Apple's bloating batteries

With all those highly-publicized recalls of laptop batteries, we had yet to have an incident with any of the hundreds of laptops passing through our labs. Until now.

One of our engineers noticed that the two-year-old Apple MacBook Pro, which had been sitting unused and disconnected for a few months appeared to be lifting itself off the shelf! Sure enough, an inspection showed that its normally-flat-sided battery had gotten "fat" due to the expansion of one or more cells in its lithium-ion battery pack. (Click on the picture at right for a closer look.) There was no evidence of overheating or electrical trauma, just the plumping. Even the battery-condition meter on the side still indicated a partial charge.

We checked online, and this battery was NOT within the range of serial numbers included in the official Apple "battery exchange program" (now closed) of a couple years ago. But we also found other MacBook Pro owners' online complaints about expanding batteries; some hinted at a "silent recall" by Apple. We finally found this battery update notice (http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate) recommending a software update and offering a free replacement battery to MacBook and MacBook Pro owners whose batteries had "visibly deformed."

Another recall of Sony laptop batteries

The problems with defective laptop batteries continue. This time the affected manufacturer is Sony, whose laptop batteries were involved in a massive recall in 2007. In the new case, the Consumer Product Safety Commission received close to 20 reports of the Sony-manufactured batteries overheating, including 17 instances of them catching fire.

Laptops with the affected batteries were sold by Dell from November 2004 to November 2005; Toshiba from April 2005 to October 2005; and HP from December 2004 through June 2006. The batteries were also sold separately.

Here's a list of models that might contain the recalled batteries:

• HP Pavilion: dv1000, dv8000 and zd8000
• Compaq Presario: v2000 and v2400
• HP Compaq: nc6110, nc6120, nc6140, nc6220, nc6230, nx4800, nx4820, nx6110, nx6120, nx9600
• Toshiba Satellite: A70/A75, P30/P5, M30X/M35X, M50/M55
• Toshiba Tecra: A3, A5, S2
• Dell Latitude: 110L
• Dell Inspiron: 1100, 1150, 5100, 5150, 5160

If you own any of the above laptops, remove the battery and check the manufacturer's Web site or call the provided toll-free number to see if your system is affected. You'll also find instructions there on how to return the battery for a free one.

You can also check the CPSC's official announcement, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09035.html, for more information—including images of the laptops and batteries affected by this recall.

Here's the contact info:

• HP: http://www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement
  800-889-2031 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
• Toshiba: http://www.bxinfo.toshiba.com
  800-457-7777.
• Dell: http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com
  866-342-0011 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

—Donna Tapellini

Essential gadgets for emergencies

With Texans along the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricane Dolly, we thought it would be a good time to mention electronics gear that can be invaluable to have before, during and after a natural disaster or other emergency. Of course, there are other items you'll need, such as flashlights, water, and more. For a complete checklist and other tips on preparing for—and dealing with the aftermath of—devastating storms and disasters, see our free Storm and Emergency guide on ConsumerReports.org.

On the electronics front, here's what we recommend:

• Make sure you have an emergency radio—powered by either batteries or a hand-crank—which will work even if the lights go out. A radio can pull in vital news, weather, and evacuation information from AM radio stations, which have further "reach" than TV broadcasters.
• Have at least one corded phone that doesn't require electricity. A cordless phone's base station won't run without juice.
• Keep your cell phone charged and have alternative power options—a car adapter or a portable cell phone charger that uses common AA batteries or features a hand crank or other "green" energy source.
• Consider having family members use different cell phone service providers in case one carrier goes down.
• Know how to text message. If cell towers are still up but available bandwidth is limited, a text message may be able to get through when voice calls won't.
• Learn how to browse the Web on an Internet-enabled phone. You'll have news bulletins, maps, and more at your fingertips.
• Have a portable GPS navigation system, which can be handy if you have to evacuate through unfamiliar routes and areas.

Portable chargers powered by nature

Imagine being able to charge your cell phone, MP3 player, and other electronic gadgets when you're on the go. And I mean really on the go—when you're hiking, biking, or whenever you find yourself far from any wall socket.

Well, that's exactly what the makers of HYmini and Solio had in mind when they created their portable renewable energy chargers. Both products are about the size of your hand, light-weight (about 3 and 6 ounces) and produce electricity from the wind and sun. The juice can be used to directly power a mobile gadget or stored within the chargers' own internal batteries for later—to charge a GPS unit during dinner at night by the camp fire, for example. (How much energy you get and can actually use varies greatly with environmental conditions and the specifications of each device—cell phone, GPS unit, etc.)

The chargers, which were recently on display at Greener Gadgets, a conference in New York City, haven't been tested by Consumer Reports. But they did capture our attention. Here's a quick look at these two innovative mobile power-supplies:

HYmini

It may look like a fan to keep you cool, but in reality the $50 HYmini is a cool way to get power. (Click on image above for a closer look.) Miniwiz, HYmini's maker, says the first generation of these hand-held turbines are designed to capture energy from winds of up to to 40-miles per hour—gusts similar to what you would get from jogging or bike riding. (The company offers armbands and bicycle mounts just for those kinds of activities.) But even when there is no breeze, HYmini can still generate power by connecting an optional $25 solar panel. (Up to four can be used to charge the HYmini's internal battery.)

CES 2008: Green gains, but only so far…

This year's Consumer Electronics Show proclaimed itself the world's first carbon-neutral trade event, proudly detailing how it required suppliers of everything from displays to disposable plates to choose environmentally benign options. This was also the greenest CES ever in terms of what participants were shown and invited to discuss.

But a greenfest it wasn't. At best, environmental issues rose from the near-invisibility of past shows to a scattered presence on the show floor, with the occasional green or brown sign carrying a corporate pledge or strategy. The conference program featured a day of modestly attended panel discussions on environmental issues, in the farthest reaches of the Las Vegas Convention Center's cavernous South Hall. A few other green-themed sessions dotted the calendar.

I attended as many of those events as I could and chatted afterwards with some of the panelists, who included manufacturers, mostly from big companies such as HP, Sony, and Panasonic, and regulators but not environmentalists (organizers say they tried without success to get environmental groups to participate).

Here are some of the promising developments I heard:

Energy Star designations will improve and expand. As we'll report more fully in a few weeks, when our annual TV feature-content posts to ConsumerReports.org, a flat-panel TV can easily consume $50 or more of power a year, possibly as much or more than your fridge. Many plasmas and LCD sets now bear Energy Star labels, but the current requirements reflect only power consumption in the standby mode—which is many times less than sets consume during the eight or so hours in which they're on in an average home. Energy Star's administrator, Katharine Kaplan, says a new TV standard will be finalized next month that reflects power when the set is on. She also said that standards would be similarly upgraded for printers and some other gear in 2008.