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ThinkFlood's RedEye universal remote control becomes web compatible, leaves past woes in the dust
After going through some rough times with its RedEye mini dongle and doing right by replacing them, ThinkFlood appears to be running full beam ahead once more. Specifically, the company has announced that RedEye owners will soon have the ability to setup and control their remote systems straight from their PC or mobile browser. On the mobile front, apparently the web app will even work on Android and BlackBerry devices, despite being optimized for Safari on iOS -- hinting that non iPhone owners could possibly let their phones control more than their social lives soon. Setup wise, the web version also allows users to automatically align and move multiple buttons at once, plus assign commands to over 70+ keyboard shortcuts. Combined with the ability to make adjustments using a mouse on a computer's larger screen, tweaking custom RedEye remote layouts just got infinitely easier -- you hear that Harmony? The iOS app 2.0 update is also now available as a free 'Plus' download in the iTunes store, and finally supports the iPad's lovely screen in either orientation. In a sense, it's further substantiating the tablet's new career path as a jumbo-buttoned geezer remote of the future, but hey -- no gripes here.
Is the iPhone 4 controversy much ado about nothing or a really big problem?
What's going on with the iPhone? It certainly depends on who's talking. This morning Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider says the iPhone reception problem is a non-issue and will blow over. "You can make calls, use the internet, and do everything else you should be able to do on the iPhone 4 all of the time, or almost all of the time." "But there's no reason for a huge recall. This isn't a faulty car that might kill you. It's a phone, and it's a phone that works." On the other side of the ring people are screaming for blood, and are sure the phone is just unusable. It's hard to know what to believe.
Sony to recall half a million 'too hot to handle' VAIO laptops
Well, this isn't good. Sony's issued a warning that about half a million of its VAIO laptops are at risk of seriously overheating, and could even cause burns. The company says that the heat-monitoring chips of its VAIO F and C series laptops (which were launched in January) could be defective, causing them to overheat and physically warp. Sony says it's received about 40 total complaints about the issue, and that affected customers will be able to download a software fix or contact the company directly to have the laptop picked up for a repair.
Hasbro recalls almost 1 million Easy-Bake Ovens
Many of us have fond childhood memories of scarfing down delicious, undercooked treats courtesy of the old Easy-Bake Oven, but it looks like today's chefs-in-training have a little more to worry about than runny brownies: Hasbro is recalling almost a million of the toys because of a risk of burns and trapped extremities. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 985,000 Ovens sold between May 2006 and the beginning of this month contain a potentially dangerous defect, wherein children can receive a nasty burn on their chubby little fingers after getting them trapped in the oven's opening. So far there have been 29 reported incidents of stuck fingers and five reports of burns, prompting Hasbro to release a retrofit kit that apparently remedies the problem and sports a helpful warning label. Owners of the affected models should immediately pull their rugrat away from that soufflé he or she is baking and stick the Easy-Bake on a high shelf until the kit -- which is free by request -- arrives in the mail. In the meantime, this might be a good opportunity to review the whole "stop, drop, and roll" procedure and teach your tykes to apply burn cream, just in case another one of their toys (Flamosapien, perhaps?) gets a little hot under the collar.
After recalls and fires, Matsushita to offer new lithium battery
It hasn't been a really good year battery-wise. Battery defects made the news with overheating and spontaneous combustion. Today, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said it will begin mass producing a new and improved lithium-ion battery, one that presumably will not melt your PowerBook. Good news for consumers, even at the slightly higher prices anticipated for the more advanced technology. This DFW article does not reveal exactly how the new batteries will be changed in order to minimize the risk of spontaneous combustion, but "not bursting into flames" would be a good start.
Clarion's N.I.C.E. P200 in-car navigation batteries recalled
No, the word "recall" isn't entirely synonymous with "battery," but in this case, we're afraid the dreaded overheating Li-ion curse has struck again. This time the recall is hitting Clarion's N.I.C.E. P200 in-car navigation / entertainment unit, and the problem seems to be the same as nearly every other recall currently out -- it's too hot for comfort. Reportedly, about 2,500 units are potentially problematic, and with "four reports of the unit melting or overheating" due to a faulty Li-ion cell, the company isn't taking any chances. So if you've got the 4-inch flavor of Clarion's do-it-all with a serial number ended in "UE" or "UF," you should power that bad boy down immediately (and call for a free replacement) before that "NAVBATTERY" gets a little hot under the collar.
Sony recalls eight Cyber-shot models
I hereby declare Sony to have had the worst 2006 year of any company. As if major PS3 shortages and being blamed for everyone's exploding batteries aren't enough, they now have to recall eight different models of Cyber-shot cameras that were sold between September 2003 and January 2005. The BBC is reporting that the glitch involves a problem with the image sensor which could cause the screen to improperly display images. No word on the total number of cameras being recalled, but Sony said they'll only repair cameras which are exhibiting the problem; in other words - you can't just send your camera off in hopes of receiving a shiny new one. The affected models are: DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40 and DSC-U50.I can't find many more details on how to determine if your camera is affected or how to participate in the recall process, but this Sony support page might be a good place to start.[via Engadget]
Toshiba may hit up Sony for cash after battery fiasco
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.
Upcoming Sony recall could expand to non-laptop gadgets
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.
Recall update: Acer consults Sony, HP still holding the line
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- HPRead- Acer [Via laptoping]
Canon recalls 1.87 million copiers due to fire risk
In a nice change of pace from all the laptop recalls involving exploding Sony-made batteries, Canon has announced that over 1.8 million of its personal copiers sold between 1987 and 1997 are at risk of catching fire due to faulty wiring, although the company estimates that only 270,000 of these relics are still in use (thank you, planned obsolescence). Apparently there have only been several reported instances of copiers overheating, but disturbingly, all but one of them occurred overseas several years ago, and it was only the latest fire in Canon's home country of Japan that prompted the recall. Affected units include the PC6, PC7, PC8, and PC11 home copiers, along with the larger NP1010, NP1020, and NP6010 models, all of which qualify for free inspections and replacement parts -- but again, Japanese owners gets first crack at the fix while Canon figures out how to service devices sold in the rest of the world. So, until Canon comes up with a game plan for repairing the remaining machines, owners of these fire hazards are probably best off copying their documents, middle fingers, and rear ends down at the local Kinko's.[Via Reuters]
Battery recall cause for panic? Null says no
With all the sensational press about battery recalls and exploding laptops (much of it found right here on these very pages), you might think that your own notebook is a ticking timebomb set to blow at any moment (Qantas sure does). Therefore, many people have been tempted to eject their recalled batteries as quickly as possible and send them off to Dell (and now Apple) before they burst into flames and become fodder for numerous gadget blogs. But is the situation really that urgent? Former Mobile editor-in-chief and current Wired and Yahoo! Tech contributor Christoper Null sat down to do the math, and figured that the odds of your lappy going boom in, say, the next two months, are actually pretty slim. Using the Dell recall as a baseline, Null went in with the assumption that the problem is much worse than the company knows about (or is reporting), and that over the next three years, ten times as many batteries will blow as have already combusted so far. Even in such a pessimistic scenario, the odds of your particular Dell pulling a Dell in the next 60 days (1 in 1,230,000) are far less than the chances that you'll die this year from freezing to death, choking on your own vomit, and even falling out of bed. While you may disagree with Null's numbers and methodology, the point here is clear: there's no real need to panic, and if your notebook hasn't already turned into a charred husk of its former self, you'll probably be okay waiting out the initial flood of returns and sending your battery back in a few weeks. After all, if we let the defective batteries change our way of life, then the defective batteries have already won.
Sony announces price on battery recall, checks couch for loose change
Product recalls are certainly nothing new to the tech industry, but two significant PC players (Dell and Apple) having to recall a collective 5.9 million batteries has to sting just a little for Sony. Macworld is reporting that the Japanese company announced an estimate on the cost of said sting: between ¥20 billion to ¥30 billion (US$172 million to $258 million). The moral of this story? QA is a good thing.Let's hope the upcoming summit in San Francisco on li-ion battery manufacturing standards - jointly held by the likes of Apple, HP, Dell and Lenovo - helps cut down on the exploding notebooks so we can all get back to our daily routines.
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.
