Dell Recalls Four Million Batteries

Chris Null has been keeping us abreast of the multiple exploding incidents involving Dell laptops. The Inquirer was the first to break the disturbing news with some startling photos of the sudden laptop explosion that occurred during a Japanese conference. According to one witness: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes." Luckily, no one was hurt during that incident, or the one that soon followed.

Yes, a second Dell laptop caught on fire, and this time, Tom's Hardware had some pictures taken by an engineer on the scene. Unfortunately, it looks like the pictures have already been removed. I have a Dell, and I'd lie if I didn't admit that I fear an explosion every time I use it ever since I came across those photos.

According to CNet, Dell has confirmed that it will start a 4.1 million notebook battery recall starting on Tuesday. Owners of Dell Inspirion, Latitude, Precision Mobile Workstations and XPS units shipped between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006 will be among those affected. You can call 1-866-342-0011 or visit Dell's website for more details regarding this recall.

If you happen to have one of the models listed above, you're advised to eject the battery from the notebook after powering down, and run your PC on AC power until you get your replacement battery.

An analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates said, "This is the largest battery recall in the history of the electronics industry." 

So start checking those batteries, and if they say "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" chances are they need to be replaced.