Sony recalls 100,000 laptop batteries

The Japanese Electronics giant-Sony-on Friday said that it was cooperating in a recall of 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by HP(Hewlett Packard), Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer . There have been 40 reports of overheating, in some cases involving smoke or flames, according to a company statement.

Sony-world's second largest Lithium-ion battery manufacturer after Sanyo- two years ago in a similar incident recalled nearly 9 million high-capacity batteries. The result? It affected the economy of all global competing PC manufacturers, and cost Sony close to $400 million! So, why hasn't Sony learned from its previous experiences? Beats me! That's the big question!

Sony stated that the faulty batteries were from the same subsidiary that made the batteries recalled two years ago, Sony Energy Devices in Tochigi, Japan. Sony said efforts to make manufacturing lines there more efficient appeared to have backfired, leading to substandard cells. A possible flaw in the metal foil for electrodes could also have led to overheating, the company said.

Dell and HP have taken immediate measures- HP has a website for its owners to check whether their batteries are defected, and Dell too has a similar website. This is definitely not good news for Sony.

Lenovo launches its first consumer PC in the US.....

Lenovo, which is best known for its Thinkpad business notebooks released its first consumer low-priced PC outside of China- the Ideapad K210. Among the unusual features in the desktop model is facial-recognition technology that allows users to log on by having the computer's camera recognize their faces. Also, another feature Lenovo is hoping to use to differentiate the product in a crowded market is an anti-microbial keyboard that uses special material to inhibit bacterial growth. The keyboard is expected to be useful in environments where multiple people use the same computer.

The K210 also includes Lenovo's system-recovery technology, which saves data on a special system partition in the event of a failure. Specifications of the new machine include an Intel Core 2 quad-core processor and GMA 3100 integrated graphics. In addition, the computer has an optional Blu-ray DVD drive and the option of upgrading to an ATI Radeon 2600 XT graphics card for PC gaming.

The IdeaCentre K210 is available in US retail stores. Prices start at $379, after a mail-in rebate. A 19-inch monitor is available for an additional $229, and a 22-inch display for $299. Both prices are after a mail-in rebate.

Macbook Air's rival-Thinkpad X300-Review

This super sleek,speedy laptop costs Rs 1,45,000! Sporting a Intel Core 2 Duo L7100 clocked at 1.2Ghz, 2GB of RAM, and an Intel's GMA X3100 video chip-this laptop is a performance pig.

A factor which might be an advantage for some users and a disadvantage for some users is that it houses a 64GB Samsung SSD(Solid-State-Drive). The advantage is that Vista boots up in a mere 37 seconds and Office applications start almost instantly! The disadvantage is that if you are a multimedia enthusiast, this piece isn't for you-because you might hog up all the 64GB of hard disk space in less than a month! Also it has a very sturdy carbon-fiber reinforced casing which is seen in almost all Thinkpad laptops.

Under moderate usage the 6-cell battery lasts up to 4 hrs-which is quite good. When it comes to keyboards; Thinkpad laptops are very renowned and this is no exception! With well spaced out keys-the response is very good. One good feature is that this laptop has a 'Trackpoint' and a 'Touchpad'! It even has options for GPS, wireless WAN and wireless USB-although these facilities aren't available in India yet.

A mere 12.5 inches wide, 9 inches long and 0.7 inches thick-this laptop is a very good alternative/rival for the Macbook Air.