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Just like Dell does replace 4 million of batteries...
Apple recalls 1.8 million laptop batteries
Power devices said to cause overheating risk; Battery-maker Sony's stock slides as it says recent recalls will cost between $172 million and $258 million.
By Rob Kelley, CNNMoney.com staff writer
August 24 2006: 2:46 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple is recalling 1.8 million battery packs for its iBook and PowerBook notebook computers due to an overheating problem, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Thursday.
The cells in the lithium-ion batteries in the iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers - the only two models affected by the recall - were produced by Sony.
Apple (up $0.36 to $67.67, Charts) stock was just slightly lower after the recall announcement, but shares of Sony (down $1.35 to $43.07, Charts) fell about 2.5 percent.
"It's primarily a Sony issue for Dell, so I expect it to be similar for Apple," said Wendy Abramowitz of Argus Research. "Considering that Apple sells a lot fewer PCs than Dell does, I don't see it having a substantial impact."
Apple has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns from the computers, the CPSC said.
Sony said its recent recalls - 1.8 million batteries for Apple and 4.1 million for Dell announced last week - will cost the company between $172 million and $258 million.
Sony said it anticipates no further recalls of battery packs using these particular battery cells, and said it has introduced additional safeguards into its battery manufacturing process to address the problem.
Sony makes about 25 percent of the world's lithium-ion batteries, second only to Sanyo, according to Reuters.
Apple said the recall affected 1.1 million notebook batteries in the United States and 700,000 batteries abroad.
The company will not take a severe hit from the recall, said an analyst.
"Since Apple was proactive in doing this immediately on the heels of the Dell recall, any negative impact on their brand or sales outlook will really be mitigated," said Steve Baker of NPD Group.
"The fact is that they've said they're going to replace all 1.8 million batteries and that these batteries aren't in any computers that are being sold today," he added. "The more important issue is how the company takes responsibility for the problem and tries to make things right, and I think they're doing a good job of that."
Apple consumers with affected products should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Apple for a replacement battery, free of charge.
Consumers should remove the batteries from their notebooks and use the AC adapter to power their computers.
Apple can be contacted at 1-800-275-2273 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Central Time all week, or customers can log on to their Web site at http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram.
Power devices said to cause overheating risk; Battery-maker Sony's stock slides as it says recent recalls will cost between $172 million and $258 million.
By Rob Kelley, CNNMoney.com staff writer
August 24 2006: 2:46 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple is recalling 1.8 million battery packs for its iBook and PowerBook notebook computers due to an overheating problem, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Thursday.
The cells in the lithium-ion batteries in the iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers - the only two models affected by the recall - were produced by Sony.
Apple (up $0.36 to $67.67, Charts) stock was just slightly lower after the recall announcement, but shares of Sony (down $1.35 to $43.07, Charts) fell about 2.5 percent.
"It's primarily a Sony issue for Dell, so I expect it to be similar for Apple," said Wendy Abramowitz of Argus Research. "Considering that Apple sells a lot fewer PCs than Dell does, I don't see it having a substantial impact."
Apple has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns from the computers, the CPSC said.
Sony said its recent recalls - 1.8 million batteries for Apple and 4.1 million for Dell announced last week - will cost the company between $172 million and $258 million.
Sony said it anticipates no further recalls of battery packs using these particular battery cells, and said it has introduced additional safeguards into its battery manufacturing process to address the problem.
Sony makes about 25 percent of the world's lithium-ion batteries, second only to Sanyo, according to Reuters.
Apple said the recall affected 1.1 million notebook batteries in the United States and 700,000 batteries abroad.
The company will not take a severe hit from the recall, said an analyst.
"Since Apple was proactive in doing this immediately on the heels of the Dell recall, any negative impact on their brand or sales outlook will really be mitigated," said Steve Baker of NPD Group.
"The fact is that they've said they're going to replace all 1.8 million batteries and that these batteries aren't in any computers that are being sold today," he added. "The more important issue is how the company takes responsibility for the problem and tries to make things right, and I think they're doing a good job of that."
Apple consumers with affected products should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Apple for a replacement battery, free of charge.
Consumers should remove the batteries from their notebooks and use the AC adapter to power their computers.
Apple can be contacted at 1-800-275-2273 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Central Time all week, or customers can log on to their Web site at http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram.
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