Fujitsu and Sharp have added another 79,000 batteries to the number of Sony-made laptop batteries being recalled worldwide.
Japanese electronics manufacturers Sharp and Fujitsu have announced recalls of additional Sony-made notebook computer batteries; Sharp is pulling bcak some 28,000 batteries, while Fujitsu is adding another 51,000 batteries to its earlier 287,000-battery recall, for a total of 79,000 batteries between them. All told, the global recalls issued for Sony-made laptop batteries now total more than 7.7 million units.
To date, Dell, Apple, Lenovo, IBM, Toshiba, and Hitachi have all recalled various Sony-made notebook computer batteries used in their products. According to Sony, in rare cases short circuits could occur in the batteries due to tiny bits of metal which can come into contact with other parts. In most cases, the batteries will simply shut down, but in a handful of instances, the batteries may overheat and present a risk of burns or fire.
Sony previously estimated the recall may cost the company between ¥20 and 30 billion (between about $170 and 250 million USD), but overall costs to the company are undoubtedly rising as the scope of the recall continues to grow. Major notebook manufacturers which use Sony batteries but, to date, have not issued product recalls include Acer and Hewlett-Packard.
