Slashdot Mirror
Toshiba to Exchange 340,000 Laptop Batteries
narramissic writes "Toshiba Corp. has offered to exchange 340,000 laptop computer batteries made by Sony. According to a Toshiba spokesman, the batteries may fail to charge correctly, causing the power to cut off suddenly. The company will be posting a software tool to its Web site, allowing customers to identify whether their computer is affected." From the article: "Toshiba's problems stem from a defect in the interface circuitry between the battery cells and the computer. That defect is caused by corrosion, said a spokesman for Sony, the manufacturer of the batteries. An ingredient used in the insulating paper of batteries manufactured between March and May can corrode components in the batteries' charging circuits, causing them to fail, said Sony spokesman Takashia Uehara. The supplier changed the composition of the insulating paper without notice, he said."
This is a fairly lucky break for Toshiba - for those who haven't already moved on down the reply-line, let me explain why:
First of all, Toshiba isn't exactly a, how shall we say, 'household name' in the U.S./Western market.
Secondly, you can bet that Toshiba doesn't have to pay for Sony's mistakes - that role typically falls to Sony (or Sony's end-users). Thirdly, there is little the U.S. business news, and to some degree European news world likes to cover more than a big huffy-puffy recall, or RECALL RECALL RECALL!
So for a small name like Toshiba, this equates to free publicity, and goodwill; "Aww- look how well they took care of thier consumers."
from the article:
"Toshiba's free battery exchange program covers 11 notebook models sold in Japan, five sold in the U.S. and 12 sold in Europe, including the Tecra A7, Satellite A100, Satellite M50 and Satellite pro M70, Ohmori said. European customers can consult a list of affected computers on Toshiba's Web site "
So essentially, they are getting free publicity in the U.S. and European markets. (Not that this is a good or bad thing, just and interesting aspect of the situation) Ask someone in a week to name 5 laptop makers, and I'd wager Toshiba moves up the list in recognition. Longterm, (nearly) any press is good press.
Advertising is a poor, failing, ghost of an attempt at the power of honest word of mouth. -Locution Commando
When is Sony going to, you know, recall the batteries from their own laptops? Or did I miss that?
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Anyone else notice that in a race to lower production costs to their absolute minimum, companies are spending more and more money fixing problems down the line?
I would love to see the bid contracts that went out. Odds are that someone who's a little more reputable was within a few cents per battery of this outfit, but lost out because they weren't the lowest cost bid.
Now you have a piece of paper worth a fraction of a cent costing Sony at least $50 to $100 per battery.
Nice cost savings.
Hmmmm... I wonder how long the warranty period is. :)
In my experience with Playstations and similar devices, it's the damn connectors that give out. And since the connectors are usually proprietary, thanks to the thoughtfulness of Sony's MBAs, the device becomes obsolete before its time. For example, were it not for the failed totally-arbitrarily-proprietary video connector, my PS1 would still be cookin'.
And we are all aware of Sony's eternal dream of standardizing a proprietary format... betamax... mini-DV... memory-stick... blu-ray...
My brother is a pedigreed professor of finance who, after eight years of teaching and research, quit in disgust. One of his top two reasons for leaving was the self-loathing he felt for the part he played in churning out MBAs whose jobs will be to dream up stuff like proprietary connectors.
When he and I go around together, we still play a game of detecting the signs of MBAs grazing in the area. A striking example in recent memory is when the Oshkosh fly-in changed its name to the more-trademarkable "EAA Airventure", raised all the camping fees, and implemented tamper-resistant wristbands for admission.
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
From that page:
Way to send mixed messages folks. It looks bad for Toshiba that they have faulty batteries that may or may not be under a recall. It looks even worse for Sony as they are responsible for both recalls.