Sony warns Vaio batteries can overheat, catch fireApril 11, 2014 - 15:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Sony Corp. said Friday, April 11, there was a risk that batteries made by Panasonic Corp. in nearly 26,000 of Sony's newest Vaio personal computers could overheat and catch fire, the latest product glitch for the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant, the Wall Street Journal reports. As a result, Sony is asking customers to stop using its Vaio Fit 11A laptop as soon as possible. Sony said it had received three reports of batteries overheating causing partial burns to Vaio computers. The first incident was in Japan on March 19, followed by similar incidents on March 30 in Hong Kong and April 8 in China. The company stopped selling the product at the beginning of this month. The model is the final version of the Vaio series. Sony unveiled plans in February to sell its personal computer business as part of a strategy to deal with its two most troubled electronics units, televisions and personal computers. The company will also split off its money-losing TV division into a separate subsidiary. In announcing the sale of its personal computer business to turnaround fund Japan Industrial Partners Inc. in February, Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai called the decision "agonizing." Sony said in a statement Friday it was identifying the affected computers by serial number and developing a program to repair or replace them. It said the company would provide details on its home page within two weeks. The company said it had sold a total of 25,905 units of the Vaio Fit 11A world-wide since it first went on sale in February. Of these, nearly 7,000 were sold in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan and China. About 3,600 were sold in Japan, 2,000 in China, 7,000 in Europe, 5,600 in Latin America, and 500 in the U.S. A Panasonic spokeswoman confirmed the company had provided the batteries to Sony under an outsourcing contract. She declined to say which other computer makers had received Panasonic batteries, as such information is confidential. However, she said the batteries are customized according to clients' requirements and differ depending on client. She said Panasonic hadn't heard of any problems with batteries supplied to other clients. In 2010, Sony said it was recalling about 535,000 Vaio laptops world-wide due to a temperature-control defect that may cause excessive heat and distort the shape of the laptop. Photo: hotappsntech.com Related links: Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |