| Thursday | 16 August, 2007
Hot demand and a massive battery recall are causing shortages of key components for the notebook computer industry, analysts and companies say. The worst case scenario for users is the likelihood of fewer deals for new notebook computers over the next five months because PC manufacturers are paying a premium for components and have to pass those higher costs down the PC supply chain. Users are also likely to see fewer discounts and other promotions, such as extra DRAM or a bigger hard disk drive (HDD). What normally happens during a component shortage is that PC vendors will adjust the makeup of the notebook PC to find savings elsewhere and ensure a constant price for users. For example, using less DRAM (dynamic-RAM) memory in a laptop can reduce the cost a tad, to make up for a higher priced laptop battery.
Toshiba recalls 10,000 Sony batteries
TOKYO – Japanese electronics company Toshiba Corp. began recalling about 10,000 Sony-made batteries for laptop computers in Japan and overseas, company officials said Thursday. Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Omori said there have been three cases in which the batteries caught fire between September and June. There were no injuries from the three fires; two in Japan and one in Australia, he said. The battery models to be recalled are different from those involved in a massive recall of Sony Corp. lithium-ion battery packs last year. Sony announced that recall after it was found they could overheat and catch fire. In the latest case, company investigations found batteries manufactured on December 3, 2005, were a cause of the problems, and there were about 5,100 of them sold in Japan, the U.S., Europe, Australia, China, the spokesman said.
GM: Battery on track for Chevy Volt
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - General Motors Corp. is growing increasingly confident that battery developers will be able to create a safe, durable and affordable power source that will allow it to begin selling its electrically driven Chevrolet Volt to consumers by the end of 2010.GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz announced Thursday that the automaker will develop lithium-ion battery cells with A123Systems Inc. to power its electric-drive vehicles.Lutz said GM and A123 hope to have the first full lithium-ion battery pack ready for testing in the Volt by mid-October and a battery ready for use in test vehicles - called mules _ by the end of the year. GM plans to have batteries ready for road testing by next spring. .
Sony invests $99 mln in Singapore battery plant
SINGAPORE, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Sony Corp. said on Tuesday it will invest S$150 million ($99 million) into a lithium ion battery plant in Singapore to start operations in August next year. Sony said in a statement that the factory would employ around 500 workers once it is fully operational in 2010. Ion lithium batteries are used in mobile phones and laptops. The Japanese company employs around 2,000 people in Singapore. (Reporting by Kevin Lim, editing by Jan Dahinten; singapore.newsroom@reuters.com, +65 6403 5659)) ($1=1.518 Singapore Dollar) .
'Toyota to delay launch of new hybrids'
TOKYO: Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. will delay by one or two years the rollout of new high-mileage hybrids with lithium-ion batteries because of safety concerns, reported a newspaper.
Toyota's decision was prompted by worries that the batteries could overheat, catch fire or even explode, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported in its online edition, quoting unnamed Toyota executives.
It said such fears were heightened by problems with similar batteries made by Sony Corp. for laptop computers which prompted a massive recall last year.
The Japanese auto giant, which is enjoying brisk sales of its fuel-efficient vehicles, was planning to launch a dozen hybrids using the new lithium-ion battery technology in the US market between 2008 and 2010, the report said.
Intel signs up vendors for Classmate PC in India
Updated: 24 Jul 2007
Intel has tied with three large Indian PC vendors to assemble the Classmate PC, a PC specially designed for schools. The three vendors -- HCL Infosystems, Wipro, and Zenith Computers -- will start shipping the product to Indian schools next month.The Classmate PC will be sold only to schools, and not through retail channels to consumers, John McClure, Intel's director for marketing in South Asia said on Monday. The Classmate PC has been specially designed to work in a networked classroom environment, and comes with software and features that give the teacher in the classroom control over the dissemination of content to students' PCs, he said.The Classmate PC, for example, does not have a hard disk. Instead it contains up to 2GB of NAND flash memory. Most of the content will reside on the teacher's PC, McClure said.Intel's manufacturering partners, such as HCL, Wipro, and Zenith, will team with content providers, education services providers, and system integrators to deploy the Classmate PCs in schools.The PC, which can run both Linux and Windows operating systems, is powered by a 900MHz Intel Celeron mobile processor, and comes with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, Intel said.
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