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Apple Gets Burned By Sony Batteries, Too

from the feeling-hot-hot-hot dept

Thu, Aug 24th 2006 11:40am — Carlo Longino

Apparently Apple noticed all the fun Dell was having with this whole battery recall thing, so it's decided to get in on the act by recalling 1.8 million batteries for three of its laptops -- batteries that, like the Dell ones, have cells made by Sony. Apple's suggesting affected users should remove the batteries from their machines and use them on AC power, while they wait 4 to 6 weeks for a replacement. In the meantime, perhaps Apple users can enjoy a vacation -- just don't fly Qantas.

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19 Comments

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The Truth Beacon, 24 Aug 2006 @ 11:51am

About time
I remember reading about Apple laptops catching on fire before Hells, and after the trial-by-fire you gave Hell, you paint Apple as some bastion of sainthood?

(sarcasm)You are so totally unbiased.(/sarcasm)
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- max, 24 Aug 2006 @ 2:21pm
  
  Re: About time
  they were mocking apple for waiting so long to do it, and at the fat that you have to run on AC power for 4-6 WEEKS.
  
  -max
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- max, 24 Aug 2006 @ 2:22pm
  
  Re: About time
  they were mocking apple for waiting so long to do it, and at the fat that you have to run on AC power for 4-6 WEEKS.
  
  -max
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 11:57am

From the Feeling Hot Hot Hot dept?

Thanks Carlos, now I have that stupid song in my head.
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drkkgt, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:15pm

quick reply
one of our employees had a dell battery for their personal laptop, it took 4 days to get the replacement.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:44pm

sony sucks
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:47pm

And you aren't?
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DeFrikkin Mann, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:57pm

Dell replacement was fast
My partner and I got our Dell battery replacements in appx 4-5 days max.
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Rajesh, 24 Aug 2006 @ 1:24pm

Replacement
I suspect the 4-6 week turnaround time is because the Apple laptops that are affected are no longer in production. So they'll have to re-start production for the old machines - one of the drawbacks for constant product redesigns.
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Stymie, 24 Aug 2006 @ 1:35pm

Apple recalls 1.8 million out of how many sold?
I've seen a bunch of articles on this subject, but I haven't seen any comment on this. Doesn't Dell sell about 10 times as many laptops as Apple? Apple has about 3 percent of the market right, and Dell has 40% or something?

Is Apple's recall wider (from a percentage standpoint) because they are more responsible, or because their stuff is crappier?

It also seems that Dell was originally blamed for the problem, but now that Apple has announced a huge recall, suddenly Sony is to blame. I guess in internet blogs Apple's sh*t don't stink.
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George, 24 Aug 2006 @ 1:43pm

4-6 weeks?
I sent my request for a new battery last friday... on monday i recieved my new battery, including return battery shipping info. Kudos to Apple for making this about as painless as possible for me.
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drkkgt, 24 Aug 2006 @ 1:45pm

quick reply
one of our employees had a dell battery for their personal laptop, it took 4 days to get the replacement.
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Smitty Werbenjaegermanjenson, 24 Aug 2006 @ 4:08pm

MacBook Pro Battery Replacement
I ordered my replacement on a Tuesday and had it delivered the following day.
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confused, 24 Aug 2006 @ 5:25pm

what about sonys?
I was unaware that Sony made laptop batteries for other companies until all this mess started. I'm just curious, why are there not recalls for Sony laptops. Can someone explain this to me? Thanks.
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Andrew, 24 Aug 2006 @ 6:54pm

ironic
I found this funny. At the college i work at we had a user bring his work dell laptop to have the battery checked. He basically was like "This is why i have use apple at home"

LOL :-)
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 10:07pm

sony should go back to rootkits
while they ruined your computers, at least they didn't burn your house down too.
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johnny, 31 Aug 2006 @ 12:11pm

I bought a replacement battery for my Dell laptop about a month ago from www.laptopsforless.com and it works great. Is there any reason to think that a replacement laptop battery would be any worse than the manufacturers?
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Eric, 7 Sep 2006 @ 4:16pm

The 4-6 week turnaround time is listed so that people won't get mad if their new laptop battery takes a while to arrive. In reality, it will come much sooner. Apple has about 12% of the portable computer market share. That's a pretty big chunk. Sony makes the batteries, so this is really their problem.

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/07/19.16.shtml
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Amala, 20 Jun 2008 @ 12:51am

For Dell and Apple laptop battery replacement
Yeah, for those defective dell and apple products, As Dell inspiron 6000 battery, Apple Powerbook G4 battery and more, many have been solved by replacement battery distributor, having overcharge and overheat protection, they can be used safely.
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