Alfred Thompson, technical director of First Point Ltd., local service provider for Dell Inc., told The Gleaner that the battery production line might not have enough hands to supply the demand, so users should be patient.

He said some batteries will take longer than others as some are in higher demand while others and some models are out of production.

Owners, in the meantime, are advised to safely use their laptops with the AC power cord although it will hinder mobility and freedom of use.

Verification process

"Jamaica is a small territory and we might be a drop in the bucket but it (the batteries) is forthcoming and they won't be charged anything for delivery, it is free of cost," said Thompson.  "To verify authenticity for recall, they will have to call the 1-800 number and they will receive an approximate date when they will receive the replacement batteries," he explained.

When The Gleaner called the telephone number provided (1-866-342-0011) to contact Dell for replacement, a supervisor at the Austin, Texas office, who gave his name as John, said the company has set a 20-business day cushion for the replacements to reach all regions.  This is after the verification has been submitted and the order arrives at their end.

According to Thompson, his company, which deals with all issues relating to Dell supplies, has not received any reports locally of batteries overheating or exploding.

Defective batteries will be sent back to Dell through couriers DHL who will do the drop off and pick up of the batteries.  Companies across the island purchased the affected laptop in large volumes.

Last week, computer giant, Dell Inc., announced a recall of 4.1 million laptop computer batteries due to a possible fire hazard.

According to Dell, "Under rare conditions, it is possible for these batteries to overheat, which could cause a risk of fire."

Recalled series

The recalled batteries, made by Sony, were installed in laptops sold between April 2004 and July 2006.

Affected Dell series are the Latitude D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800 and D810; the Inspiron 6000, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 500m, 510m, 600m, 6400, E1505, 700m, 710m, 9400 and E1705; and the Precision M20, M60, M70 and M90 mobile workstations; and the XPSTM, XPS Gen2, XPS M170 and XPS M1710.

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