Engadget

Sony eyes electric car future, wants to soon sell you Li-ion batteries

Joseph Volpe — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:59:00 EST

Sony must be smelling dolla dolla bills in the EV-charged streets because the company just announced its intentions to fab lithium-ion batteries for the cars mid-decade. The statement, made from its plant in Motomiya, hinges on a future market flush with consumer demand for the earth-friendly autos, and could see the construction of several dedicated factories. Given the Japanese company's recent history eating bits of competitor dust (hello Wii and iPod), we understand its forward-facing desire to become king of this Li-ion hill. But the mega-electronics maker isn't placing all of its batteries in one fuel-source just yet -- it's "also [considering] developing batteries for gasoline-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids" -- should they win the green energy popularity contest. While we applaud the company for encouraging adoption of the environmentally-friendlier tech, we'd much rather see them make batteries for this bad boy from tomorrowland.

Sony eyes electric car future, wants to soon sell you Li-ion batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Sony lithium ion batteries promise 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutes

Donald Melanson — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:38:00 EST

Sony's certainly had its share of battery problems but, like most battery-makers, it's also doing its part to try to improve things, and it's now announced a new lithium-ion battery that should not only be more stable, but last significantly longer than traditional batteries as well. That's apparently possible in part due to its use of an olivine-type lithium iron phosphate for the cathode material, which should help boost the battery's overall lifespan to four times that of conventional lithium ion batteries, not to mention provide an 80% capacity retention after 2,000 charge-discharge cycles and, perhaps most impressively, a promised 99% recharge in just 30 minutes. According to Sony, the batteries are especially well suited for use in power tools (where they'll first show up), but it does say they'll also eventually be "expanded to a wide range of other mobile electronic devices."

[Via Sony Insider]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

New Sony lithium ion batteries promise 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recalled: 35,000 volatile Sony batteries in Dell / HP / Toshiba laptops

Darren Murph — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:25:00 EST

Ruh roh. We're really, really hoping this isn't just the first of another long string of laptop battery recalls, but the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with a slew of other outfits, has just announced a voluntary recall of around 35,000 Sony laptop batteries. As you'd expect, the Li-ions in question "can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers," and there have already been 19 reports of overheating including 17 reports of flames / fire and two reports of consumers getting mildly burnt. For the full list (and it's pretty long) of affected laptop models from HP / HP Compaq, Toshiba and Dell, be sure to give the read link some serious attention. Oh, and stop using that battery pronto if yours is one of the afflicted.

Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

Recalled: 35,000 volatile Sony batteries in Dell / HP / Toshiba laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and Sony settle with Japanese battery burn victims

Joshua Topolsky — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:02:00 EST

Remember that Japanese couple who sued Apple and Sony over one of those famous burning batteries? Well it looks like the companies have decided to settle, and will pay the fire-damaged pair a total of ¥1.3 million (or around $13,000). Of course, this is a bit less than the absurdly low $16,700 the two were asking, but percentage-wise they didn't make out too badly. During the trial, Apple Japan apparently accepted responsibility for the incident but couldn't justify settling out of court due to a request for "excessive compensation," while Sony maintained its distance by suggesting a link between the battery and burns wasn't clear. We're sure the guy who made the trip to the hospital thinks otherwise.

[Thanks, Jackie]

Filed under: Laptops

Apple and Sony settle with Japanese battery burn victims originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese couple sues Sony and Apple over burning battery

Joshua Topolsky — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:18:00 EST

A Japanese couple in Tokyo are suing both Sony and Apple Japan for "over" 2 million yen ($16,700 US, quite conservative if you ask us Yanks) over a laptop battery which caught fire in April of last year. The suit argues that the man suffered burns on his finger when the battery burst into flames while being used, and his wife had to be treated for mental distress due to the incident. Of course, this isn't surprising considering the long-acknowledged problems with the recalled Sony-built batteries, and is probably just a sign of things to come as scarred users seek a righteous vengeance against companies that openly admit wrongdoing. Sony better just hope that they didn't make this battery.

Filed under: Laptops

Japanese couple sues Sony and Apple over burning battery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba waves the recall flag again on Sony laptop batteries

Darren Murph — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:19:00 EST

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.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba waves the recall flag again on Sony laptop batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's Energy LINK USB power supply / recharger

Darren Murph — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:21:00 EST

Not everyone is equipped with the skills (and time) necessary to craft their own flashlight-based cellphone charger, so Sony's looking out for those who'd rather throw down a few bills than handle a soldering iron. Looking to grab business from individuals packing a gazillion or so gadgets that receive energy via USB, the Energy LINK USB adapter provides a no frills alternative to charging and powering your device on-the-go. Aside from doubling as a recharging middleman, it comes with two rechargeable Cycle Energy batteries -- which purportedly "bridge the gap" between alkaline and NiMH cells -- to provide portable charging and power. The included batteries can be fully recharged in around three hours, but there's no word on just how much charging / powering abilities it possesses once powered up. Still, for those needing a simple charging option or a makeshift USB power supply in times of emergency, Sony's $35 Energy LINK should do the trick when it lands this summer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Peripherals

Sony's Energy LINK USB power supply / recharger originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matsushita to begin production of new, non-explosive Li-ion batteries

Darren Murph — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:45:00 EST

Apparently Matsushita isn't waiting around for the (notoriously slow) IEEE task force to settle on a new Li-ion battery standard, as the company has announced that it will soon begin "mass production of a new lithium-ion battery that is safe from the overheating problems" we're all too familiar with. These batteries in particular will be built to replace those that prompted a massive recall of Sony cells earlier this year, and should be available en masse "by the end of the year." Sony's global recall affected "around 9.6 million cells" used on nearly every laptop under the sun, so we're sure Matsushita's conveyor belts will be approaching record speeds to crank out these replacements. Notably, the company asserted that while actual pricing would depend on the quantity ordered, it would be "higher than existing models" regardless -- which makes sense considering all the loot Sony is losing from this fiasco.

[Via Laptoping, thanks Kaztm]

Filed under: Laptops

Matsushita to begin production of new, non-explosive Li-ion batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony says non-exploding lithium polymer laptop batteries coming soon

Cyrus Farivar — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 07:29:00 EST

You can bet Sony's got tons of engineers working on the problem of how to keep their laptop batteries from exploding. In a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Sony Electronics president Stan Glasgow mentioned that laptop manufacturers are likely to switch from lithium ion batteries to lithium polymer sometime in the near future. The advantage of lithium polymer apparently is that the lithium is contained in gel packs, which can be squeezed into random spaces (instead of being cramped into compact cells), and thus apparently doesn't have the propensity to, um, explode. That being said, it appears that Apple has already struck its foot in the lithium polymer camp, given that it's keeping MacBook and MacBook Pros juiced up with these newer batteries (pictured), which were not subject to recalls. Of course, there's always zinc and fuel cell batteries, which still toil away in research labs across the globe -- it doesn't really make much difference to us which one wins out, so long as we can somehow realize that dream of untethered beach-blogging for 12 hours straight.

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Laptops

Sony says non-exploding lithium polymer laptop batteries coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Dec 2006 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony recalls 300,000 of its own batteries; delays and financial woes through 2007

Cyrus Farivar — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 02:37:00 EST

So it looks like Sony's battery fiasco will likely cause delays and high battery prices until June 2007, according to Bloomberg News, which reports that "prices for battery cells have risen about 15 percent in the past three months because of the shortage." If that wasn't bad enough, the news agency also adds that Sony has set aside ¥30 billion ($251 million) "for costs related to the August recall of batteries used in Dell and Apple computers, Sony spokesman Yoshikazu Ochiai reiterated today." However, that figure doesn't take into account the recalls by the laundry list of other companies like Fujitsu, nor Sharp, nor IBM / Lenovo, not to mention a few others. So we'll guesstimate that Sony's true cost is really somewhere around ¥40 billion (over $334 million), and that, of course doesn't include any future companies that may come out of the woodwork to point out faulty batteries they bought from Sony -- like, oh, say, Sony. That's right, Sony has also officially announced a recall of 300,000 batteries in their own devices. Yikes.

[Thanks, Sam]

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Filed under: Laptops

Sony recalls 300,000 of its own batteries; delays and financial woes through 2007 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Oct 2006 02:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba may hit up Sony for cash after battery fiasco

Evan Blass — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 04:04:00 EST

Now that the bulk of major laptop manufacturers have copped to battery problems and initiated recall plans, it's time for the finger-pointing to begin. First up is Sony's fellow Japanese manufacturer Toshiba, whose spokesperson has fired a warning shot across its competitor's bow with threats to seek compensation related to the aftermath of this ugly incident. Toshiba is claiming that the faulty batteries have tarnished the reputation of its brand and consequently hurt sales, with Sony the obvious target of its efforts to recoup lost revenue. This is one development that we'll be watching closely, because if money changes hands here, you can bet that everyone else will want a piece of the pie too -- and right now, that's exactly what Sony doesn't need.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba may hit up Sony for cash after battery fiasco originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CPSC: Sony recall will include laptop batteries only

Evan Blass — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 21:02:00 EST

And you thought you could go the whole day without reading a single battery recall-related post; sorry, we'll try harder tomorrow. So you probably remember yesterday's scary report which quoted a Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson predicting that Sony's upcoming US battery recall will expand beyond just laptops, and might include portable DVD players and videogame consoles too. Well the same woman who made that statement, Julie Vallese, has now backtracked somewhat by telling CNET that "Any recall that the agency will make will be limited to batteries that power notebook computers. We have no anticipation at this time beyond that." So, does this mean that those other types of batteries are safe -- or that the CPSC knows about problems with them, but since they apparently won't be part of the recall, there's no need to worry the public? It's hard to say at this point, although Vallese's previous comment was pretty clear -- unlike the following response from Sony spokesperson Rick Clancy: "Sony has provided a wealth of technical data to the CPSC involving this tech, and it is omnipresent in a host of portable electronic devices, but as far as we know, from Sony's perspective, there is no initiative planned at this time that goes beyond what has already been communicated with respect to notebook computers." Doesn't sound very reassuring to us. Only time will tell if other kinds of devices are at risk from those little metal particles that tainted many a laptop cell, but if we had to proffer a guess, we'd say it's pretty unlikely that the QA breakdown which allowed so many batteries to become fire hazards was limited only to the manufacturing processes for notebook power packs. Let's hope we're wrong about this one.

Filed under: Laptops

CPSC: Sony recall will include laptop batteries only originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 21:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upcoming Sony recall could expand to non-laptop gadgets

Evan Blass — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:45:00 EST

Wouldn't you know it? Right after we got done ~~throwing away~~ recycling all of our laptop PCs in favor of an explosion-free, desktop computing environment, Consumer Reports comes along with the disturbing news that some of our other favorite gadgets may have been tainted by Sony's huge batch of crappy batteries as well. In its On Safety blog, CR quotes Consumer Product Safefy Commission spokesperson Julie Vallese as saying that "the upcoming Sony recall [in October] could very well expand beyond notebook computers and could include DVD players and portable gaming devices." That's right folks, not only is it unsafe to use a laptop anymore, there's also a slight chance that all your battery-powered devices are ticking timebombs that could totally ruin a quiet night of Grand Theft Auto or Kill Bill. We'll keep you posted on the latest developments here, but if you just can't get enough of this inflammatory (ahem) fear-mongering, head on over to our new spin-off -- Engadget Recalls -- for round the clock coverage of what has now become the defining issue of our time.

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops, Portable Video

Upcoming Sony recall could expand to non-laptop gadgets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recall update: Acer consults Sony, HP still holding the line

Evan Blass — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:35:00 EST

It's sort of sad when the news that a laptop manufacturer is not initiating a battery recall has become notable enough to cover, yet with Apple, IBM / Lenovo, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Fujitsu having already followed Dell's lead in pulling back some 6.6 million dangerous packs, HP's recent claim that its Sony-made batteries are all fine and dandy would seem to make it one of the only holdouts in this ongoing debacle. You may recall that HP immediately took a proactive stance when this saga began by dubbing the problem "a Dell issue," and now the company is citing its high quality standards as the reason it rejected Sony batteries for almost a year before finally bundling them with its machines; however, HP can't say for sure whether the units it chose not to purchase were among the explosion-prone batches. Like HP, Acer also claims not to have received any battery-related complaints, but the company has nevertheless decided to take Sony up on its recent offer to consult with OEMs "just to make sure." With HP's many woes as of late -- save for its purchase of VoodooPC -- avoiding the ranks of recallers would certainly be a welcome relief, but keep in mind that all it takes is a lone fiery incident for a manufacturer to get tangled up in this ugly mess.

Read- HP
Read- Acer [Via laptoping]

Filed under: Laptops

Recall update: Acer consults Sony, HP still holding the line originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell recall prompts inquiry into all Sony laptop batteries

Evan Blass — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 10:55:00 EST

Just as we suspected, Dell may not be the only manufacturer recalling countless batteries due to fire hazards, as the Sony-made lithium-ions are also found in laptops from Apple, HP, and Lenovo, not to mention a variety of other consumer electronics products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the batteries "are not unique to just the Dell notebook computers," and have launched a review of all Sony laptop cells manufactured between April 2004 and June of this year. Some manufacturers, like Apple, claim to be looking into the matter on their own, while others -- namely HP -- have publicly distanced themselves from the affair by stating that "It's a Dell issue." Sony itself also believes the problem is limited to batteries in Dell PCs, while Lenovo seems to be side-stepping the recall with claims that "we have not seen any unusual pattern of problems in our notebooks." Although it's true that the recent spate of toasty lappies does indeed seem confined to machines from the Texas-based manufacturer, we have a hard time believing that Sony was only sending crappy batteries to Dell while everyone else got quality product. That being said, we're anxious to hear the results of the CPSC's inquiry, but until that time, we certainly won't be so cavalier about keeping our notebooks powered up 24/7, regardless of branding.

Filed under: Laptops

Dell recall prompts inquiry into all Sony laptop batteries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's ICF-B01 emergency radio with hand crank

Evan Blass — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:42:00 EST

Thanks to Walt Mossberg, we know how important it is to keep a crank-powered radio around the house, and now Sony has joined the likes of Eton and Freeplay in offering one of these necessities to its Japanese customers. The ICF-B01 isn't as full-featured as some of the models we've seen -- for instance, it doesn't seem to charge your cellphone -- but it does manage to pack in an LED flashlight to help you change stations while you're trapped in the dark. We're not sure how much loot Sony wants for this radio, but if it's more than $30, you're probably better off stocking up on batteries for your old Walkman.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio

Sony's ICF-B01 emergency radio with hand crank originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 May 2006 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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