Apple Computer Inc. will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook computer batteries after nine devices overheated, causing minor burns to two users, U.S. safety regulators said on Thursday, according to Reuters. The recall is the second-biggest in U.S. history involving electronics or computers. Just last week, No. 1 PC maker Dell Inc. recalled 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries. In both cases, the batteries had power cells made by Sony Corp.. Sony said in a separate statement that it did not anticipate further recalls of batteries using the potentially faulty cells. The giant Japanese electronics company said the Apple and Dell recalls would cost Sony between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen ($172 million to $258 million). Cupertino, California-based Apple will recall 1.1 million batteries sold with notebook computers in the United States and 700,000 abroad, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. They were sold with Apple iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 computers from October 2003 through this month, according to the safety commission. Apple had said last week after the Dell recall that it was reviewing its notebook batteries to ensure they met its standards. "The key message to consumers is these lithium-ion batteries can actually overheat and pose a fire hazard," said Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington. Shares of Apple were down 23 cents to $67.08 in active afternoon trading on Nasdaq following the recall announcement; they had dipped as low as $66.27. Apple representatives were not immediately available for comment.
