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No fire risk this time around

Toshiba is latest to be affected by Sony-produced notebook batteries. The company announced on Monday that it would recall 340,000 batteries found in its Dynabook and Satellite series notebooks -- 100,000 of which were sold in the United States.

It should be noted that this recall doesn't involve batteries catching fire as in previous recalls. Instead, this recall is related to the battery packs unexpectedly losing power under normal operating conditions. Toshiba says that the affected batteries were produced between March and May of 2006 and free replacements will be offered. Yahoo! Finance reports:

The series of production problems at Sony comes at a crucial time when the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment company behind the Walkman portable player and PlayStation video game machines has been trying to bolster its brand image under the leadership of its first foreign executive, Welsh-born Howard Stringer.

This latest recall from Toshiba brings the total Sony battery count to more than 6 million following the 1.8 million recalled by Apple and the 4.1 million recalled by Dell.

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sigh
By GhandiInstinct on 9/19/2006 1:33:29 AM , Rating: 5
Oh Sony, where have you gone, where have you gone Sony.

I miss you :(




RE: sigh
By Chillin1248 (blog) on 9/19/2006 1:53:05 AM , Rating: 3
You do realize that these massive recalls are not as much a problem with the battery itself, rather the image the media attached to all Sony batteries; which is that they explode. Like someone said before, you are more likely to have a bus hit you than a battery explode on you (assuming no tampering).

Poor Sony just didn't have the damage control party out in time to sooth the media, hence now they pay the price.

-------
Chillin


RE: sigh
By mindless1 on 9/20/2006 6:18:48 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, recalls on the specific cells with the defect are appropriate. If the media stretches the truth about whether other cells without the defect are questionable, it would have to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

There's not a lot of damage control one can do when your product is exploding. The media isn't looking to be soothed, they're looking for readership- and spectacles are what bring that.

Randomly claiming "more likely hit by bus" is completely missing the point, and for those who have a laptop with the particular, defective Sony cells, likely untrue.

Ask someone who had a laptop explode, is it ok so long as they weren't hit by a bus? Saftey is not about thinking "we can ignore this because there is some other greater risk in life".

On the other hand, there are certainly going to be those who exaggerate the problem, but Sony knew about the cell defects and sat around waiting for explosions to hit the news instead of the more consumer friendly, early-recall. Do you want a product from a company that does this? I don't, it's one more strike in a long line of them for Sony.


RE: sigh
By Chillin1248 (blog) on 9/20/2006 7:07:48 PM , Rating: 2
Valid points I agree, but let's look at it this way.

How many PSUs have you had explode on you, how many have you heard about exploding and frying circuitry that can lead to a fire? Now have you heard anything from the media about this, and do you see any recall from the menufacturers about this?

Batteries exploding is definately not something new, however I cannot recall previously when we had this many videos and pictures as well as media coverage of them doing so.

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Chillin


RE: sigh
By Alexvrb on 9/19/2006 2:08:09 AM , Rating: 2
They never left. Indeed, they're right at home...


Maths
By MatthewWood on 9/19/2006 4:11:27 AM , Rating: 2
0.34 + 4.1 + 1.8 = ................nearly 5




RE: Maths
By h0kiez on 9/19/2006 8:31:39 AM , Rating: 2
Just about to post that, but thought I'd see if anyone else had noticed. He's using base 8, so it is correct.


RE: Maths
By regnez on 9/19/2006 8:33:38 AM , Rating: 1
haha you beat me to it. dailytech tends to be very sloppy in their news articles...


RE: Maths
By mindless1 on 9/20/2006 6:20:48 AM , Rating: 2
On behalf of everyone, I apologize for your being forced to read them.


Here is a simple rule to follow regarding Sony.
By retrospooty on 9/19/2006 10:10:57 AM , Rating: 2
Bad for Sony = good for the rest of the industry and consumers.

I am happy at anything and everything bad that happens to Sony, as should all consumers.




By Chillin1248 (blog) on 9/19/2006 11:18:56 AM , Rating: 3
And why is that good for the industry again? Sony does make some excellent products that I am very happy owning, and they do make some products that are inferior; just like everyone else.

Would you be happy if the PS3 was gone and totally destroyed and all that was left was the Wii vs. Xbox360? How do you like paying $400 for a Xbox360 three years from now? Cause that is what will happen if the PS3 totally bombs, no competition means no reason to change the prices.

Be careful what you wish for, for it just may come back and bite you in the ass.

----
Chillin


By retrospooty on 9/19/2006 1:33:16 PM , Rating: 2
"And why is that good for the industry again? "

Sony does have some good products, but they are overpriced.

Why is it good for the industry? Sony has a long history of making proprietary products that serve to split and stifle the industry. Betamax and Memory stick are just two that come to mind.

And no, I don't want PS3 banned, or cancelled, Sony is doing a good enough job screwing it up by themselves... And that is a good thing to me.

If it wasnt for Sony and thier Blue Ray delaying HD DVD development while everyone argued on standards, we would have had HD DVD 2-3 years ago, and it would be cheap as hell by now.


OMG?!
By bim27142 on 9/19/2006 2:32:29 AM , Rating: 2
... another recall ei... would this bring Sony down to it's knees?




RE: OMG?!
By Chillin1248 (blog) on 9/19/2006 7:43:14 AM , Rating: 3
The interesting thing about Sony is that they are made of a bunch of smaller divisions independent for the most part from each other. So this might cause a shakeup at say, Sony Electronics division, it wouldn't threaten the company as a whole for the most part unless you count shareholders.

-----
Chillin


Toshiba's plot?
By wind79 on 9/19/2006 2:53:18 AM , Rating: 1
I have a feeling that it might be a plot from Toshiba to further discredit Sony. They will do anything to ensure that the HD-DVD wins the format war.




RE: Toshiba's plot?
By Chillin1248 (blog) on 9/19/2006 6:42:46 AM , Rating: 4
It costs the company millions of dollars to do a recall like this, as well as harming the reputation of it. They wouldn't do this just to get at Sony.


Uh huh...
By Arkham1 on 9/19/2006 9:23:02 AM , Rating: 2
I wonder if there's a legitimate issue, or if Toshiba's doing this to rub salt in Sony's wounds. The cost of a 350,00 battery recall? Negligible. The added egg on Sony's face? Priceless. I wouldn't be surprised.




RE: Uh huh...
By mindless1 on 9/20/2006 6:26:44 AM , Rating: 2
Doubtful, recalling packs made as recently as late spring could effect perception of the laptops. They might lose sales in the short term as I know I wouldn't be looking to buy one from Toshiba rightabout now.


I wonder
By MuskBassist on 9/19/2006 1:52:06 AM , Rating: 2
how long until Virgin Atlantic bans all Toshiba laptops on battery power?




"The whole principle [of censorship] is wrong. It's like demanding that grown men live on skim milk because the baby can't have steak." -- Robert Heinlein

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