Add Gateway to the list of PC makers that are recalling batteries made by Sony.
The Irvine, Calif., company on Oct. 23 issued a voluntary recall of 35,000 lithium-ion batteries that have shipped with its notebooks since 2005.
Gateway joins a growing group of manufacturers that have recalled the batteries since Dell in August announced it was recalling 4.1 million batteries. The worry is that, under certain conditions, the batteries can malfunction and catch fire. Gateway said that no battery problems have been identified in any of its notebooks.
Since Dell’s recall, a host of other PC makers, including Lenovo Group, Apple, Hitachi and Toshiba, have recalled more than 8 million batteries.
Indeed, Sony on Oct. 17 announced it was recalling 90,000 of its own batteries.
Will notebook battery pack recalls breed a new battery technology? Check out eWEEK’s slide show.
Gateway said that affected batteries were used in business laptops sold primarily through its direct and professional channels, although some were purchased from retail outlets.
According to the company, the batteries were sold as primary or spares for Gateway notebook models CX200, CX210, E100M, M250, M255, M280, M285, M465, M685, MP8708, NX260, NX510, NX560, NX860, NX100, MX1025, MX6918b and MX1020j.
Sony’s shares have taken a beating, falling as much as 8 percent, as the number of recalls has increased, and officials said Oct. 17 that they may need to change their full-year earnings forecasts in part because of the situation.
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