It's not like LG hasn't had issues with its batteries before, and even after confirming that they were unquestionably safe just last week, the firm has suddenly removed its Z1-AE007 from the market after suspecting that faulty batteries may be included. Reportedly, one of said models "caught fire" in Seoul and presumably startled the graduate student who owned it, but a company spokesperson stopped short of proclaiming that a recall was in order. Furthermore, the individual noted that "the matter should be consulted with the battery maker," essentially shoving every ounce of blame as far as humanly possible away from LG.
Early adopters of Sony Ericsson's W910i on the Orange network may have noticed that their phones suffer a tiny little flaw -- shutting down 10 seconds into a phone call. The bug only wormed its way into a small number of W910s sold by Orange, but the two companies aren't taking any chances -- they've recalled every W910i sold thus far for inspection and repair / replacement. Models in stores now are apparently fine, but we're hearing scattered reports of replacements having the same problem as well. No word on what's causing the problem, but we can't seem to get through to SE to get more details -- the call keeps ending, for some reason.
We've all broken down and done a little late-night discount pharmacy gadget shopping, so we promise not to judge -- but if you've got a Coby DVD boombox stashed away in your place, you might want to run and unplug it real quick. Coby's just issued a recall of 12,000 TF-DVD170 and TF-DVD176 DVD boomboxes sold between May 2006 and October 2007 because they have the unfortunate habit of overheating and starting fires. This isn't the first time we've mentioned the words "Coby," "overheat," "fire" and "recall" all in one post -- looks like 2006 was a bad year to be a Coby fanboy.
It looks like Canon is pulling all EOS-1D Mark III units from shelves in response to the autofocusissue plaguing their professional DSLR. In what appears to be a legitimate letter sent to dealers on October 25th, Canon states that they have "decided to stop shipment of all EOS-1D Mark III. We would therefore like to collect all unsold EOS-1D Mark III units from your stock." A shipping recommencement date is promised at a later time. That's a bold move by Canon since the issue only affects some of the units sold so far. Still, with a customer-focused action like that Canon, you've got our loyalties nailed.
It's not every day a company has to recall their recall, but Cybex International is once again recalling six different treadmill models after first recalling them in 2003 -- because the wire nuts used in the first recall repair are causing the units to overheat and catch fire. Five treadmills have gone up in smoke thus far, and if you own a Cybex 400T or 410T, Trotter 510, 525, or 535, or just the charmingly unbranded CXT+ treadmill, you may want to unplug your rig and pick up the phone ASAP. No word on what this next recall will cause, but we're hoping for sentience with a dash of world domination.
Getting some nasty light in your PowerShot A650 IS pictures? Finding that no amount of Photoshop retouching can make your family photos look decent? Well, take heart -- in might not be your fault. Canon has issued a recall for the aforementioned camera, due to a defect when shooting with the Vari-Angle LCD display under sunny conditions which allows light to leak through the body and cause image problems. The company's US branch has yet to issue a statement, though Canon China has made the recall official, and we're guessing other regions will follow suit. That is, we hope they will -- we've got some familial engagements coming up, and those pictures need to look awesome.
Update: Indeed, the recall affects US customers too.
If you're the proud owner of an SD-P1600 or SD-P1610 portable DVD player, and you've yet to experience any sort of unusual issues, listen up. According to Toshiba, four cases of overheating have been recorded in Japan, and although no injuries have occurred, the firm is suggesting that you yank the AC adapter and swap it for a new one. Reportedly, the outfit sold around 328,000 of the units during its manufacturing run from February 2005 to January 2006, so if you've got one of 'em (and still use it), be sure and take advantage of the free replacement.
Every time we think we've had our fill of these, somebody goes and one-ups the competition with a Dell-fueled inferno of doom. Apparently this one is coming at us from Shanghai, and while we're not sure what anyone is saying on the forum to which these pictures are posted, we're guessing a chorus of "sucks to be you!" and "recalled for a reason" is a solid guess. Check after the break for a couple more pictures, including the stark beauty of the aftermath.
As the wave of recalls continue to flow in, a pair of backpack blowers from Shindaiwa look to be claiming next. Reportedly, the "muffler's outer shell can melt, allowing exhaust gas to exit from the bottom or back side of the muffler." Consequently, the "exhaust gas may cause damage to the fuel tank creating a possible firehazard for the user." To date, the outfit is only aware of a single incident where "a small muffler fire was involved," but no humans were maimed and no property was marred. Still, if you're the owner of an EB630 or EB630RT, we'd recommend getting set up with a free muffler replacement before firing that bad boy back up again.
Users of certain I-O Data network hard drives may want to take notice if they're worried about keeping their data (and themselves) safe, as it seems that a couple of the AC adapters used with them have the unfortunate tendency to overheat and melt, posing a potential burn hazard to consumers. The adapters affected all have the model number IO-ACADP1510UL, and were sold with UHDL-160U and UHDL-300U model hard drives between December 2004 and February 2007. That apparently totals a whopping 740 adapters, a number we're guessing I-O Data would otherwise rather keep to itself. While there hasn't been any injuries reported, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising users to immediately stop using the adapters and contact I-O Data for a free replacement. If that includes you, you can click on through for all the necessary information.
Microsoft has announced plans to provide a free retrofit for its Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel which fixes a malfunction in the chassis that may cause the device to "smoke" when the AC/DC power supply is being used. According to Redmond, there haven't been any reports of fire, personal injury, or property damage -- though clearly the game-maker wants to address this problem before it's got a pile of lawsuits on its hands. Apparently, the wheel works just fine with battery power (which Microsoft suggests you use until the repair is made), though plugging it in could be a little dangerous. Unfortunate owners of the faulty product should get themselves over to the company's Xbox support page to get the ball rolling on their wheel surgery.
It's all fun and games until somebody gets their arm broken by a robotic arm wrestling machine. Atlas Co. is recalling its "Arm Spirit" arm wrestling arcade game from the market in Japan after the 150 machines scored three broken person arms between them. Spokeswoman Ayano Sakiyama had some smack for gamers puny enough to get their arms broken over the pink barrel: "The machine isn't that strong, much less so than a muscular man. Even women should be able to beat it." Yeah, she just shot down any robo-warrior cred you suckers might've been hoping for out of the situation. "We think that maybe some players get overexcited and twist their arms in an unnatural way," but they're recalling the machine as "a precaution."
While Mattel has been on a roll of late with swank new toys, the firm has apparently hit a rough patch after being forced to recall "millions of toys including 436,000 die-cast cars." The wee roadsters purportedly "contained excessive amounts of lead," and now a class action lawsuit has been filed that aims to force the firm to "pay for the testing of children who might have gotten lead poisoning from the toys." Reportedly, representatives from Mattel were unavailable to comment, but the outfit's CEO has stated that "the company's more aggressive testing methods to uncover tainted toys may lead to more recalls" in the future.
Sony announced plans today to offer repairs on the casings of 416,000 Cyber-shot DSC-T5 digital cameras the company has sold, as the bottom plating can warp and create a sharp edge which can cut or scratch user's hands. The repairs will affect 66,000 of the cameras sold in Japan, and another 350,000 which have been sold in the US, Europe, and China. A Sony spokesperson says about 30 customers in Japan and several others overseas reported "finding" the defect, which probably means a trip to the ER after trying to take a family photo. The company suggests checking model and serial numbers to see if your camera is affected -- we suggest leather gloves.
The Consumer Product and Safety Commission has just issued a voluntary recall on two models of Sauder Woodworking television stands that have caused 43 reports of injury. Some 414,000 of the stands, sold at Wal-marts nationwide from January 2005 until May of this year, can collapse if the legs on the lower shelf aren't assembled properly. Consumers should stop using the stand if it begins to move "side-to-side," although we'd probably recommend grabbing a pair of pliers and throwing a little elbow grease into those bolts, just to make sure.
It's not like LG hasn't had issues with its batteries before, and even after confirming that they were unquestionably safe just last week, the firm has suddenly removed its Z1-AE007 from the market after suspecting that faulty batteries may be included. Reportedly, one of said models "caught fire" in Seoul and presumably startled the graduate student who owned it, but a company spokesperson stopped short of proclaiming that a recall was in order. Furthermore, the individual noted that "the matter should be consulted with the battery maker," essentially shoving every ounce of blame as far as humanly possible away from LG.
