Lenovo Recalls 200,000 ThinkPad Batteries

Last year, both Sony and Dell were almost as hot under the collar as the laptop batteries both were responsible for shipping. Although Sony was primarily to blame -- it manufactured the batteries, which were prone to overheating -- retailer Dell also accepted part of the guilt. Now IBM and Lenovo are at the heart of a recent recall, which has 205,000 notebook batteries affected.

Like the Sony culprits, Lenovo is recalling lithium-ion batteries. The technology is used worldwide in IBM's very popular ThinkPad laptop, a device that appeals to many corporate users because of its ThinkVantage fingerprint security.

Despite the fact that Lenovo and IBM are the names many are contacting for replacements, manufacturer Sanyo is behind the battery's production. Lenovo will take much scorn for the announcement, however, since it was forced to make a similar recall (of over half a million batteries) when Sony's technology proved dangerous last year. (Source: betanews.com)

Is the Sanyo battery dangerous? According to reports, it could be. Although in typical use the batteries pose no threat, if the laptop is dropped it could conceivably set on fire.

The specific models being sought out include the R60 and R60e series, T60 and T60p series, and Z60e, Z61e, Z61m, Z61p editions. (Source: ibm.com)

Approximately 100,000 of the affected units, or nearly half, were shipped under the hood of American notebook computers. Lenovo is telling all of those owning the named computers to immediately remove the battery and instead connect to an AC power source, using this method until a replacement can be obtained.