Recall of Sony laptop batteries grows

-- The massive global recall of batteries made by Sony Corp. said it is recalling 287,000 laptop batteries that are at risk of overheating or catching fire. The move brings the number of lithium-ion batteries replaced worldwide to more than 7 million, according to the U S Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company said it reviewed its products with Sony batteries and found that the designs were not prone to the overheating issues other companies seem to face. Dell's recall, in August, came after six instances of overheating or fire involving systems with Sony-made batteries. There were about 50 incidents of burning batteries reported in the past five years, while tens of millions of notebook computers were sold in the United States, she said. Other factors, however, could also be causing batteries to overheat or smoke, said Vallese at the Consumer Product Safety Commission.