Sony Recalls 73,000 Vaio Laptops Due To Burn Worry

alphadogg writes "Sony is recalling 73,000 Vaio TZ laptops because of a possible manufacturing defect that may cause them to overheat, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. The recall relates to a problem with wiring near the computer's hinge, which could short-circuit and overheat in certain circumstances, perhaps burning the user. One person has suffered a minor burn as a result of the latest defect, and Sony has received 15 other reports of overheating computers, according to the Commission."

Comments

it blew up in my pants

[antivoid]

I had a sony walkman once, it blew up in my pants. did wonders for my sexlife.

Re:it blew up in my pants

[evil agent]

In my experience, women tend to be disappointed if it blows up in your pants.

Re:Sony

[AKAImBatman]

You joke, but I used to purchase Sony products because they represented quality. Need a top of the line Palm Pilot, CRT, television, laptop, CD player, etc.? Sony was the place to go.

These days Sony's quality IS the joke. :-(

Re:Sony

[PawNtheSandman]

Sony and IBM are the only electronics I will buy because of their superior quality and affordability.

Re:Sony

[oldspewey]

Sony inhabits a small but select club for me - companies who's products I outright boycott. Some companies have made it on my list due to shitty products, some due to shitty customer service, some due to shitty business/social/environmental policies, and some due to various combinations of all the above.

I think that I may hate Creative just slightly more than Sony due to profound psychological trauma I suffered as a result of their hardware and drivers ... but Sony ranks right up there.

Re:Sony's QA programs lacking in other areas too

[zappepcs]

I know exactly what happened. Follow along. Prior to about 1990, most electronics systems were made of more parts (less system on a chip type stuff) and the technology for putting those parts together was different. When you use a 4-7 layer board, with lead containing solder, and few if any surface mount components, the connections are more reliable. Some might argue, but it's true. The technology for using lead free solder and surface mount components is almost an art. You're not going to get joe at the tv repair shop to fix your mp3 player very often these days. Consequently, design techniques and technology also changed. Reliability is not something they design in for the 'lifetime' of the device because life expectancy is not 15 years any more, it's about 3 years tops. It's not designed for obsolescence, it just happens that way, so 15 year reliability is not a big bonus anymore.

With surface mount components and technology, most consumer devices have become 'throw away' technology. That is to say it's cheaper to build a new one than to repair the broken one. It's been that way for some 15+ years. So it has become a gamble: make something that lasts long enough for the next model to come out, just replace any defects. Most "repairs" in the last 15 years are nothing more than putting a new case on the outside. Note that Apple has had some problems as have other manufacturers. The Razor sucked as an example.

Despite many such failures in consumer products, I have yet to find anyone complaining bitterly about Panasonic or sharp. Does anyone have horror stories from them? Sharp makes the Sidekick, and I have to say I'm rather impressed with that product.

This is why extra warranty time is a rip-off. If the product is going to fail, it will fail in the first year, if not, it will probably last for 7+ years... well past typical usefulness to most markets.

RoHS in manufacturing programs are also causing things to happen that will bit by bit reduce long term reliability. That's just how it is. Perhaps some nanotech will come along to fix the problems induced by current manufacturing technology trends. I hope so.