Battery Fires To Blame; Apple May Be Next

Fresh on the heels of reports that Sony-made batteries in both Dell and Apple laptop computers might catch fire or even explode... Qantas has banned the use of all Dell laptops from its flights.

"We have put limitations on Dell computers and at this stage we are awaiting further information from Apple," a Qantas spokesperson told Australian Personal Computer magazine.

As Aero-News reported, Dell recalled more than four million lithium-ion batteries earlier this month over concerns they could spark a major fire. Apple followed suit soon thereafter, adding another 1.8 million to the total number of computers to be recalled.

So far, no other airline has made a similar move... but concern over that very possibility has prompted some companies whose employees have to fly for a living to suggest they'll move away from Dell and Apple laptops, should others follow Qantas' lead.

The batteries in question are supplied to both companies by Sony... and in addtion to Dell and Apple laptops, the lithium-ion cells are also used in laptops made by Hewlitt-Packard and Lenovo. So far, there are no reports of exploding batteries in those products.

As for the cause of the bursting batteries, Sony says the explosions are caused by microscopic metal particles that, in rare occasions, may come in contact with other parts of the battery cell. The cells are designed to power off when that occurs... but on some, an internal short circuit causes the cell to overheat and catch fire before that happens.

FMI: www.qantas.com, www.dell.com, www.apple.com, www.sony.com