Digital Journal — Oh boy. Someone is going to get chewed a new one for this: Dell is recalling more than four million laptop batteries following complaints its PCs are overheating and bursting into flames.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it’s the largest recall in the history of the U.S. electronics industry.
The recall affects Sony batteries in 2.7 million Dell laptops sold in the United States and 1.4 million sold globally between April 2004 and July 2006. In total, that works out to 18 per cent of Dell’s entire output of laptop computers. Dell is the largest maker of personal computers around the world. This recall is at least the third for Dell in the last five years.
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Popular blog Engadget posted this photo of a Dell laptop exploding at a conference. – Photo courtesy of Engadget.com |
The recall comes on the heels of Dell’s slowest sales growth in four years. Consumers have complained the company’s discounts are way too confusing, resulting in Dell’s phone lines being jammed and callers being stuck in painful hold times.
In May, Dell said it would spend a whopping $100 million to improve service and product quality to regain market share it has steadily lost to laptop giant Hewlett Packard Co.
“Dell is trying to bolster its image and this is certainly not going to help,” Brent Bracelin, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore., told the Boston Globe. “Another recall is yet another setback for the company that is struggling to regain share in the market.”
With increasing reports of laptop fires, regulators are becoming concerned about lithium-ion batteries’ tendency of overheating. Dell says it knows of six cases in which batteries began smouldering, causing damage to the users’ furniture.
In June, a video of a Dell laptop exploding at a conference in Osaka, Japan, surfaced on a news website. The video earned a cult following from Internet users all around the world. Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the product safety commission, told the Chicago Tribune that the Japan incident is related to this current recall.
In later June, a laptop incident in Pennsylvania prompted a securities analyst to warn of a potential impact on Dell’s shares. Dell scoffed at the notion, saying it was “somewhat irresponsible” for the man to make such claims.
Other documented cases include a fire at the packaging company Tetra Pak in Nevada, where a laptop caught fire and ignited the fuel tank which blew up a vehicle.
In total, since 2003, U.S. authorities have counted 339 separate incidents of lithium batteries overheating and smoking (not all have been notebook computers). Even scarier: Many of these incidents took place on aircraft in mid-flight.
Dell is advising users everywhere to stop using the batteries immediately and get replacements.
Even more ridiculous though: Dell told Bloomberg News that the recall will have no “material impact” on its finances. Yeah right. Some reports are already suggesting it could cost Dell more than $300 million before factoring in damages to the company’s brand reputation.
Dell, don’t even try and PR-spin this one. This is way more serious than a blue screen at a Microsoft software launch. Trying to downplay this is only going to make you look worse.
Potentially affected batteries include the following laptop models:
- Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
- Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
- Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
- XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710
For more detailed information, check out https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx target=_blank>Dell’s Battery Program or call Dell’s toll free number, 1-866-342-0011.
