It’s what you or I might call a recall, though Apple likes to call them “replacement programs” unless they are certain types of issues coordinated with the U.S. consumer product safety authorities.

The affected models are the kind with the white or black plastic front and silver back and were sold between September 2005 and December 2006. Apple said the issue is limited to that first generation iPod nano and doesn’t affect other models.

“This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect,” Apple said in a post on its support Web site. “While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages.”

The site provides instructions for checking the serial number and, if necessary, returning the units to Apple for a replacement, which is then waranteed for 90 days.

Says Sony, “In rare instances, these notebook computers may overheat due to a potential malfunction of the internal temperature management system, resulting in deformation of the product’s keyboard or external casing, and a potential burn hazard to consumers.”

Vaio owners with machines subject to the recall can resolve the problem themselves with a firmware update or by having Sony (SNE) do the repair.