Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/06/19/sony_and_toshiba_laptop_fire/
Toshiba has no doubt left Sony feeling a little hot under the collar after announcing that yet another of the laptop battery packs made by its Japanese rival has burst into flames, nuking the notebook good and proper.
Although Toshiba kept specific details of the blaze close to its chest, the company confirmed that the incident took place last month and was caused by a short-circuit within the battery.
Such fires are thought to be caused by irregularities within lithium-ion batteries. Sony has said that - in this case - the fire was caused by microscopic metal particles getting inside the battery and causing it to short-circuit.
Toshiba added that the battery was one which should have been replaced under the swap-out scheme it embarked upon last year (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/19/toshiba_notebook_battery_recall/) following a spate of fires caused by malfunctioning Sony-made batteries.
Toshiba warned customers who have not yet returned batteries included in the recall to do so pronto. The recall is a global one.
Laptop battery fires have now become a widespread talking point and multiple vendors have already been caught out by similar incidents, including Lenovo (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/01/lenovo_sanyo_battery_recall/), Fujitsu (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/30/fujitsu_laptop_sparks/) and Apple (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/12/macbook_inferno/).
The scale of the problem has even prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/23/airline_battery_safety/) to begin warning passengers to take precautions while flying with a laptop or mobile phone.
Panasonic, meanwhile, has turned this fear into a sales opportunity by designing a "safe" lithium-ion rechargeable battery (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/18/panasonic_pitches_safe_li-ions/), which works by inserting a layer of heat-resistant insulating material to prevent fire-starting internal short-circuits.
Blazing Vaios: Sony's hot-tops hit the UK, too (5 September 2008)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/09/05/sony_uk_dealers_wiring_fault/
US flight authorities tighten rules on gadget battery storage (2 January 2008)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/02/us_new_battery_rules/
Pentagon to hold event prior to battery tech prize (14 September 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/14/pentagon_million_dollar_battery_bomb_beano/
Product safety: don't let a crisis turn into a disaster (20 August 2007)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/08/20/product_safety_regulations/
Laptop industry hit by components shortage (2 August 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/02/laptop_components_shortage/
Toshiba, Fujitsu, NEC want 32nm friendship (25 July 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/25/toshiba_fujitsu_nec_32nm_chip_talks/
Toshiba asks for more batteries back (19 July 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/07/19/toshiba_japan_recalls_batteries/
Burned by a MacBook (18 July 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/07/18/macbook_apple_support_hell/
Logitech out to lure laptop users with latest accessories (20 June 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/06/20/logitech_laptop_accessories/
Gateway recalls 14,000 more laptop batteries (20 June 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/06/20/gateway_battery_recall/
Gateway recalls 14,000 batteries (20 June 2007)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/06/20/gateway_recalls_14000_batteries/
Acer recalls 27,000 Sony laptop batteries (26 April 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/26/acer_recalls_27k_batteries/
Only you can prevent airline battery fires (23 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/23/airline_battery_safety/
MacBook goes up in flames (12 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/12/macbook_inferno/
Lenovo recalls 200,000 Thinkpad batteries (1 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/01/lenovo_sanyo_battery_recall/
Panasonic pitches 'safe' lithium-ion laptop battery (18 December 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/18/panasonic_pitches_safe_li-ions/
Sony says battery burn-out probe should have been quicker (4 December 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/04/sony_battery_confession/
Gateway opens up to Sony battery recall plan (24 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/24/gateway_laptop_battery_recall/
Sony begins Vaio battery recall (17 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/17/sony_japan_recalls_90k_vaio_batteries/
Hitachi recalls Sony laptop batteries (6 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/06/hitachi_battery_recall/
Fujitsu wants 287,000 Sony batteries back (4 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/04/fujitsu_battery_recall/
Toshiba recalls 340,000 Sony-made batteries (19 September 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/19/toshiba_notebook_battery_recall/