Dell says investigating exploding laptop incident

NEW YORK - The Dell laptop computer seen bursting into flames in photographs on the internet was being examined as part of the company's probe of the incident, Dell Inc. said today.

"We have captured the notebook and have begun investigating the event," Dell spokeswoman Anne Camden said, confirming the computer was made by Dell but declining to specify the model. No one was hurt in the incident, she said.

The report of an exploding laptop at a conference in Osaka, Japan, accompanied by digital photos, was first published on technology industry news website The Inquirer last week.

Dell in December 2005 issued a battery recall for some of the batteries in its laptop due to overheating issues, according to the company's website.

Camden said it was too early to draw any conclusions and added that it did not appear that the incident had anything to do with the battery issues related to the recall.

"From here it's going to be a very methodical and meticulous process to figure out what happened," Camden said.

- REUTERS