Toshiba recalls batteries
TOKYO - Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it would recall 5,100 potentially flammable laptop computer batteries made by Sony Corp., which suffered widespread problems with its lithium-ion batteries last year.
Toshiba is recalling batteries for five different models of laptop computers as there were three reports of batteries catching fire between last September and June, although no one was hurt, said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Omori.
Toshiba laptops using the batteries have been sold in Japan, the United States, Europe and the rest of Asia, he said.
The batteries are a different type to the more than 800,000 Sony-made batteries already recalled by Toshiba, he said.
Sony was hit last year by recalls of about 9.6 million of its batteries by computer makers including Apple Computer, Dell, Leveno, Toshiba and Fujitsu because of fears they could catch fire.
A Sony spokesman said Thursday the electronics giant would cooperate closely with Toshiba in investigating the cause of the battery problem.
