(Credit: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

Hewlett-Packard has expanded a worldwide recall of lithium ion batteries in some HP and Compaq notebooks to include an additional 54,000 units.

The batteries, made in China, can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

The product number is located on the service tag on the bottom of the notebook.

(Credit: HP)

HP originally recalled 70,000 batteries in May 2009, following two separate reports of batteries that “overheated and ruptured, resulting in flames/fire that caused minor property damage” but no injuries.

Since then, HP has received 38 additional reports of batteries that overheated and ruptured, resulting in 11 instances of minor injury and 31 instances of minor property damage, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall affects models manufactured between August 2007 and March 2008 and sold at computer and electronics stores nationwide, as well as online at hp.com and hpshopping.com. To reduce the likelihood of problems, HP suggests consumers stop using their battery pack immediately until they’ve determined whether it’s among those affected by the recall.

Consumers with recalled batteries will receive a free replacement. For additional information, visit the HP Battery Replacement Program Web site or call 888-202-4320 between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. PDT Monday through Friday.

Intel-based ultrathin laptop.

(Credit: Intel)

The laptop designs in this segment have been symbolized to date by the less-than-one-inch-thick Apple MacBook Air and Dell Adamo–which use Intel processors that draw relatively little power compared with standard mobile processors. But those are pricey, luxury notebooks beyond the price range that Intel is targeting with the newest processors.

“It will fit the consumer system price point. Very affordable systems,” Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel, said during a video conference Monday morning. Though Eden refrained from citing specific prices, the consumer laptop segment typically ranges from about $500 to $1,000 for systems with screen sizes between 13 inches and 15 inches diagonally.

Asus, Gateway, and Acer already have systems ready for launch, Eden said. Eventually all major PC makers will bring out laptops based on these processors, he added. A slide during Eden’s presentation listed the Acer Aspire 1830, Gateway EC39, Asus UL80, Lenovo U160, and MSI X350 as upcoming systems. Systems will be available from some vendors starting next month.

The new processors include the Core i3-330UM (1.2GHz), Core i5-540UM (1.2GHz), Core i7-660UM (1.33GHz), and Pentium U5400 (1.2GHz). One of the distinguishing features of these processors is the chip’s package size, which is 32 percent smaller than standard processor packages, according to Eden.

These new processors expand an existing line of ultra-low-power processors. For example, Intel has been shipping the Core 2 Duo SU9400 since the third quarter of 2008 and the Core I7-620UM since the first quarter of this year.

Updated throughout at 9:50 a.m. PDT.