PowerBook G4 plays the flame game too

Looks like someone at a Norwegian design firm forgot to trade in his PowerBook G4 battery during last year's recall. See, Dell, you're not the only company getting bad publicity over spontaneously-combusting laptops -- everyone seems to be in on the fun. Read on for a close-up of the offending battery after it was ejected from the docked notebook...

[Thanks, Stian]

Update: Sølve Skrede, the owner of the battery shot us an email saying that his G4 battery actually was not one of the ones recalled! Curiouser and curiouser.

[wako @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:48PM]

I wonder if he brought in his battery in that condition if Apple would still trade it in :D

[aaron @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:51PM]

BURNED!!!!

[pito189 @ Aug 2nd 2006 2:55PM]

Why has this become such a big problem lately, has the manufacturing process for lithium batterires changed? Or has this just never been reported in the past?

[Al Gore @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:04PM]

Manbearpig did it. I am totally cereal. Excelsior!!!!!

[Michael @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:06PM]

Do we know if this was a recalled battery that wasn't turned in, or if this is a new bad batch?

If it was previously recalled, this shouldn't be another ding on Apple, they already took the hit, did the right thing, and had a recall.

[cl1ck @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:07PM]

one key difference, apple issued a recall ages ago after they heard of the problem. dell hasen't.

[cl1ck @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:08PM]

and why would anyone set their powerbook on fire just "for the heck of it" ?

[Joel @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:14PM]

Looks like Gruber got his wish.

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2006/july#mon-31-dell_explosion

[Gio @ Aug 2nd 2006 3:52PM]

ok I think all these blow up stories are Hoaxes. Never in my life have I seen a PC or laptop blow up. Maybe some smoke but thats it.

[brian @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:09PM]

Bring on Nuclear Batteries...

[ron g @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:14PM]

Agreed. This story is slander at best.

I don't know Evan Blass so I should not be judging, but it seems more than coincidental that all of his stories have a negative slant against Apple products and the company.

[DM @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:21PM]

"ok I think all these blow up stories are Hoaxes. Never in my life have I seen a PC or laptop blow up. Maybe some smoke but thats it."

Where there is smoke, there is fire :-P
But seriously, has anyone ever seen a smoking PC and just "let it be"? One of my colleagues at work had seen a smoking pc and literally dived onto the desk to pull out the power cord! Im sure if he had just left it that way it would have caught up in flames sooner or later...

[Finite @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:28PM]

Cl1ck:

Actually, like others have pointed out in previous engadget articles, Quite some time ago, dell issued a recall of affected batteries even setting up a website to assist people confused about the recall: https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/

I have to say though, I'm surprized Engadget hasn't issued some sort of correction to previous posts harassing dell for ignoring the problem after hearing evidence to that said otherwise. In my opinion, both dell and apple seem to be doing a fair job in managing their respective recalls.

[Wry Cooter @ Aug 2nd 2006 4:29PM]

I wonder if that airplane cargo hold fire has tempered Dells eagerness in admitting a problem, what with pending liability issues and all. They also have a harder time tracking the bad batteries in comparison to Apple- Their inventory system is built on getting the cheapest part into whatever more than finding out the supplier later.

[sam @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:02PM]

I dont think any of this if fake, but you guys have to understand that these are still very rare cases. And since they have been getting publicized, more and more people are sharing. But even if this small handful of people share their stories, it only accounts for a very tiny percentage of the laptops/batteries out there.

[sam @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:05PM]

And im glad to see someone other than dell getting harassed for this issue. this can happen to any laptop...its the nature of these batteries, we dont live in a perfect world.

[unreal mccoy @ Aug 2nd 2006 5:18PM]

This is a totally different situation.

This Powerbook caught on fire because of a faulty battery. Dells spontaneously combust because God doesn't like Dell, and he smites them in his spare time (which would explain why there are so few fires... He's a busy guy).

[crescentdave @ Aug 2nd 2006 7:19PM]

My heart goes out to Ron G who whines: "I don't know Evan Blass so I should not be judging, but it seems more than coincidental that all of his stories have a negative slant against Apple products ...."

Ah shucks, ma petite applet, here's another one of those biased Evan Blass articles-
http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/28/another-dell-laptop-ignites/

[Josh Berkowitz @ Aug 2nd 2006 7:23PM]

Well at least that metal casing held most of the laptop intact with no huge gaping holes... unlike the plastic dell...



well i guess that doesnt matter anyway.

[ryan @ Aug 2nd 2006 10:10PM]

If I had to choose between singed eyebrows from a dell fire shooting up or a burned crotch from this thing shooting down, id choose the dell everytime, and not for the brand, but for my crotch and its safety.

[Shunnabunich @ Aug 2nd 2006 10:13PM]

Billd dude, please learn to recognize blatant, unmistakable sarcasm/humour. :)

[helio9000 @ Aug 2nd 2006 11:01PM]

Check out the alarmist local news report:

http://wcco.com/consumer/local_story_148150249.html

[Jen @ Aug 3rd 2006 12:20AM]

I filled out their exchange for months ago and they never sent a replacement. So much for their battery exchange program. Guess I should buy one and get it over with?

[Bryan @ Aug 3rd 2006 12:51AM]

http://rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_smoke.shtml

[KidHack @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:21AM]

global warming

[Ryan M @ Aug 3rd 2006 2:45AM]

^^lol at manbearpig

[Paul @ Aug 3rd 2006 3:14AM]

"If I had to choose between singed eyebrows from a dell fire shooting up or a burned crotch from this thing shooting down, id choose the dell everytime, and not for the brand, but for my crotch and its safety."

My favorite comment by far in this entire comment list.

As for the supposed anti-apple slant of this article, it clearly states in the first sentence that the guy whose laptop exploded was at fault for not sending his battery back with the recall.

[SM @ Aug 3rd 2006 5:39AM]

Pfffftttt. That's nothing!

http://scottmcdaniel.org/w/gallery?lzkfile=officefire%2FDSCF0030.JPG

[Ravn @ Aug 3rd 2006 4:05PM]

I work at the company where the mac exploded. The battery was NOT a recalled battery.

Li-ion batteries are scary stuff, this is a known fact.

[Ecook @ Aug 4th 2006 9:22AM]

To Ron G,

Isn't this the zealotry that makes typical users so averse to getting into the Mac culture, and makes neutral individuals like myself sick.

Almost every Apple blog on Earth takes a negative posture against PCs, but you don't see people crying foul in droves when stories of Dell laptops burning up are published. Yet when an Apple laptop is toasted on a site that is far less biased, it is "slander at best". That is absurd.

I am not affirming the truth or mistruth of the story. But reading comments like yours just makes me nauseous.

Oh, and when it is written, it is libel.

[Sharpie @ Aug 7th 2006 9:51PM]

LMFAO... Ya just gotta love how Apple fans come to the defense of their computers! All of you are all too easy to get riled up...

No, I am not a fan of Apple, but I do own a G5. I also own a few PCs as well. As amazing as the Mac platform is, my pcs are pretty amazing as well. Get a life.

[Squee @ Aug 11th 2006 9:10AM]

You have to wonder if Dell will take advantage of this, and install an internal combustion engine instead of batteries. Sure it might be a bit expencive on the old fossile fuels but at least it'll be more efficent than their batteries,