Toshiba waves the recall flag again on Sony laptop batteries

Groundhog's Day ain't got nothing on this. Yet again, we're faced with another recall on potentially defective laptop batteries, and yet again, these cells in question could catch fire when you least expect it. The latest round of recalls by Toshiba allows for some 10,000 Sony-made batteries to be replaced after a trio of fire incidents over the past ten months got its attention. Of course, Sony noted that the financial impact of this wave should be minor, particularly compared to the recall-related costs it's already trying to swallow.

[anonymous @ Jul 19th 2007 11:29AM]

It's not the batteries fault... It's the computers fault. They are being made to demand too much power from the cells too fast that the cells are not able to remain cool, So they blow their tops!

[Rob @ Jul 19th 2007 11:36AM]

That is true. But, isn't also the responsibility of the computer manufacturer to conduct tests to see what effect the hardware has on the battery's performance, and vice-versa? I'm not talking about how long it lasts on one charge, but rather, heat buildup, potential cracking, and/or fires.

This is a collaborative work between the pc and the battery manufacturers. If they're not communicating with each other for reasons other than to place and order, then customers suffer the dangers of their faulty practices.

[anonymous @ Jul 19th 2007 11:44AM]

yes, they should all be communicating and researching. Engineering is poor these days. Look at how fast and how many models of items are being created today. There cannot be enough time for the proper research to be performed with the time they have from concept to store shelf. Nobody engineers anything, they just slap it together and move on.

[derkaderka @ Jul 19th 2007 11:37AM]

damn chinese products

[Rob @ Jul 19th 2007 11:43AM]

It has nothing to do with China. They're only following the specifications dictated by the pc and battery companies. A pc put together with a faulty battery will have the same bad results regardless of whether it was built in the poorest slave camps in China, or your freshly mawed backyard.

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 19th 2007 12:06PM]

Sony laptop battery them from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

[originaljmw @ Jul 19th 2007 12:09PM]

Uhm, I could be wrong, but don't you mean "Toshiba WAIVES flag"?

[Elliot J @ Jul 19th 2007 12:14PM]

Umm, you are wrong and you can't spell.

[eveljkov @ Jul 19th 2007 12:53PM]

waive(wv)
tr.v. waived, waiv·ing, waives
1. To give up (a claim or right) voluntarily; relinquish. See Synonyms at relinquish.
2. To refrain from insisting on or enforcing (a rule or penalty, for example); dispense with: "The original ban on private trading had long since been waived" William L. Schurz.
3. To put aside or off temporarily; defer

[tai @ Jul 19th 2007 4:37PM]

Looking at the use of the word wave in the title I believe the author was referring to the action of flag in the air moving back and forth. Waive in the sense you've defined would be to relinquish or give up rights, responsibilities and so forth.

Now, he could have gone for a pun and a spelled it waive and had the double meaning…that would have been brilliant…

Hell- lets just read the danm article!

[ug @ Jul 19th 2007 12:55PM]

Traditional lithium-ion batteries are already obsolete. The industry is going to eventually switch over to lithium-titanate or lithium-phosphate batteries (the batteries that are now being developed for electric cars.)

[Rynth @ Jul 19th 2007 12:27PM]

Whoop for exploding batteries!

[khansha @ Jul 19th 2007 1:30PM]

Is it just me or does the image border on the inappropriate and possibly insensitive?

[andy @ Jul 19th 2007 3:13PM]

Oh god save us all! surely someone hasn't posted something "insensitive" on the internet.


You should go live in a Washington DC or London where it's illegal to say something "insensitive."

[Maff @ Jul 19th 2007 7:08PM]

i thought the picture was of a manhole cover and superhot steam exploding from the NYC underground!!

[khansha @ Jul 19th 2007 1:30PM]

Is it just me or does the image border on the inappropriate and possibly insensitive? surely batteries exploding don't result in a mushroom cloud.

how about this ... http://www.esuna.co.uk/~jay/?p=89.

I can see how sensationalist stories help users come to the site, on the flip side, the people who come here don't come here for the photos but the stories.

my 2 cents.

[R. C. @ Jul 19th 2007 2:05PM]

Actualy, i like the pictures alot. Alot of them are quite funny.

[Timothy Sottek @ Jul 19th 2007 2:28PM]

Christ, of all the things people could possibly be sensitive to, you're bitching about a MUSHROOM CLOUD?

Find me one person who you know have been in one, and I'll retract this post. Not.

[Sean @ Jul 19th 2007 4:10PM]

I sense some underlying HD-DVD, Blu-Ray soreness.