Matsushita Electric Industrial, the Japanese parent company of Panasonic, recalled 6,000 notebook batteries in Japan on Tuesday, saying the batteries could overheat if they suffered a strong impact.

The recall follows on the heels of Dell’s record-shattering recall last month of 4.1 million notebook batteries made by Sony, and Apple Computer’s recall of another 1.8 million laptop batteries, also from Sony (see Dude, You’re Getting a Recall and Apple, Sony Burned).

Those batteries in some cases overheated to the point that they caught fire.

While Matsushita’s recall is far smaller than the scale of the Dell and Apple recalls, it’s also likely to dent the company’s reputation. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told Reuters that it did not make the batteries, nor did Sony.

The notebooks affected were only sold in Japan and were made between April and May 2005. The model is called the Let’s Note CF-W4G.

The danger would come if the notebook fell on the floor or experienced a similarly hard impact. A metal spring inside the battery could then drop onto the battery cells and prompt the battery to overheat.

Whereas in the Dell and Apple recalls, the problem is with the lithium ion batteries themselves, in Matsushita’s case, the problem stems from the battery cover and the strength of its latch.

Damage Control

The effect will probably not be too large on sales of Panasonic notebooks, especially in the United States, according to an analyst.

“In my mind it’s not going to impact sales of Panasonic notebooks,” said Sam Bhavnani, director of research at Current Analysis. “Those in the industry relate Matsushita with Panasonic, but consumers don’t necessarily relate the two.”

Mr. Bhavnani also pointed out the Matsushita recall is only 6,000 systems, while with Dell and Apple combined it’s about 6 million, making it about a thousandth of the scale of the previous recalls of Sony batteries.

“These systems are limited to systems sold in Japan over a two-month period,” he added. “With Dell the period was over a much longer window.”

Still, Matsushita will have to work to protect its brand.

“It is a small number, but it doesn’t help the situation to have it be Panasonic branded,” said Mr. Bhavnani. “At the same time, because it’s such a small scale, Panasonic will respond quickly.”

After the Dell and Apple recalls, many other notebook manufacturers likely decided to test their notebooks to make sure they weren’t affected, he noted. They also took a closer look at the repairs and consumer complaints they had received.

“What it does underscore is that Dell and Apple and all the major players involved need to work together to come up with some safety standards,” said Mr. Bhavnani. “Any company that produces and sells notebooks to customers potentially could be impacted.”

Contact the writer:MCohn@RedHerring.com

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