Belgian watchdog reconsiders ‘unsafe’ Nokia battery claim

Plans to retest batteries

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 14th November 2003 10:58 GMT

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A Belgian consumer organisation which last week claimed that three Nokia batteries were unprotected against short-circuiting is to re-examine its findings.

It seems that Test-Aankoop may well have been hoodwinked and tested fake Nokia batteries instead of the real thing.

The Belgian consumer watchdog has admitted that its recent test results, which led them to announce Nokia batteries were unsafe, were "most probably unreliable" due to the inclusion of counterfeit batteries in their test sample.

Test-Aankoop is to test a new batch of load of batteries - this time using genuine Nokia batteries.

Test-Aankoop's rethink comes as Nokia stepped up its campaign against low quality and potentially dangerous counterfeit goods.

Said Nokia VP Janne Jormalainen in a statement: "We believe consumers are unknowingly being fooled into buying unsafe, low-quality batteries and we are actively taking measures to combat the illegal counterfeit operation at the root of this problem.

"We are dealing with a very sophisticated enemy who has become very adept at manufacturing products, which to the average consumer appear to be Nokia original accessories," he said.

In recent months Nokia has been hit by a number of stories about exploding cellphones. In each case it claimed that the batteries used were not made by Nokia. ®

Nokia batteries not safe either - Belgian watchdog

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