Battery problems force mobile handset recalls

Sanyo battery could overheat if phones are dropped.

Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo and engineering giant Mitsubishi have issued a recall of mobile phone handsets after warnings of problems with Sanyo's D06 mobile phone batteries.

The two firms will recall about 1.3 million Japanese units equipped with Sanyo batteries made before June this year.

Problems can occur if the phone is subjected to a sharp impact, such as being dropped. The impact can deform the electrode plate and bring it into contact with the insulator material which could cause a sharp rise in temperature.

Flaming batteries have never been far from the headlines this year. Overheating in Sony's laptop cells caused Dell, Apple, Acer and other PC makers to recall over nine million units earlier this year, denting Sony's profits.

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