Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IBM and Lenovo Recall Sony Batteries

Posted by ryuzaki0 on 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.

10 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. E-gad... by Penguinisto · · Score: 2, Funny
    Please, someone remind me to never, ever, ever buy a car battery from Sony. Ever.

    /P

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    1. Re:E-gad... by Rob86TA · · Score: 3, Funny
      May you win a thousand Darwin awards...

      I thought you could only win a Darwin award once. After that you are merely an example/warning to others

    2. Re:E-gad... by M1FCJ · · Score: 2, Funny

      With the advent of cloning I wonder if they will have to change the Darwin Awards criteria - basicly you have to remove yourself from the gene pool. Previously you could win a Darwin and live to tell the tale, now I wonder...

  2. bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    this blows.

  3. A fire hazard? You don't say! by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1, Funny
    the Sony-made lithium-ion batteries can 'cause overheating, posing a fire hazard to consumers.


    I would never have guessed.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  4. Re:Threat to airline security by RevDobbs · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can see the movie quotes now:

    "Get these mother fucking Sonys off my mother fucking plane!"

  5. Re:Who's the bad guy now? by Slightly+Askew · · Score: 3, Funny
    Why is it taking everyone else so long to innitiate a recall?

    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.

    --
    Public use of any portable music system is a virtually guaranteed indicator of sociopathic tendencies. -- Zoso
  6. Re:This leaves only Acer and HP by markana · · Score: 4, Funny

    Over at HP, Mark Hurd is reported to have said that he was sent the reports of batteries exploding, but he hadn't read them. Patricia Dunn is quoted as saying "I thought laptops burst into flames all the time. I still don't see anything wrong with it."

    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."

  7. Actually... by d3m0nCr4t · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think Sony has succeeded to implement a DRM rootkit into their batteries... One illegal MP3 or movie and BANG !!!

  8. Attempt at joke by Lord+Prox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Old tech joke:
    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