by , 1:10 PM EDT, August 24th, 2006

Apple announced on Thursday that it is voluntarily recalling about 1.1 million batteries used in PowerBook and iBook laptops. The batteries in the recall should be exchanged immediately since they can potentially overheat pose a burning hazard.

Laptops in the recall include

Computer	Battery Model	Serial Number Range
12-inch iBook G4	A1061	ZZ338 through ZZ427 3K429 through 3K611 6C510 through 6C626
12-inch PowerBook G4	A1079	ZZ411 through ZZ427 3K428 through 3K611
15-inch PowerBook G4	A1078 and A1148	3K425 through 3K601 6N530 through 6N551 6N601

The batteries in question were produced by Sony for Apple - the same company that manufactured the laptop batteries that Dell is recalling. Sony stated that the affected batteries may have microscopic metal particles in the battery cells. If the particles come into contact with other parts of the cell, they can cause a short circuit. In most cases, the battery will simply shut off. In some situations, however, they may continue to operate and overheat or potentially burst into flames.

Apple has additional information about the battery recall on its Support Web site, and users can also call the recall hotline at 1-800-275-2273. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site is also listing the battery recall information.

Your model and serial numbers are on the bottom of the battery.

The battery model and serial numbers are located on the bottom of your laptop's battery, so you will have to remove the pack from your computer to see the numbers.