Related articles:

Dell to recall fire-prone Sony laptop batteries Dell laptop recall Dell record recall not technology flaw

Other articles by Connie Guglielmo:

Caution from Apple's finance boss may put Jobs in backdating danger Oracle to buy Siebel Systems for $5.85 billion Apple's latest: iTunes on cell phone, tiny iPodNew iPod, lower prices Big profits polish Apple's balance sheet

Other articles by Ian King:

Analog chips boost Texas Instruments New chief takes over amid Intel optimism

Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Health Care
Dependable Health Services
Physical Therapists Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps

Apple Computer Inc. is recalling 1.8 million Sony Corp. batteries used in its Macintosh notebooks a week after Dell Inc. instituted a similar recall. The moves may cost more than $250 million, Sony said.

The batteries were used in iBook and PowerBook computers sold between October 2003 and this month, Apple said. Sony doesn't anticipate any further recalls, the company said in a statement Thursday.

"The batteries pose a fire hazard, and we want consumers to take this recall seriously," said Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, based in Bethesda, Md. "We want them to take the batteries out of the laptops immediately."

Problems with Sony batteries led Dell, the world's largest personal-computer maker, to initiate the biggest recall in consumer-electronics history. The decision by Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., is the second-largest recall after Dell and brings the number of affected notebooks to almost 6 million. Apple discovered nine incidents of batteries overheating, with two causing minor burns to Mac users.

Battery replacements for Dell and Apple notebooks will cost Sony $170 million to $257 million, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement. Apple doesn't expect the recall to have a "material financial effect," company spokesman Steve Dowling said in an interview.

The recall doesn't affect notebooks with Intel Corp. chips that were released this year, Dowling said.

For Apple, "it's an inconvenience but financially it's a non-event because Sony is responsible," Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray Cos. based in Minneapolis. "The key is that it doesn't impact Apple's Intel notebooks."

Shipments of Macs are at their highest level in five years, fueled by demand for faster laptop models powered by Intel chips.

Notebook shipments at Apple rose 61 percent in the quarter that ended July 1 and accounted for 62 percent of Mac revenue.

Shares of Apple rose 50 cents Thursday to close at $67.81 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have fallen 5.7 percent this year. Sony American depositary receipts fell $1.16, or 2.6 percent, to $43.26 in New York Stock Exchange trading.

The safety commission said the recall affects 1.1 million Mac notebooks sold in the U.S. and 700,000 sold overseas. The machines were purchased at Apple's stores, through the company's Web site and at authorized resellers.

Affected notebooks were sold for $900 to $2,300, and some batteries were sold separately for about $130.

The units were assembled in Japan, Taiwan and China and contain Sony's lithium-ion batteries. Sony is the world's second- largest maker of consumer electronics behind Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

The commission announced on Aug. 17 that it was reviewing notebook batteries made by Sony, three days after Round Rock, Texas-based Dell recalled 4.1 million batteries on concern that some may burst into flames. The batteries were made in Japan and assembled in China by Sony workers.

Dell told the safety commission that it had learned of six cases since December in the U.S. of notebooks overheating or bursting into flames because of a problem in the fuel cells of the widely used lithium-ion batteries. No injuries were reported, Dell said.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's second-largest PC maker, and Gateway Inc., the third-largest PC maker in the U.S., have said their systems are not at risk.

Problems arise "on rare occasions" when short circuits occur within battery cells, according to the Sony statement. A short circuit should cause the battery to shut down. "Under certain rare conditions" it may lead to overheating and flames.

Apple's recall comes after the company on July 28 announced a replacement program for some Mac Book Pro notebook batteries. The machines have 15-inch screens and were sold between February and May.

Apple instituted the recall citing "performance issues" with the rechargeable batteries and said the affected batteries don't pose a safety risk, according to company spokesman Dowling. He declined to say how many of those machines were affected and who manufactured the batteries.

Meanwhile, Japan's Trade Ministry ordered Sony and Dell on Thursday to investigate the trouble involving Sony batteries in Dell laptops.

The ministry said Sony and Dell must report on their findings and say how they will prevent future problems by the end of August, or face a fine under Japan's consumer-safety laws.

SEE recall/ D5