I Sue You, You Sue Me, We're An Unhappy Web Family...

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.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

19 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

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)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:44pm

sony sucks
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Aug 2006 @ 12:47pm

And you aren't?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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 :-)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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.
[ link to this | view in thread ]