Is it a trend these days to recall laptop batteries? Is it some sort of marketing/publicity stunt, perhaps? Or maybe it's an international conspiracy staged by misunderstood bandits?

Matsushista Electronic Industrial Co. (Japan) just recently pulled a Dell by recalling batteries for Panasonic's Let's Note CF-W4G notebook. It was established though that the batteries were not manufactured by Sony, but as to whom exactly, company spokesman Akira Kadota could not say due to an agreement of confidentiality.

There have already been two reports of battery trouble early this year in Japan, and it has been observed to have stemmed from faulty battery covers which could warp from the heat.

Well, in any case, we can't quite point (burnt) fingers at anyone in particular. What's important is that this whole "battery as fire hazards" phase gets solved soon. And it's a good thing that Apple, Dell, and Lenovo are up to the task.