Nokia to replace overheating batteries

Helsinki: The world's top cell phone maker Nokia said on Tuesday that 46 million batteries used in its phones could overheat and the company would replace them for no cost to consumers.

Nokia said the Nokia-branded "BL-5C" batteries were made by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. between December 2005 and November 2006.

The "BL-5C" is Nokia's most widely used battery and several suppliers have made more than 300 million of them for Nokia.

Nokia said replacing millions of batteries would have some direct costs and financial impact to it, but Matsushita would pay part of the costs.

"Matsushita will cover certain costs," said Marianne Holmlund, spokeswoman for Nokia.

Matsushita said there had been a rare problem in the manufacturing process, noting the cost of it was still uncertain.

"We are still in discussion with Nokia about how to divide the replacement cost," said Matsushita spokesman Akira Kadota.

"At this moment, we cannot calculate what the effect will be on earnings," he said.

Nokia said 100 overheating cases of batteries in question have been recorded globally, but no serious injuries were reported.

"[The batteries] could potentially experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge," Nokia said in a statement.