Designers of portable systems (not just notebooks, but things like handhelds, mobile phones and music players.) must make trade-offs between device size and weight, battery life, charge times, power supply size/weight, overall power density/heat dissipation and, of course, cost. And it's not just batteries that are at risk of overheating. Power supplies (the little "brick" chargers) have been known to pose fire risks as well. Because many notebooks are resold from third-party manufacturers in the Far East, it is not uncommon for marketers such as Dell to allow the reseller to design much of the notebook. Furthermore, marketers may not always adequately test the devices they sell under their brand names. This is especially true for smaller brands and devices targeted at consumers.

With all of these potential problems, what's to be done? User companies should be cautious about the portable devices they purchase and deploy, even from the major enterprise marketers like Dell, HP and Lenovo Group. Few companies evaluating purchases of portable devices (not only notebooks, but also smart-phone devices) do an adequate power/temperature/life-cycle test. I believe that, based on the increasing density and the higher charge rates inherent is so many of the new devices, companies must start evaluating the overheating risk of these devices. In fact, companies should require suppliers to provide them with heat-testing data to assure that no risks exist and that the suppliers have actually tested the devices adequately (most have not). Furthermore, companies purchasing devices for employees should check with their insurers to confirm that they are covered for any liabilities in case devices overheat and cause burns to the end users or start fires. Finally, enterprises and device vendors should educate users about the inherent risks associated with the literally hot new devices making it to market.

Jack E. Gold is founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, an analyst firm in Northboro, Mass. He has, over 35 years of experience in the computer and electronics industries. He can be reached at jack.gold@jgoldassociates.com.