14 DAY TRIAL // The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Dell Inc. announced in a press release the recall of no less than 4.1 million batteries used in conjunction with the company's notebooks. In the press release the explicit reason for the recall is "Fire Hazard" and the products referred to are: "Dell-branded lithium-ion batteries made with cells manufactured by Sony." The lithium-ion batteries are subject to potential overheating and as such they pose a threat to consumers. Six related incidents were brought to Dell's attention "sparking" the recall decision. In this regard Dell has issued a warning advising all notebook users involved affected by the issues to seize all usage of the recalled products.
While Dell did not disclose the actual costs of the recall campaign, it actually tried to downplay the financial aspect to a minimum. "We would expect it to have no material impact on our financials," Dell's chairman Michael Dell declared on the occasion of a conference held by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. "We have been working very closely with Sony to understand what occurred in the process during the period of contamination and to understand what counter measures they have taken. We are confident that they have taken the right counter measures and the process is now secure."
"Consumers should stop using these recalled batteries immediately and contact Dell to receive a replacement battery. Consumers can continue to use the notebook computers safely by turning the system off, ejecting the battery, and using the AC adapter and power cord to power the system until the replacement battery is received," was the remedy proposed by Dell.
The company has so far sold 2.7 million battery packs in the US and 1.4 million abroad.