Just when you thought the exploding lithium-ion battery problem was over, Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW) has thrown its laptop into the ring. Gateway announced yesterday that it is voluntarily recalling around 14,000 Samsung-made laptop battery packs that were sold for three months in 2003. The problem, according to Gateway, is that the lithium-ion battery packs can overheat, potentially causing a fire.
That's hot.
Over 10 million lithium-ion batteries have been recalled worldwide since 2006. The recall has hit computer companies blindly, including Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE), Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Lenovo Group (OTC: LNVGY), and Toshiba Corp (OTC: TOSBF). Now Gateway.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said there have been four documented incidents of the Samsung batteries overheating, which caused minor property damage and no injuries, coming from two specific laptop models: the 400VTX and the 450ROG. The models were sold between May and August 2003. The Commission said Gateway will replace the faulty battery packs for free.
The batteries can be identified by the following part numbers: 6500760 or 6500761.
I would like to know what type of laptops the majority of the defective batteries were installed into. Is it the fact that all lithium-ion batteries are not safe for laptops, or is it really low-cost lithium-ion batteries aren't good in low-cost laptops?
Gateway requests owners of the affected battery to go to http://www.gateway.com/battery or contact them directly at (800) 292-6813 between 7AM and 10PM to arrange for a replacement battery pack.
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