Fujitsu Recalls 287K Batteries Japanese notebook maker issues count of Sony batteries it will replace. October 4, 2006 Fujitsu said Wednesday it would recall 287,000 Sony battery packs in its laptop PCs as part of the voluntary replacement program that Sony announced Thursday (see Sony Battery Recalls Expand). The Tokyo-based computer maker said Saturday it was issuing the recall even though it had not received reports of overheating, as was the case with other computer makers. The number of notebook batteries subject to the recall was not disclosed until Wednesday, however. “As of this time, we are not aware of any instances of battery pack problems involving Fujitsu notebook PCs similar to those that have been announced by Dell and Apple Computer,” said the company. “Nevertheless, in response to Sony’s announcement, we have decided to cooperate with Sony’s voluntary battery replacement program.” The recall involves several of Fujitsu’s FMV-Biblo models sold in Japan, as well as a number of Lifebook models sold outside Japan. The complete list is on the Fujitsu web site. - ADVERTISEMENT - Sony has been experiencing a spate of problems of late. Dell has recalled 4.2 million notebook batteries made by Sony after several reports of notebooks overheating and catching fire (see Dude, You’re Getting a Recall). Apple Computer recalled 1.8 million Sony batteries because of overheating hazards in August (see Apple, Sony Burned). Last week, IBM and Lenovo recalled over half a million ThinkPad notebook batteries made by Sony after a ThinkPad began emitting sparks and smoke in Los Angeles International Airport (see Lenovo, IBM Recall 500K+ Batteries and Flaming Laptops! Now It’s Lenovo). In addition, Matsushita, Panasonic’s parent company, recalled 6,000 notebook batteries last month because of overheating, but said those batteries were not made by Tokyo-based Sony (see Matsushita Recalls Batteries). There are now over 7 million batteries that notebook makers have recalled. Sony has not yet recalled any of its Vaio laptops, although it is expected to do so in the near future. One of its Vaio notebooks caught fire last month in a Vaio owner’s home in Kansas, but the company said the battery was not made by Sony. PS3 Woes On top of the battery problems, Sony has also been having problems with the PlayStation 3 game console it plans to debut. At the Tokyo Game Show last month, the consoles on display began overheating and had to be repeatedly reset. Sony said the problem was due to the temperatures inside the exhibit hall, but that did not stop analysts from issuing cautions about the company. “We have heard that at the TGS, PS3s had stability problems and had to be reset often,” wrote Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson in a research note. “While the reason for this is unknown, we suspect it may be due to overheating as a result of enclosing the units and the high temperature at the venue. “We understand that Sony is investigating the issue and has not determined the cause as yet,” he added. “We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production (end-Sept) and is clearly negative news for the company.” Another trouble spot for Sony with the PS3 has been the Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology, which has caused production delays with the console (see Sony Delays PS3 to November).