Sony issued a warning to its Vaio customers to immediately stop using the latest and the final version of the Vaio series, the Fit 11A, after reports of fire.
Sony, one of the biggest electronic companies, is addressing a major issue with the latest model in its popular Vaio series, the Fit 11A. In an announcement made on the company's official website, Friday, Sony urged owners of the Vaio Fit 11A to immediately stop using the laptop due to a defect in the battery that could overheat the computers and cause fire. The PC maker has sold more than 25,000 Vaio Fit 11A model laptops globally since its launch in February, all of which pose a risk of catching fire, Wall Street Journal reports.
The technical glitch with the affected laptop's battery came to light after Sony received three reports of overheated batteries causing partial burns to the Vaio laptops. The first incident was reported March 19 in Japan, second in Hong Kong, March 30, and the most recent one from China, April 8, WSJ reports.
Sony Vaio Fit 11A concludes the popular Vaio series, which was originally launched in 1997. The company agreed to sell its PC business, which runs under the brand name Vaio, to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February. Additionally, Sony said it will split its money-losing TV division as a separate subsidiary by July. The major transitions outline Sony's efforts to turn the company's losses into profits. In February, Sony also revealed plans to trim its workforce down by 5,000 in Japan and overseas by March 2015.
According to WSJ, Sony sold 25,905 units of Vaio Fit 11A across the world, with most in Asia-Pacific and Europe. The company sold about 3,600 units of Fit 11A in Japan, 2,000 in China and nearly 7,000 in the Asia-Pacific region. The sales of laptops were lowest in the U.S. with only 500 units pushed off the shelves, while Europe and Latin America recorded 7,000 and 5,600 unit sale, respectively.
Sony has listed the model number that Vaio Fit 11A owners must look out for, SVF11N1XXXX, which will be found under the flip display. Sony outsourced the contract of making batteries to Panasonic and so did other computer makers. But a Panasonic spokeswoman said there were no reports of battery problems with other clients, WSJ reports.
The Japanese tech giant is currently identifying the affected PC's by serial numbers and will carry out a process of repairing or replacing the affected parts. In cases where it cannot be replaced or repaired, Sony said the purchase price of the laptop will be refunded back to the customer.
