Nokia has begun applying a holographic sticker to its mobile phone batteries in a bid to prevent fake power packs being inadvertently purchased as the real thing.

The mobile phone giant is pitching the move as a safety matter rather, though it’s clearly just as interested in winning back the revenue lost to other battery suppliers.



Over the years there have been a number of examples of mobile phone batteries that have exploded or caught fire, in some instances injuring the user. In each case where a Nokia handset has been involved, the Finnish company has been adamant that the pyrotechnic power packs were fakes.



“With this new Nokia authentication program, we are directly attacking the counterfeiters who manufacture potentially unsafe batteries,” said Razvan Olosu, Nokia’s VP of mobile multimedia enhancements. “The hologram label enables consumers to identify that the battery they are using is indeed an original Nokia Battery.”



In addition to the hologram, Nokia will add an authentication code, hidden under a scratch-off panel. If you’re offered a battery without the hologram or a damaged scratch-panel, don’t buy it, the company warned. If both add-ons are in place, concerned users can still verify the battery’s bona fides by scratching off the panel and checking the ID code by text message or on Nokia’s web site, the company said.



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