programÂ kicked off Thursday. Fujitsu indicated that it was also considering a voluntary recall. Dell said it received new information that caused it to increase its recall to 4.2 million batteries from 4.1 million. It urged customers to visitÂ itsÂ battery recall siteÂ and to recheck their batteries to see if they are affected. The site has received almost 200 million hits since theÂ recall was first announcedÂ in August, Dell said. The problems affect battery packs containing Sony-made Lithium Ion cells. Sony has discovered that metallic particles in the cells created during the manufacturing process could cause a short-circuit. That short-circuit could in turn result in a fire, depending on the way the laptop is designed. While the affected notebooks from Dell and Apple Computer, which hasÂ recalled 1.8 million batteries, pose a potential fire hazard, Toshiba said its laptops are not in danger of catching fire. It said it was recalling the laptops voluntarily to ease concerns among customers. Toshiba offered toÂ replace 830,000 laptops, including some of its popular Satellite and Portege models. Fujitsu indicated that it would also be likely to join the voluntary recall, although details had not been announced late Friday in Japan. Toshiba, and possibly Fujitsu, are taking advantage of a program announced by Sony on Thursday, which said it would conduct a battery-replacement program in conjunction with laptop makers worldwide. One day earlier, Lenovo GroupÂ added its nameÂ to the list of manufacturers recalling Sony-made battery packs, saying it will recall 526,000 notebooks. Other laptop makers are expected to follow suit and offer new batteries to their customers, said Takashi Uehara, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo. The plan might reassure consumers but will also increase the cost to Sony of the problems. In late August, Sony said it wouldÂ incur costsÂ of between Â¥20 billion and Â¥30 billion ($170 million to $255 million), but that was only for the recalls announced by Dell and Apple. Sony has not updated investors since then. Its battery problems began in October last year when Dell approached the company about a possible problem involving Sony Lithium Ion cells used in battery packs in Dell laptops. Sony changed its manufacturing process to lessen the chance of metallic particles being left in its products, but it wasn't until August this year -- after several well-publicized cases of Dell laptops catching fire -- that Dell began recalling batteries. Apple followed on Aug. 25 with its own recall of 1.8 million batteries, and on Thursday Lenovo joined the list. Together, the recalls that cite a potential fire hazard total about 6.5 million battery packs. Separately, Toshiba last week offered to exchange 340,000 Sony notebook batteries, but not because of a fire hazard. Instead, the defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work, the company said. The latest reports from Toshiba and Fujitsu came after the stock market closed in Japan, but the Lenovo recall had little effect on Sony shares, which closed trading on Friday at Â¥4,780, down less than 1 percent on the day. The overall Japanese stock market as measured by the Nikkei 225 index rose by just under 1 percent to 16,127 points.
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Blog: A Sony battery in a Toshiba laptop that was part of last year's massive recall caught fire last month in Great Britain.
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Danger, Kevin Rollins! Dell's moves to lower prices, hire more understandable customer service reps and stop product fires do not appear to be helping its immediate fortunes.â¦
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"OK" results aren't good enough for Dell anymore. That's great news.
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October 8, 2004 - Dell Inc. is recalling about 2.9 million AC adapters nationwide_ 4.4 million worldwide_ used with notebook personal computers because they can overheat and cause a fire and electrical shock
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DELL Inc. had started to recall power adapters for some of its notebook models because of a risk of overheating, which could lead to a fire or electrical shock, the American company announced on its Web site Friday.
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The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of 990,000 AC adapters distributed by Round Rock-based Dell Inc.
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Recycling of consumer electronics may get a boost in the U.S. through a planned legislative mandate supported by HP, Dell and Sony.