Buggy Batteries Infest Apple

Updated from 4:14 p.m. EDT

The flammable laptop-battery recall that charred Dell's(DELL) reputation last week has spread to Apple(AAPL).

The Cupertino, Calif., computer company said it was recalling about 1.8 million battery packs used in Apple notebook PCs sold from October 2003 through the current month, threatening Apple's sales to educational institutions.

As with Dell's recall, the battery packs in question were manufactured by Sony(SNE) and are prone to overheating, creating a fire hazard. Apple announced the recall in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall notice said that Apple has received nine reports of batteries overheating, including two reports of minor burns. No serious injuries have been reported.

Shares of Apple closed Thursday up 50 cents, or 0.7%, to $67.81.

Since Dell announced that it was recalling 4.1 million batteries, there has been speculation that other PC makers that use Sony batteries might be forced to issue recalls of their own.

The latest recall also could exacerbate the financial hit for Sony, which said that it would help pay for the cost of Dell's recall, estimated to be between $200 million and $400 million by industry analysts.

In a statement Thurdsay, Sony said it estimated the cost of supporting the recall for both Dell and Apple will be between 20 billion and 30 billion yen, or $171.8 million and $257.8 million.