By Matthew Henry

FINLAND: Nokia has issued a global product advisory for around 46 million mobile phone batteries after the company has received around 100 reports of the affected battery overheating while charging.

The defective BL-5C batteries, which were manufactured by Panasonic’s parent company, Matsushita, were manufactured in Japan between December 2005 and November 2006 and sold subsequently in markets including Australia.

“Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries,” said Nokia in a statement.

“This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which there have been approximately 100 incidents of overheating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.”

Nokia has advised that consumers with an affected BL-5C battery should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery.

“According to Nokia’s knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device,” said the company.

Nokia Australia has offered to replace batteries affected by the advisory.

Phone models which may contain defective batteries include: Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50 and Nokia E60.

“It is important to note that the BL-5C battery is not used in all Nokia products and that only a portion of the Nokia BL-5C batteries in use are subject to this advisory,” said the company.

“In order to determine if a battery is subject to this advisory, it is necessary to remove the battery from the device. A Nokia battery will have "Nokia" and "BL-5C" printed on the front of the battery. On the reverse, the Nokia mark appears at the top and the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) is found at the bottom.

“Consumers should refer to this identification number to determine if their battery is among the batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. A comparison of that number with those subject to this advisory will determine a consumer’s ability to obtain a replacement free of charge.”

Consumers can call Nokia on 1300 366 733 or visit www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement to check if their battery is eligible for replacement.