IBM, Lenovo recall 526,000 laptop batteries IBM and Lenovo become the latest firms stung by bad Sony batteries following report of laptop catching fire at airport. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- IBM and computer maker Lenovo announced Thursday a recall of 526,000 laptop batteries worldwide made by Sony Corp. because of a fire risk. The recall affects the lithium-ion batteries found on the ThinkPad Notebook line of laptops, which were sold by both IBM and Lenovo. Sony Corporation also announced Thursday it would initiate a global replacement program of the company's lithium-ion batteries but did not provide any details of the program. Lenovo said it has received one confirmed report of a battery overheating at an airport terminal that was severe enough that it required a fire extinguisher to put out the laptop fire. Consumers are urged to stop using recalled batteries immediately, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and to contact Lenovo to receive a free replacement battery. IBM sold its PC production division in 2005 to Lenovo, although consumers were able to purchase the batteries through both Lenovo and IBM's respective Web sites between February 2005 and September 2006, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. IBM's announcement follows similar recall by both Apple (up $0.60 to $77.01, Charts) and Dell (up $0.52 to $22.97, Charts). Shares of IBM (down $0.10 to $81.99, Charts) were slightly lower in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while share of Sony (down $0.35 to $41.16, Charts) shares were more than 1 percent lower. |
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