Dell battery recall

Direct vendor claims recall will not have adverse effect on its business

PC giant Dell does not expect the recall of approximately 4.1 million Dell-branded batteries to "have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows".

The direct vendor has played down the implications of the recall, which involves a rare condition where it is possible for the batteries to overheat and catch fire. The issue of Dell laptops catching fire got some major exposure after photos were published of an exploding unit in Osaka followed by additional pictures of charred systems.

The recalled batteries, originally manufactured by Sony, were sold with Dell notebook computers between 1 April 2004 and 18 July 2006. Models affected include Dell Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810; Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400, E1705; and Dell Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.

Dell is urging laptop owners to visit a special Dell Battery Recall website to find out more information.