November 30, 2011

Mophie Recalls iPod Touch Rechargeable External Battery Case Due to Burn Hazard

Name of Product: Rechargeable External Battery Case

Units: About 6,118

Hazard: The battery case’s integrated circuit switch can overheat, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Mophie has received 110 reports of the product becoming warm to the touch, 44 reports of the product deforming and nine reports of minor burns.

Description: The recalled product is a Mophie Juice Pack Air rechargeable external battery which consists of a lithium polymer battery built into a plastic case designed to snap onto the back of an iPod Touch 4G music player. The battery cases come in black, blue or red. Only battery cases with serial numbers that have the first five alphanumeric characters of TR113 through TR120 are subject to this recall. The serial number can be found inside the housing of the product.

Sold at: B& H Photo, Barnes & Noble, InMotion Entertainment, J&R Music World, Marine Corps Exchange stores, Amazon.com and mophie.com since April 2011 for about $50.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and contact Mophie for instructions on receiving a replacement product.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Mophie toll-free at (877) 308-4581 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.mophie.com/exchange

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November 30, 2011

Rocketfish Battery Case for iPhone 3G/3GS Recalled by Best Buy Due to Fire Hazard

Name of Product: Rocketfish™ Model RF-KL12 Mobile Battery Cases for iPhone 3G and 3GS

Units: About 31,000 in the U.S. and about 1,000 in Canada

Hazard: The battery case can overheat while charging, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC and the firm have received about 14 reports of the battery cases overheating in the United States, including three reports of minor burns to consumers and four reports of minor property damage.

Description: This recall includes the Rocketfish™ Model RF-KL12 Mobile Battery Case. The battery case is made of black lightweight, soft-touch rubberized material designed to hold the phone securely, and comes with a built-in battery. The model number “RF-KL12” appears on the front of the product’s packaging, on the packaging barcode, and in white print on the curved inner surface of the product.

Sold exclusively at: Best Buy stores nationwide, Future Shop and Best Buy stores in Canada, and online from about April 2010 through about September 2011 for between $10 and $60.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Best Buy for instructions on returning the product and receiving a Best Buy gift card for $70 or $105 in Canada.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, consumers should contact Best Buy toll-free at (800) 917-5737 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET any day, or visit the firm’s websites at www.bestbuy.com (US) or www.bestbuy.ca or www.futureshop.ca (Canada).

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August 2, 2011

Cloud Engines Recalls Pogoplug Video File Sharing Device Due to Fire Hazard

Name of Product: Pogoplug Video file sharing device

Units: About 9,500 in the United States and 1,500 in Canada

Hazard: The unit can overheat or catch fire, emitting excessive heat, sparks, smoke or flames.

Incidents/Injuries: Cloud Engines has received three reports of the units overheating. One device caught fire, one device emitted smoke, and one device melted, damaging the desk it was on.

Description: This recall involves the Pogoplug Video file sharing device. The device is a black desktop electronics box, measuring about 2.5 inches wide, 7 inches deep, and 5.5 inches high. It is used to stream and share videos, photos, and music and to provide remote access to files stored on drives attached to the device. The device has the word “Pogoplug” on the side. “Model: Pogoplug Video” is listed on a label on the bottom of the device.

Sold at: Adorama, B&H, Best Buy, Buy.com, J&R, Pogoplug.com, New Egg, and Sony Style from March 2011 through June 2011 for about $200.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using and unplug the devices, and contact Cloud Engines to receive a refund or replacement device.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Cloud Engines toll-free at (866) 582-6651 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT, by e-mail at videorecall@cloudengines.com or visit the firm’s website at www.pogoplug.com

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September 3, 2010

Toshiba Recalls T Series Notebook Computers Due to Burn Hazard

Name of Product:  Satellite T135, Satellite T135D and Satellite ProT130 Notebook Computers

Units: About 41,000 worldwide

Hazard: The notebook computers can overheat at the notebook's plug-in to the AC adapter, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Toshiba has received 129 reports of the notebook computers overheating and deforming the plastic casing area around the AC adapter plug, including two reports of minor burn injuries that did not require medical attention and two reports of minor property damage.

Description: This recall involves certain Toshiba Satellite T135, Satellite T135D and Satellite Pro T130 notebook computer models. "Toshiba" is printed on the top of the notebook computer. The model name and number are printed on a label on the bottom of the notebook computers.

Sold at: Electronics stores and other retailers nationwide and online, including at Toshibadirect.com and other websites, from August 2009 through August 2010 for between $600 and $800.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately download the latest version of Toshiba's BIOS computer program to their notebook computer at http://laptops.toshiba.com/about/consumer-notices. This new computer program will detect whether the notebook computer is overheating, and if so, disable the notebook computer's external power and display a message directing the consumer to contact Toshiba for a free repair. Consumers who do not have Internet access should contact Toshiba to arrange for installation of the updated BIOS.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Toshiba at (800) 457-7777 anytime or visit the firm's website at http://laptops.toshiba.com/about/consumer-notices

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July 1, 2010

Sony Recalls VAIO Laptop Computers Due to Burn Hazard

Name of Product: Notebook computers

Units:  About 233,000

Hazard: The computers can overheat, posing a burn hazard to the consumer.

Incidents/Injuries: Sony has received 30 reports of units overheating resulting in deformed keyboards and casings. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled products are VPCF11 Series and VPCCW2 Series notebook computers. The computers are available in many colors and have "VAIO" on the front outside panel. The model numbers can be found on the bottom of the computers.

The following models are included:

Sold at: Best Buy, Costco, Frys, Amazon.com and Sony Style retail stores and sonystyle.com as well as other electronics retailers and business suppliers nationwide. The recalled computers were shipped to consumers and resellers between January 2010 and April 2010. They sold for between $800 and $1,500.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately go to http://esupport.sony.com/US/f1cw2update for instructions on how to update the computer’s BIOS firmware. Consumers can also call Sony or visit Sony Style retail stores nationwide for help with installing the update. This firmware will prevent the computer from overheating. The firmware update will also be available through the VAIO Update software program installed on the recalled computers. A prompt will appear when users log on.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, please contact Sony toll-free any time at (866) 496-7669 or visit the firm’s website at http://esupport.sony.com/US/f1cw2update

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November 8, 2009

Power Adapters Used with IBM RDX Back Up Disk Hard Drives Recalled Due to Shock Hazard

 
 
 
Name of Product: Power Adapters with IBM RDX Back Up Hard Disk Drives

Units: About 90

Hazard: A plastic weld on the power adapters can fail and allow two parts to separate, exposing live electrical contacts. This poses a shock hazard to consumers.

Description: This recall involves power adapters sold with IBM RDX removable back up hard disk drives. The data storage devices were sold with a power adapter that fits various country specific plugs. “Hon-Kwang Electric (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd” is printed on the adapters. IBM and RDX are printed on the back up hard disk drives.

Sold by: IBM authorized distributors and resellers nationwide from January 2009 through July 2009 for between $330 and $760.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the power adapters and contact your IBM service provider to determine if their adaptor is involved in this recall. Consumers with the affected adapters will receive a free replacement adapter.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact IBM at (800) 426-7378 anytime. Consumers can also visit the firm’s Web site at www.ibm.com/storage

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October 28, 2009

Sony Recalls Computer AC Adapters Due to Shock Hazard

 
 
Name of Product: Sony VAIO Computer AC Adapters

Units: About 69,000

Hazard: Insulation inside the AC adapter can fail over time, posing an electrical shock hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Sony has received four reports of adapters short circuiting. No incidents occurred in the United States. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled AC adapter model is the Sony VGP-AC19V17, which was supplied for use with the following Sony products:

Sold at: The SonyStyle stores and Web site, authorized electronics retailers and authorized business- to- business dealers nationwide from September 2005 through October 2009 for between $900 and $3300 for desktop computers and $250 and $300 for docking stations.

Remedy: Consumers should turn off their computer, unplug it and stop using the recalled AC adapters immediately and contact Sony to arrange for a free replacement of the affected AC adapter.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Sony toll-free at (877) 361-4481 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at esupport.sony.com/ac19adapter

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October 22, 2009

Coby Electronics Recalls Rechargeable Batteries Sold with Portable DVD/CD/MP3 Players Due to Fire Hazard

 
 
 
 
Name of Product: Rechargeable batteries sold with portable DVD/CD/MP3 players

Units: About 19,600

Hazard: The rechargeable batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Coby Electronics has received 10 reports of batteries overheating, including eight reports of fires resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall involves Coby DVD/CD/MP3 players with an 8 ½ inch screen and product number TF-DVD- 8501. The rechargeable batteries sold with the DVD players have serial numbers that begin with “HY.” The serial number can be found on a white sticker affixed to the battery. “Coby” is printed on the front cover and the product number is on the bottom of the unit.

Sold at: Discount, electronics, music, toy, office supply stores and distributors of electronic products nationwide from January 2007 through September 2009 for between $140 and $275.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the recalled batteries from the unit and contact Coby Electronics to receive a free replacement battery. Consumers can continue to use the DVD/CD/MP3 players with AC or DC power adapters.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Coby Electronics toll-free at (877) 305-2629 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.cobyusa.com

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