UPDATE - The Motive Behind the Exploding Batteries

Sony decides to come forward and explain why are the notebooks exploding after a total recall of no less than 6 million malfunctioning batteries developed by Sony, which have been integrated into notebooks that are Dell, Apple, HP or Lenovo branded, and after the Qantas decision to ban the usage of Dell notebooks that are powered by batteries in its aircrafts.

"Sony said in an official statement that the recall arises because, on rare occasions, microscopic metal particles in the recalled battery cells may come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a short circuit within the cell. Typically, a battery pack will simply power off when a cell short circuit occurs. However, under certain rare conditions, an internal short circuit may lead to cell overheating and potentially flames, the company indicated. The potential for this to occur can be affected by variations in the system configurations found in different notebook computers," informs X-bit Labs.

However, also Apple may suffer from a similar interdiction coming from Qantas, if Apple's report will not be positive, meaning that the latter's notebooks pose no safety risk for the passengers and the user. "We have put limitations on Dell computers and at this stage we are awaiting further information from Apple," said a Qantas spokesman cited by X-bit Labs.

There are several potential risks for 'the accused companies'. If other airline companies decide to ban the notebooks, the sales may dramatically drop. But also if the investigation led by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission turns out to incriminate even one company, than all of them will have to suffer the consequences. Also Japan's Trade Ministry requested a report made by Dell and Sony, which has been already put forward by the latter.