- August 14, 2006 (http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/print.php?articleid=10894&PHPSESSID=b3ef71bed4018a57741b0c2afaa5cd61) (http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/save.php?articleid=10894&PHPSESSID=b3ef71bed4018a57741b0c2afaa5cd61) (mailto:?subject=Have%20a%20look%20at%20this%20article%20at%20AXcessNews.com&bod y=Here%20is%20an%20interesting%20article%20I%20have%20found%20at%20AXcessNews. com:%20%20http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/index.php?articleid=1089 4) Fire Hazard Causes Dell to Recall Millions of Laptop Batteries By Staff (AXcess News) Reno, NV - Dell Computer, Inc.. (Nasdaq: DELL) said it was recalling 4.1 million notebook PC batteries citing fire hazard due to overheating of the batteries while the computers are in use, marking the largest consumer electronics recall in history and will cost Dell more than the battery replacement in consumers minds. The lithium-ion batteries being recalled are installed in 4.1 million laptops sold between April 2004 and July 18 of this year and cover a broad array of Dell laptop models. The recalls cover the Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800 and D810; the Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400 and E1705; and the Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and the XPSTM , XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710. Basically, if you've got a Dell laptop, the lithium-ion battery is a fire hazard and should be replaced. Dell, which has outsourced its customer service phone support in India has had thousands of complaints over the quality, or lack there of, of service consumers receive. The cost-crunching competition has also forced Dell to use less-reliable components with an ever-increasing rate of warranty repairs. So now that Dell is facing millions of battery recalls due to fire hazard its apt to take a toll on the company's consumer market, an expense outside of the cost of replacing the lithium-ion batteries, Dell can little afford. Dell reported six instances in which laptops overheated and caused fires since last December. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission called the recall the largest in consumer electronics history and said that recalls of other laptop models, including computers from Hewlett-Packard Co.(NYSE: HPQ) and Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), were also involved in using lithium-ion batteries made by Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE). Dell rival Hewlett-Packard Co. said it does not use Sony batteries and was not affected by the recall. Apple Computer Inc. is investigating whether its notebook batteries meet safety and performance standards but would make no further comment on the recall. A Sony spokesman said problems with the battery packs were being studied intensely for more than a month, after getting reports of about a half-dozen fires or smoking laptops in the United States. Some Dell owners have said their laptops had burst into flames and even posted pictures of the fried computers on the Internet. Sony says it will help Dell defray the cost of the battery recall, but stopped short of saying it would foot the entire cost. **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw