HP recalls 6 million laptop charger cables over fire hazard

HP is recalling about 6 million computer power cords after 29 reports of the cords melting or charring, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Tuesday.

The recalled item, the LS-15 AC power cord, was distributed with Hewlett-Packard and Compaq notebook and mini notebook computers and with AC adapter-powered accessories such as docking stations, the commission said in a statement.

“Customers should immediately stop using and unplug the recalled power cords and contact Hewlett-Packard to order a free replacement,” the statement said.

About 5.6 million power cords are being recalled in the United States, along with 446,700 in Canada. The cords were all made by a single, unidentified Chinese manufacturer, a source familiar with the situation said.

HP offered on Tuesday to replace all affected cords and apologized to customers.

The Palo Alto, California-based company has received 29 reports of cords overheating and melting or charring. There have been two claims of minor burns and 13 claims of minor property damage, the commission’s statement said.

The computers and accessories were sold with the AC power cords at electronics stores, dealers and online from September 2010 through June 2012 for about $500 to $1,500, the statement said.

HTC Desire 510 unveiled, features 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 with global LTE

HTC has announced its latest entrant in the Desire range that is combination of mid-range specs and LTE connectivity – Desire 510. With this device, HTC aims at bringing LTE connectivity at an affordable price point.

The HTC Desire 510 sports a 4.7-inch display with FWVGA resolution (854×480 pixels). It comes powered by a 64 Bit capable quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor that clocks at 1.2GHz and coupled with 1GB RAM. It runs the latest Android flavour of 4.4. KitKat and the company has also added a layer of its Sense UI. The Snapdragon 410 makes this the first Android smartphone to come with an SoC that’s also 64-bit compatible. However, it won’t be able to use the 64-bit power till Android L hits the device, if at all.

On the storage front, the 8GB of built-in memory can be expanded further up to 32GB via microSD card slot. It also gets a 5-megapixel rear snapper and a VGA front-facing camera. It measures 139.9 x 69.8 x 9.99 mm and 158 grams. All of this is fuelled by a 2,100mAh battery.

The headline feature of the Snapdragon 410 is the 64-bit compatibility, but it also should improve cellular radio performance with category 4 LTE connectivity. The company’s other 64-bit chips, the Snapdragon 610, 615, and 810, should begin appearing in devices in late 2014 or early 2015. HTC is preparing another smartphone running the Snapdragon 615. 

The handset will be  available in select regions in the Europe, Asia and also the United States. India-specific pricing and availability has not been announced.