Apple Recalls Laptop Batteries -- Apple has announced a voluntary recall of certain rechargeable laptop batteries sold with, or sold separately for use with, its 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, and 15-inch PowerBook G4 models from Oct-04 through May-05. The company, which acted in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and international authorities, says the affected batteries could overheat, posing a potential fire hazard. The batteries will be replaced at no cost to the owner.

<http://www.apple.com/support/batteryexchange/>
<http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/ 05179.html>

The recalled batteries include those with model numbers A1061, A1078, and A1079, and have serial numbers that begin with HQ441 through HQ507, and 3X446 through 3X510. There are unaffected batteries with the same model numbers but different serial numbers, so check both. After verifying the battery is from the affected batches, Apple will ship a replacement battery at no charge to the user, who will then return the original battery using the same packaging and an included pre-paid shipping label. [MHA]