Fujitsu Recalls 287,000 Sony Batteries

Fujitsu provided more guidance Wednesday on the specifics of its previously announced recall, saying that 287,000 Sony-manufactured batteries would be recalled due to short-circuit and overheating issues. The new recall brings the total defective battery count to 7.5 million.

Six companies including Fujitsu have so far issued recalls: Dell, Apple, Lenovo/IBM, and Toshiba.

HP has decided to not follow suit with its own recall, saying in a statement that unique manufacturing prevents its Sony-produced batteries from overheating and possibly catching fire.

Sony directed manufacturers to launch recalls of laptops using its defective batteries last Friday. It confirmed that the cause of the fire problem was due to small metal particles coming loose within the battery and causing a short circuit, although it said that such an occurrence was rare.

It was at that time that Fujitsu first indicated it would begin a recall, and it is expected that other smaller manufacturers using Sony's batteries may soon make similar movies. For the most part, the largest manufacturers have already made announcements, meaning the worst is likely over for the Japanese electronics manufacturer.

Sony had previously said the recalls could cost the company as much as $250 million. However, a Sony spokesperson said with the latest announcement, the total cost will likely exceed that number. An updated estimate would be released as soon as the company can figure out how much the newest recalls would cost.