The New York Times is reporting that Dell will recall 4.1 million notebook batteries (about 18 percent of notebooks made in that period) after a number of fires that regularly made news on sites such as Engadget and Digg (including one that culminated in the explosion of a pickup truck). This is the largest recall for the consumer electronics industry.
The lithium-ion batteries in question were made by Sony. Dell will notify customers by mail and online. Other computer manufacturers who bought batteries from Sony could also be affected.
Dell will replace the batteries affected with new ones made by Sony as well as other vendors.