Acer's Predator PCs Recalled Over Fire Concerns
Recall posts
Apple Issues a Recall for Its 'Ultracompact USB Power Adapter'
Hey, remember that tiny power adapter you got with your new iPhone? Well guess what? It could get a little dangerous -- so Apple wants you to swap it for a newer, less dangerous one. Apparently, the adapter's metal prongs can break right off, thus creating a "risk of electrical shock" and general mellow-harshing. The company issued a recall today for any of the "Ultracompact USB Power Adapters" which came with iPhone 3Gs in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and "several Latin American countries" (don't worry, they've got a list). Check the read link to figure out if you've got the bad kind of adapter, and for goodness sake, be careful when unplugging that thing!Sony Recalling VAIO TZ Laptops Due to Overheating
Update: And here we have it, the official statement of voluntary recall for the US. 73,000 VAIO TZs -- VAIO VGN-TZ100 series, VGN-TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series and VGN-TZ2000 series sold between July 2007 and August 2008 -- are affected after 15 reports of overheating resulting in one consumer who suffered a minor burn. Full notice after the break.
Update 2: UK recalled as well. Apparently, more than 200 laptops globally have overheated resulting in seven people suffering "light burns." The recall amounts to about 440,000 laptops.
[Via Impress, thanks BigDaddyM and Chris W.]
Japan Investigates Exploding iPod Nanos, Again
Presumably Apple is calculating the Tyler Durden cost-of-recall at this very moment. In other words, take the number of 1st gen nanos in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, they don't do one.
Update: Japan has issued a warning to iPod nano users saying, "Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," particularly when charging the players. Japan's government has reported a total of 14 similar incidents to Apple related to models MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A all sold between September '05 and September '06 -- two of which resulted in minor burns. NHK claims that Apple does not plan a recall but is ready to exchange defective parts.
iPod Lights Man's Pants on Fire
Danny Williams' taste in music is so wretched, his own iPod tried to kill him. Very recently, the Douglasville, Ga., native looked down to find his pants pocket engulfed in flames. The culprit: his year-old iPod Nano.Williams walked away from the incident uninjured thanks to a piece of glossy paper in his pocket, which he believes spared him from being badly burned. But, as if having your iPod try to immolate you isn't frightening enough, consider where this episode took place: Williams works at a kiosk at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As Williams said himself:
"If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist."
This fire is just the latest in a series of recent lithium-ion battery flame-ups. After smoke and flames were reported by consumers last August, Sony has since been forced to recall more than seven million laptop batteries it made for its own computers as well as for Dell, Apple, Gateway, Toshiba and several others. This summer, a Chinese man was killed when his cell phone battery exploded in his chest pocket, sending a broken rib tearing into his heart.
The lithium-ion battery has become ubiquitous due to its small size and ability to hold a charge, making it the perfect power supply for our increasingly mobile world. Unfortunately -- while very rare -- it is more likely than other types of batteries to light on fire or even explode.
As for this latest incident, Apple has pledged to replace Williams' iPod, but wouldn't comment further. As a result, we are unable to tell you which batch of iPod Nanos are affected and how widespread the problem might be.
Hey Apple, we're all very aware that you came out with some shiny new iPods last month. But, resorting to these scare tactics to convince us to upgrade? That's a new low.
From Geek Sugar
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Security Flaw Affects Sony MicroVault Drives
If you use one of those Sony MicroVault USB drives with a built-in fingerprint reader, the extra security measures you're taking to protect your files may be doing more harm than good -- this according to Sony itself.A security flaw, which affects three models of the company's MicroVault USB sticks, has been discovered that works by allowing hackers to bury malicious code and files in the hidden directory created by the fingerprint-reading software, which then makes them invisible to many virus scanning and security programs.
Though a third-party company developed the software that runs on the sticks, Sony has had problems with bad security software in the past – most notably in 2005 when it hid anti-piracy software on its music CDs that opened up the computers of more than a million users to attacks from hackers.
What can you do? Obviously, don't buy this product. Despite a recall, some of the tainted MicroVaults can still be found on the sites of many online retailers. If you already own one, hold off on using it until mid-September when Sony says it will release a downloadable fix, which we expect will show up on the official MicroVault support site.
From BBC
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Pregnant Woman's Nokia Phone Battery Explodes
We have a fascination with people being hurt, maimed or even killed by cell phones. Call us morbid, but we just can't help it.
Less than a month after Nokia recalled 46 million batteries from its BL-5C series, the Finnish cell phone maker might have to start thinking about recalling yet another series. An Indian woman (pregnant, no less!) suffered (thankfully) mild burns when her three year old Nokia exploded ten minutes after she plugged it in to the charger.
The exploding battery was not part of part of the previously recalled series, but from the BL-D3 series. Nokia says it was an isolated incident and if the phone, charger and battery all turn out to be original, the woman will be compensated. We don't know which Nokia phones are affected with the BL-D3 series batteries, but check the Nokia Web site for further updates.
Even if this is an "isolated" incident, it gets us nervous since the news increasingly tells us we're carrying around so many potential firestarters in our bags and pockets: Laptops burst into flames, cell phone batteries explode, and, it seems as though Sony has to recall batteries every couple of months.
We don't know about you, but we're beginning to feel a little bit like walking time-bombs.
From Engadget
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Nokia Recalling 46 Million Batteries
It seems we're not the only ones noticing that cell phones are killing off people one by one. Nokia seems to have caught on as well, too, and the company is stepping up to do something to stop the carnage, by recalling 46 million BL-5C batteries that are at risk of short-circuting and burning. Nokia didn't indicate how much this recall will cost it (and battery manufacturer Matsushita, a.k.a. Panasonic), but our estimates figure the cash outlay to be roughly 500 gajillion-billion dollars (estimates, remember). This model of battery is used in everything from the lowly Nokia 1100 up to the rather more swanky 7610 and even the ill-fated N-Gage gaming phone.
But there's some good news: Not every BL-5C is a smoldering time bomb. The recall only affects batteries in phones that shipped from December 2005 to November 2006. To see if yours is affected, check out Nokia's recall site and follow the instructions there to do the usual serial number matching game. But, whatever you do, don't drag your feet -- lest lest they be blown off!
From Engadget
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Laptop Battery Recall: Are You Affected?
Toshiba is the latest victim of Sony's massive battery recall, which has resulted in the recall of some 9.6 million batteries manufactured during December of 2005 after three incidents in which the batteries burst into flames. Toshiba says the recall affects 5,100 of its units, and is pointing customers toward its page for the battery recall program where they can see if their laptops are affected, and if they qualify for a free replacement.
With Sony having to swallow the cost of nearly 10 million battery recalls, is it any wonder the PS3 is so expensive? And what took Toshiba so long to decide it needed to recall the batteries? Toshiba had to have known for some time that it made laptops with defective batteries in them. What, was some bean counter sitting there weighing the recall cost against the probability of another battery injuring a customer? Thankfully in the end, reason won out over the bottom line.
From I4U News
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Bad Apples in the MacBook Lines
The problem is underperformance. Either the computer doesn't recognize the battery at all (as indicated by an X in the Finder menu), the battery doesn't get charged when plugged into the wall, or the battery charges up to only 30 percent capacity.
The issue affects all MacBooks, MacBook Pros and extra batteries for both models purchased between February 2006 and April 2007. Apple has issued a software update to fix the problem, but will replace your battery for free should the update not work.
Apple's site stresses that this is a performance issue, and in no way a safety risk like the Sony recall, which has been blamed for fires.
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From BBC
More Battery Woes for Sony
For anyone keeping score, that's now well over seven million batteries being recalled since last August when Dell reported six incidents of overheating and/or fire caused by Sony-built batteries. Since the Dell announcement, Apple, Lenovo/IBM, Gateway, Panasonic, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Hitachi have all joined the recall party. And let's not forget that Sony's own laptops have been affected by the recall as well.
The Acer recall affects TravelMate models made between May 2004 and September 2006, as well as some Aspire models. If you think that describes your laptop, check the serial number against this list and learn how to score a free replacement battery. Until it arrives, though, be sure to remove the defective one and run off of wall power.
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From BetaNews
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