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Hardware Sony Possibly Caught in Core Duo T2300E Gaffe
Brandon Hill (Blog) - August 17, 2006 2:35 PM

28 comment(s) - last by peternelson.. on Aug 18 at 11:32 AM

The Sony VGN-SZ240 claims it has a T2300 processor, but in fact ships with a T2300E

Dell might not be the only company bitten by the T2300E bug

It looks as though Sony and Dell's paths are crossing once again. It was Sony's batteries that were caught exploding in Dell laptops forcing a massive recall that could cost up to $430 million USD. Now it appears that Sony may have been caught with its hands in the cookie jar concerning Intel Core Duo T2300E processors – just like Dell.

The folks at Engadget took note of a NotebookReview forum post of a user claiming the Sony is using the T2300E processor in the VAIO SZ in place of the T2300 without notifying customers of the change. One user in the thread confirmed that his VAIO SZ which was advertised as having a T2300 processor indeed was equipped with the T2300E which lacks Intel’s Virtualization Technology. The T2300E has replaced the T2300 Intel’s mobile processor lineup; but that still doesn’t excuse manufacturers from not informing customers of the change.

Dell admitted to its error after 19 Chinese customers filed a lawsuit claiming that Dell had replaced T2300 processors in Inspiron 640m notebooks with the lower-spec T2300E without proper customer notification. Dell formally apologized for the mix-up and offered refunds to affected customers.

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brace yourselves

By R Nilla on 8/17/2006 3:05:43 PM , Rating: 2

here comes another 60+ post flood of Sony flaming, bashing, and whatever other nonsense can be brought up...

RE: brace yourselves

By Knish on 8/17/2006 3:09:16 PM , Rating: 2

Well I think its interesting to see how close Dell and Sony are tied together. At first I thought Sony didn't make anything, and I thought Dell had its own OEM for this stuff. But instead you see both companies make a mistake for the batteries (Sony actually manufactured them) and then you see both companies doing the exact same thing with the processor on two notebooks that are very similar as it is.

Maybe actually the blame goes higher than Dell and Sony to a mutual OEM they share?

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RE: brace yourselves

By phaxmohdem on 8/17/2006 3:18:19 PM , Rating: 5

I think it all stems from the fact that Chuck Norris hates Dell and Sony.

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RE: brace yourselves

By Eris23007 on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: brace yourselves

By dice1111 on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: brace yourselves

By smitty3268 on 8/17/2006 5:18:02 PM , Rating: 2

Gotta second that. Vin Diesel isn't anywhere close to being in the same league as Chuck Norris.

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RE: brace yourselves

By Falloutboy on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: brace yourselves

By Armorize on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: brace yourselves

By mendocinosummit on 8/17/2006 8:18:08 PM , Rating: 2

I absolutely hate Chuck Noris

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RE: brace yourselves

By margon on 8/17/2006 9:05:32 PM , Rating: 5

which processor does the Total Gym use?

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RE: brace yourselves

By Master Kenobi

(blog) on 8/17/2006 3:23:19 PM , Rating: 3

Well Sony is like a congomerate of companies under the same name. Sony has some divisions that do manufacture batteries and whatnot, where as DELL gets its stuff from Sony, Foxconn, Hitachi, Seagate, etc.... Funny thing is that Mitsubishi and Hitachi manufacture the VAIO batteries, go figure :P

The blame for the batteries is squarely with Sony, likely a bad batch of batteries and they didn't notice the mixup until later, or they followed the design spec and Sony used a weaker grade of insulator who knows.

As for the CPU's, Intel removed them from the lineup, so Sony, DELL, and probably others performed the swap because thats what Intel was selling them. Granted blame is on the various companies because they didnt announce they were making the switch, but who really cares, in a laptop, people whine over anything.

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RE: brace yourselves

By seabat on 8/18/2006 8:39:11 AM , Rating: 2

GOOD! They deserve it.

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!!!

By Chadder007 on 8/17/2006 3:22:16 PM , Rating: 2

Good lord, its bad news after bad news after bad news for Sony. WTF is going on over there?

RE: !!!

By InternetGeek on 8/17/2006 3:27:02 PM , Rating: 2

Nothing. Just remember that a PS3 with blueray is so cheap it's impossible not to buy it.

/waves hand

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RE: !!!

By rrsurfer1 on 8/17/2006 3:42:37 PM , Rating: 2

I know. I don't think I'm gonna buy it, the price is WAY too low. And I heard the games were gonna be really cheap, and plentiful, too. ;)

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RE: !!!

By Armorize on 8/17/2006 6:53:18 PM , Rating: 2

fear not as sony will bounce back and be the king of the ring once again. sony is just having some bad luck, it only gets worse before it gets better.

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RE: !!!

By PLaYaHaTeD on 8/18/2006 11:20:24 AM , Rating: 2

Sony might have been an innovator in the past, but now all they ever concentrate on is trying to corner as many markets as possible with their proprietary formats. They also use their brand name's previous prestige to sell products at higher costs than what they are worth.

When they get their act together, I might purchase some of their products again. But until then, down with sony.

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Who Cares?

By Goty on 8/17/06, Rating: 0

RE: Who Cares?

By rrsurfer1 on 8/17/2006 3:44:53 PM , Rating: 2

Some might have wanted to. Bottom line is - the customers didn't get what they ordered, they got a cheaper chip. If I pay for something I expect it to be as described, even if I may not use it fully.

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RE: Who Cares?

By glennpratt on 8/17/2006 4:05:38 PM , Rating: 2

Actually, I use my laptop for this kinda stuff. My HP has Ubuntu x64, Windows 32 and x64 and OS X on it and all my developer tools. I like having it all on my laptop so I can work anywhere. Now I don't have virtualization (Turion), but I'd use it.

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RE: Who Cares?

By MrDiSante on 8/17/2006 4:26:43 PM , Rating: 2

Er... I don't have a laptop just out of principle, but I do run Windows Vista in Virtual Server because for some reason the dual-booting fails and I end up with a Vista-only machine. Point being, if I was supposed to get a VT enabled processor and didn't, I'd be pretty steamed about it.

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RE: Who Cares?

By willow01 on 8/17/2006 6:03:37 PM , Rating: 2

Reading the other day that VMWare reckon that VT is slower compared to a purely software implementation anyway. But it is early days and VT has is pros http://www.vmware.com/pdf/asplos235_adams.pdf. What else is missing from these processors?

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Nothing new really :)

By Clauzii on 8/17/2006 7:02:06 PM , Rating: 3

ALL big companys have huge callbacks once in a while: 2005: GM recalls OVER 2M cars. May, 2006: GM recalls OVER 400.000 cars, and toyota, and citroen, and, and,-----

Nothing new :)

RE: Nothing new really :)

By Xenoid on 8/18/2006 2:20:07 AM , Rating: 2

Toyota has a slightly higher track record of cars that don't break than GM does.

And they even turn profit!

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Dell's approach

By mushi799 on 8/17/2006 5:00:22 PM , Rating: 3

If we're going down, u bastards are too

Week of Sony.

By wing0 on 8/17/2006 3:35:48 PM , Rating: 2

Next thing it's going to be their WEGA TV having problems...or their car audio...or digicam....

Should be AS ADVERTISED

By peternelson on 8/18/2006 11:32:46 AM , Rating: 1

If Dell, Sony or anyone else ADVERTISE the specification as a 2300 you should not have a nasty surprise of finding something else like a 2300E in there.

That is a basic underlying principle of business. If I buy a can of CocaCola I don't expect to find diesel oil in there.

So IF I bought something and found they put a cheaper processor in there without mentioning it, I'd be ANGRY.

This feature will admittedly become more important in future, but if I am sold on that as a feature of the product I expect that feature to be there!

Why read spec sheets? It is so that I can be absolutely sure the machine I read about will do what I want. Aside from the "specifications subject to change" type legalese, you have to say that this is OUT OF ORDER.

If Sony, Dell etc want to sell 2300E that is FINE, just say that is what you are selling. If you want to sell 2300 you can too just SAY that is what you are selling. eg at the time I place my order.

Now I have not yet ordered, but such "tricks" by manufacturers damage their brand image as cheaters. So as a potential buyer, both Dell and Sony just slipped DOWN my list of potential suppliers. They need to realise the implications of this.

Or else someone in SONY or DELL thought 2300 and 2300E were the same thing, in which case that person needs to be FIRED. In fact if they DID know the difference that's even worse so fire them too.

"The T2300E has replaced the T2300 Intel’s mobile processor lineup; but that still doesn’t excuse manufacturers from not informing customers of the change."

I'm not sure this statement is true.

AFAIK Intel recently launched both T2300 and T2300E, and they are at different price points with different features. AFAIK Intel has NOT withdrawn either of these from the market. There was not story on Anandtech to say Intel were discontinuing any of their recently announced processors. Therefore AFAIK it is incorrect to say T2300E has replaced T2300.

What is correct is that SOME VENDORS are choosing to ship T2300 as their replacement for T2300E, (without drawing this to the attention of the customer) probably because:

a) it is cheaper part for them to buy
b) they think most customers who don't use VT won't notice the difference in features
c) it might be more readily available stock in the supplies marketplace.

Either way, they better get their act together and make sure their ADVERTISING ALIGNS with the shipped product. If not I can see complaints going to the Advertising standards authority, trading standards etc.

This is just business 101: you agree to sell someone something based on a contract, which is based on price, timescale for delivery, details of what you are selling. If you deliver something different instead, that is usually a BAD thing.