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Sony: No More Battery Recalls Expected

August 28, 2006

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Sony Corp. says it anticipates no further recalls of laptop battery packs and expects to spend as much as $256 million to complete the Dell and Apple recalls of the last few weeks.

Dell recalled 4.1 million battery packs, while Apple recalled 1.8 million, after consumers complained of overheating and fires.

A man in South Venice, Fla. believes his Dell laptop is the cause of his house burning down. In July, a truck in Nevada went up in flames sending two men fleeing as the flames reached the gas tank and two boxes of bullets in the glove box.

Sony designed and manufactured the lithium-ion cells used in the battery packs.

In a statement, Sony said microscopic metal particles in the recalled packs may come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, causing short circuits.

While the pack is supposed to shut off when a short circuit occurs, overheating can occur, depending on the configuration used in various laptop designs.

Sony said it anticipates no further recalls of the battery packs using its cells. The company added it has introduced additional safeguards into its battery manufacturing process to address safety concerns.

Dell has said it plans to continue using Sony's lithium-ion cells.

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