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Notebook battery recall
16 October 2006
For Sony, it turned out
to be the summer of discontent. If there was one news item that kept appearing
in all sorts of media (news, that is, other than made by Google) it has been
the recall of laptop batteries made by Sony for various laptop manufacturers. I
reproduce a news item from ZDNet dt. Sep-27-2006:
Japanese
electronics maker Fujitsu said on Wednesday that it would recall 287,000
notebook PC batteries made by Sony, bringing the number of Sony batteries
recalled to more than 7.5 million.
Fujitsu
last week joined a growing list of computer makers recalling Sony batteries but
did not say at the time how many batteries would be affected.
Besides
Fujitsu, Dell, Apple Computer, Lenovo, IBM and
Toshiba have recalled the laptop PC batteries, which Sony has said can
short-circuit on rare occasions, overheat and catch fire.
Following
the recall announcements in August by Dell and Apple of a total 5.9 million
batteries, Sony said the two recalls would cost it between 20 billion yen and
30 billion yen, or $170 million to $254 million. The company is also planning
its own recall, which would include previously announced ones, according to the
Consumer Product Safety Commission.
But
a Sony spokesman said after the Fujitsu announcement that total recall costs for
Sony are now likely to exceed the previous estimate. The company will make an
announcement as soon as its latest estimate and impact on the company's
earnings become clear, he said.
Prior
to the Fujitsu announcement, shares of Sony ended down 3.3 percent at a nine
month closing low of 4,450 yen ($37.68). The Tokyo stock market's electrical
machinery index was down 1.27 percent.
Compounding
the blow to Sony's reputation as a top-class manufacturer is a delay in the
launch in Europe of its long-awaited new video game console, the PlayStation 3.
Sony
said last month that it would postpone the launch of the latest version of its
blockbuster game machine in Europe and some other regions to March from
November due to a production glitch, missing the critical Christmas shopping
season.
On
Tuesday, the maker of Bravia flat TVs, Vaio personal computers and Cyber-shot digital cameras said
it would start rolling out its Blu-ray
high-definition optical-disc recorders in Japan in December. That is about a
month behind rival Matsushita Electric Industrial launch of similar equipment.
In
addition, Sony's models, unlike Matsushita's, will lack a function enabling
users to record on dual-layer discs, further stoking concerns over Sony's
technological competitiveness.
I guess one question
nobody is asking is who makes batteries for Sony's laptops? I never heard of
Sony recalling their own Vaio line of notebook
batteries. Do they outsource the batteries for Vaio
to somebody more reliable than...well Sony!!?? It just spawns more questions -
Sony's laptops sell at a premium, possibly $300-$500 more than any other
comparable brand with the exception of probably the Mac and Lenovo
notebooks. Agreed that the battery is only one of the bizillion
components that go into making a notebook, but if Sony is indeed outsourcing
the batteries for its own laptops and makes inferior or cheaper batteries for
other vendors, then maybe one of the following should happen:
1. The manufacturers who
purchase Sony's batteries will stop doing it after this recall and switch to
other manufacturer(s). If this translates into a cost increase of these
laptops, we will probably see parity in the market for notebook pricing vis-a-vis Sony and non-Sony
notebooks.
2. Sony should explain
why none of their notebook batteries are facing a recall. I narrowly missed
getting one of these lemons (I bought a Dell notebook in September 2006), but
if I did have a battery that was being recalled, I would be more frustrated
with brand Dell than with brand Sony. After all, I paid my $ to Dell. It seems unfair to hold Dell accountable, but I
guess that is just the way anybody who has to deal with the cumbersome process
of sending the faulty battery back and wait for a replacement would feel. I
don't support conspiracy theories, but it sure would seem like a conflict of
interest or unfair advantage to Sony over their battery and notebook production
businesses.
Let's see how this news
item plays itself out in the next few months.
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