Sony Recalling Over 500,000 Vaio Laptops
Sony's Vaio VPCF11 and VPCCW2 are so sizzling hot, they could literally burn your skin.
Sony today issued a recall of 535,000 VAIO laptops after receiving reports that the systems were overheating to the point of causing hardware damage and possibly burning skin. The problem resides within the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 family of notebook PCs. Consumers who already purchased one of the problematic devices will need to download a firmware update for the BIOS that supposedly fixes the issue.
"Sony takes pride in the quality of its products," said Mike Lucas, Sony Electronics Senior Vice President, VAIO. "Recently, we became aware of a potential issue affecting certain units within the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series of notebook PCs. In rare instances, these notebook computers may overheat due to a potential malfunction of the internal temperature management system, resulting in deformation of the product's keyboard or external casing, and a potential burn hazard to consumers."
The list of affected models (which can be found here) is an impressive one that encompasses over one hundred models from the VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series combined. Although the VAIO BIOS was actually created by a third party and then customized by an additional third party, Sony supposedly tested the BIOS on the VAIO platform before releasing to retail.
"If you have any questions or need additional assistance with the firmware update installation, call Sony technical support at (866) 496-7669 for assistance," Lucas said. "The satisfaction of our customers is our number one priority, and we will work diligently to ensure that your VAIO notebook is in top working order. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your support in this matter."
Anyone smell a potential lawsuit?
- King's Quest Fan Project is Alive Again, for FREE
- TRON's Razer Backlit Keyboard Detachable 10-key
- Microsoft Creating App Store for Windows 8?
- Deals for June 29: Awesome 250GB PS3 Slim Pack
- Chrome Overtakes Safari As Number 3 Browser
- VIDEO: Nvidia's 3D Vision Surround Now Available
- Foxconn Installing Safety Nets to Catch Jumpers?
- Win A GeForce GTX 480, DeathAdder Bundle
- QOTD: How Should We Test Rugged Laptops?
- Deals for June 30: 40% Off 24.6'' Samsung 1080p
- Fujitsu Launches 12-inch Convertible Core i3 Tablet
- Cisco Reveals Android Tablet with 4G-support
- Firefox 4.0: Browser Tabs on Top or Bottom?
- Crucial Launches 64GB RealSSD C300 at $149.99
- Microsoft's Concept All-in-One PC for Windows 8
- Dell Employees Knew Its Computers Would Fail
- NZXT's Touch-Screen Fan Controller Priced
- Microsoft Shows it is Winning ''By the Numbers''
What's the big deal? My GTX 480 burns me all the time, is hardware not supposed to burn people or something? Have I been living under a rock? Where am I?
It's Sony... maybe they decided to remove the heatsink feature.
This is why you just get a desktop PC ftw.
My Gateway P-7811FX burns anyone that touches the GPU exhaust while I'm gaming on it.
Why you ask? Because it's awesome.
Sony will probally has some legal crap with the firmware upgrade saying you cant sue for burns, if you download the update.
Remember the PS3 way back when, you could do all kinds of nifty things. Then they took that from you, installed a patch with a new EULA saying you cant sue, and you agree to take it in the butt!
It's Sony and like all the companies have mistakes Why the surprise?
HP have the same problem with many of their laptops products and nobody says anything.
anyone think silicon oil sealed laptops would be awesome? since laptops rarely get upgrades? (make the hdd and ram slots separate from the oil tank)
ouch xD. good thing i use an hp laptop. it heats up after around 12 hours, but i think that's cuz the batteries are dead... =]
Its not the heat, its the resulting failures. Are these laptops running Nvidia chipsets? I'd be interested in seeing if this is related to that Nvidia chipset fiasco a year ago. Of course, Sony doesn't have a good track record with their own hardware either, what with millions of recalled batteries over the last few years.
ouch xD. good thing i use an hp laptop. it heats up after around 12 hours, but i think that's cuz the batteries are dead... =]
I second that! HP ftw!, now somebody who owns a Alienware say something to make sony feel bad
Though it is bad the SONY should have work on the temperature problem earlier... but SONY is still much better (well more expensive, too) than Dell!
Check this article on NY times (6/28/10)
"....A study by Dell found that OptiPlex computers affected by the bad capacitors were expected to cause problems up to 97 percent of the time over a three-year period, according to the lawsuit...."
97% fauliar rate and Dell did not even bother to recall them back....
Since no company is problem proof... maybe it is good to see a company at least trying to recover the problem by recalling them back.
My only problem.... why wait so long...
oops... forgot the link
here it is...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/ [...] WMEtVhwlCA
Sony will probally has some legal crap with the firmware upgrade saying you cant sue for burns, if you download the update. Remember the PS3 way back when, you could do all kinds of nifty things. Then they took that from you, installed a patch with a new EULA saying you cant sue, and you agree to take it in the butt!
Lol, you gave me possibly the smartest or most retarded idea ever, an idea so retarded it's genius! I am going to make a EULA for my penis.
I say: If life gives you a notebook that gets hot enough to fry an egg, grab some eggs and make breakfast!
I am going to make a EULA for my penis.
Can't sue for dissapointment? LOL
Can't sue for dissapointment? LOL
Epic win.
Who needs em anyway?
ouch xD. good thing i use an hp laptop. it heats up after around 12 hours, but i think that's cuz the batteries are dead... =]
Ha HP laptop.......funny....=P
And I got one of these for the Boss a few months ago
At least my Alienware M17x doesn't have this problem
Don't you just hate it when your keyboard melts onto your fingers?
It's a sony, well sony is always a good looking laptop but with . . .
i guarantee they are running nvidia chipset graphics.
every laptop ever made that runs nvidia chipset integrated graphics WILL overheat and it WILL eventually fail.
i've seen countless HP laptops with warped motherboards and just recently a Gateway. All of which had nvidia integrated graphics.
Seriously, do they not do product testing before shipping?
Just my luck I have a VPCF115M T.T
AMD+Ati, the way to go.