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Hardware 300,000 of Sony's Own Batteries to Make Recall List
Brandon Hill (Blog) - October 17, 2006 10:01 AM

20 comment(s) - last by oTAL.. on Nov 2 at 12:02 AM

Sony on the verge of recalling 300,000 of its notebook batteries according to Japanese publication

While manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, Apple, Toshiba, Matsushita/Panasonic, Fujitsu and Sharp have recalled millions of Sony-manufactured batteries, Sony's own notebooks computers were seemingly unaffected by the problems. Well, that all changed yesterday when the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Sony will recall as many as 300,000 of its own batteries used in notebooks PCs.

Sony has not mentioned which notebook product lines would be affected by the recall, but the news sends the current tally of recalled units over the 8 million mark. With Sony on the verge of having a recall of its own on its hands, Hewlett-Packard may be reconsidering its position on recalling batteries. The company has previously stated that none of its products would be affected by the recall.

Sony’s battery problems are affecting the whole industry as reported by DailyTech yesterday Analysts say that the recall has caused a global shortage of batteries sending prices skyward by 15%. The cost of the recall is sure to climb as well. Sony as of now has $251 million USD budgeted for the recall, but those estimates may have to be revised to take into account a few million new recalled units.

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Hmm

By therealnickdanger on 10/17/2006 10:11:12 AM , Rating: 3

Maybe there should be a special ticker on the sidebar of DT to keep track of all the Sony battery recalls. It would certainly save the DT staff some time from having to write 3 stories per day about it. LOL

RE: Hmm

By Spivonious on 10/17/2006 10:15:51 AM , Rating: 1

The number of articles just goes to show how much Sony will lose. What is it up to now? 4.5 million batteries? Let's say it costs $15 to ship the defective battery in and destroy/recycle it. That's $67,500,000 Sony just threw away. They're already losing money on the PS3. This has to be seriously affecting their company.

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RE: Hmm

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/17/2006 10:17:38 AM , Rating: 2

Doublecheck your math my friend, its actually at 8 Million now.

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RE: Hmm

By Spivonious on 10/17/2006 10:38:32 AM , Rating: 2

Well that supports me even more then :) $120,000,000 down the drain.

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RE: Hmm

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/17/2006 11:28:29 AM , Rating: 2

See if you can add the cost to replace each battery into your margin........ Now THAT would be a figure :D

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RE: Hmm

By Spivonious on 10/17/2006 1:42:50 PM , Rating: 2

lol

Okay let's see...extra battery from Dell costs about $100, let's say there's a 30% markup, so it cost Dell $77. It's probably less than that but whatever.

Sony needs a profit too, so let's say it costs Sony $50 to make a battery and ship it out.

$15 to get a destroy the old one + $50 to make and ship a new one = $65/battery replaced.

8 million batteries * $65/battery = $585 million.

Judging by the price of standalone blu-ray players, the PS3 probablt costs $500-$600 for Sony to make. So the retailers probably get it for $490-$590...that's $10 lost on every system (this is probably a very low estimate). 500,000 systems on launch day = $5 million lost. R&D costs for PS3 are probably at least $100 million.

Okay let's total this up:

batteries: $585,000,000
ps3: $105,000,000
total: $690,000,000

That's a lot of costs to absorb. I'll be surprised if Sony is still in business in two years.

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RE: Hmm

By daftrok on 10/17/2006 3:33:54 PM , Rating: 1

That number can be at 1 billion dollars for all that matters and Sony will still be alive, because in the US Sony may not be number one but in S.E. Asia Sony is the shit, and always will be. Trust me, it'll be around after two years.

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RE: Hmm

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/17/2006 3:43:29 PM , Rating: 2

Actually the PS3 has a rough manufacturing cost of 800 dollars.

The Blu-Ray players they are gouging so people buy the PS3.

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RE: Hmm

By metalqga on 10/18/2006 8:18:50 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
I'll be surprised if Sony is still in business in two years.

When they start selling those batteries to the military you'll be talking differently.
There is no tank tough enough to withstand their power. :)

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RE: Hmm

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/17/2006 10:17:07 AM , Rating: 3

Yea, the Total Recall ticker. I've love to see that, I'd grab a screenshot for posterity.

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I hope they recall mine

By DrDisconnect on 10/17/2006 11:14:50 AM , Rating: 2

My Vaio laptop's battery lost it's capability to hold more than about 10 minutes of charge several years ago. I always assumed it was normal aging, despite both the fact I almost never ran it on battery and lithium is not supposed to be prone to memory effects. Perhaps it was defective.

At any rate, a replacement wouldn't break my heart.

RE: I hope they recall mine

By number999 on 10/17/2006 1:45:43 PM , Rating: 3

quote:
I almost never ran it on battery and lithium is not supposed to be prone to memory effects

Lithium-ion batteries should be kept up as much as possible. They should never be discharged or let self discharged down to zero. From the time they manufacture the battery, the effective lifetime of the battery decreases.

For proper care and the tech behind the batteries
go to,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_batteries

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What about HP??

By othercents on 10/17/2006 10:57:25 AM , Rating: 2

Now that Sony is going to recall their own batteries is HP going to stand behind the notion that their design is impervious to overheating and blowing up? HP blamed Dell at the beginning and I'm surprised that they haven't come out with any other Dell blaming statements.

I just can't wait to see an HP laptop blow up because HP decided not to take the steps to keep their customers safe.

Other

RE: What about HP??

By mindless1 on 10/18/2006 1:53:49 AM , Rating: 2

Does placing blame also mean claiming "impervious to overheating"? I don't think so. It could well be that Dell's design stresses the batteries more, and would accelerate the demise of the defective cells.

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Hollywood

By oTAL on 10/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: Hollywood

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 10/17/2006 2:45:09 PM , Rating: 2

See my above post........ anyways it's Total Recall

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RE: Hollywood

By oTAL on 11/2/2006 12:02:28 AM , Rating: 2

I find it way more funny when you let people figure out the joke instead of spelling it out for them... oh well... I guess hollywood spoils humour for everyone...

As for your comment... DUH!!
I mean, it's not like the situation reminds me of the movie... *lol*

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This goes beyond all expectations, but TRUE

By crystal clear on 10/17/2006 10:51:56 AM , Rating: 2

The recall of millions of Sony computer batteries could be broadened to include those in consumer electronics products, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Sony has been working with the CPSC to identify products that could potentially be a fire risk, the consumer watchdog Consumer Reports said on Monday.

It quoted Julie Vallese, CPSC spokesperson, as saying the agency expected to announce a Sony recall sometime in October.

“The upcoming Sony recall could very well expand beyond notebook computers and could include DVD players and portable gaming devices,” she said. “The risk of a battery fire is low, but real.”

Source-Financial Times

also-

Sony is to recall 90,000 batteries for Vaio notebooks in Japan and China.

Source-Wall street Journal.

This is for Brandon Hill-

You should start a Blog called SONY WATCH.
Then let the daily updates flow in-we could move from Laptops to other devices.
JUST HOW MANY RECALLS.