Nokia (NOK), the world’s largest cell phone maker, warned that defective batteries in as many as 52 of its phones can overheat when they’re recharging.
The warning is reminiscent of a Sony (SNE) battery recall last year that affected millions of laptops made by manufacturers including Apple (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Toshiba and Fujitsu.
This Nokia battery problem is wider, however; while the Sony laptop battery recall involved somewhere in the range of 10 million batteries, this Nokia cell phone battery advisory affects at least 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita (MC) during the year between December 2005 and November 2006.
Nokia seemed to want to limit consumer alarm over the battery problems, saying the overheating has been reported only when the battery is charging, there have been no reported injuries, and there have been about 100 reported problems reported worldwide, with “no serious injuries or property damage.”
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60
The battery model is BL-5C, and Nokia says to check the print on a Nokia battery to see if it is affected by the warning. For instructions on how to check your battery, go to http://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/