Hewlett-Packard (HP) will release a laptop next month

Hewlett-Packard (HP) will release a laptop next month that can run for to 24 hours using a high-capacity battery -- but only if it's running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.

The long-lasting notebook will be a special configuration of the 6930p, Hp laptop battery,part of HP's EliteBook line that the company targets at businesses.

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The allure of a battery that can last a day is incontestable, as anyone who has spent time in an airport searching for a power outlet knows. The secret to the 6930p's long battery life is new technology -- and some old technology too.

To get the best battery performance, the 6930p will have to run Windows XP rather than Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system. Vista has been criticized as being a power hog, although some of its flashy, power-draining features such as the translucent Aero windows can be turned off.

Although Microsoft has been heavily pushing Vista, HP has said it will offer downgrades from Vista to Windows XP on business laptops through next year.

The 6930p will also need a 12-cell Ultra-Capacity Battery, which sells for $189. The battery lasts about 10 hours longer than the regular-capacity one.

The new laptop model will also have HP's Illumi-Lite LED (light-emitting diode) display,Pavilion ZD7000, which the company says adds four more hours to a battery's life than a traditional LCD (liquid crystal display) screen.

Further power savings will come from the use of an Intel SSD (solid-state drive), which uses power-saving NAND flash memory rather than a rotating magnetic disk to store information. Use of an Intel SSD enables the battery to last around 7 percent longer, HP said.

HP is one of Intel's partners and will soon being incorporating Intel X25-M and X18M Mainstream SATA SSDs in its products.

HP lists the current available version of the 6930p as starting at $1,199 on its Web site, although the company has not listed how much the 24-hour battery life configuration will cost.

Sony has added its name to a growing list of computer makers recalling laptop PC batteries made by one of its own subsidiaries.

The Tokyo-based company said it will offer replacements for around 90,000 battery packs sold with models of its Vaio PCs in Japan and China. The battery packs have the model names VGP-BPS2B and VGP-BPS3A. PP2182D,The former was used with PCs sold in China while the latter was used in Vaio T-series laptops sold in Japan and in models sold overseas, Sony said in a statement.

Sony is planning to widen the recall to battery packs sold with PCs in other countries but has yet to finalize those details, said Daichi Yamafuji, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo.

The VGP-BPS2B is used with some models of Vaio AR, FE, FS and SZ-series laptops while the VGP-BPS3A is used with Vaio T-series machines, according to information from Sony and a search of its Web site.

Earlier in the day the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper said the Sony battery exchange would reach around 300,000 battery 338794-001 ,packs by the time it had been announced worldwide. Sony did not comment on the newspaper report.

With its Tuesday announcement, Sony becomes the seventh company to recall or offer exchanges on laptop PC battery packs. All the batteries include cells made at Sony Energy Tech in Japan. The cells are thought to contain metallic particles, which under certain circumstances could cause a short circuit resulting in the battery catching fire.

The recalls began in mid-August when Dell said 4.1 million batteries shipped with its laptops contained the cells. Within two weeks Apple Computer recalled 1.8 million battery packs. Those two recalls remain the largest of the nine announced by seven companies over the last two months.

In late August Sony said its cost for the recalls would be between ¥20 billion and ¥30 billion ($167 million and $251 million). Earlier Tuesday it said it is considering revising its profits forecast for the year, in part because of the battery recall.PP2182L, Sony is due to announce its half-year earnings next week.