Sony warns of battery fire risk in new Vaio PCs

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/11/sony-battery-fire-risk-new-vaio-pcs

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Sony on Friday urged its customers to stop using the new model of its Vaio computers as soon as possible, over fears it could catch fire.

In the latest product glitch for the struggling electronics group, the company is notifying owners of the Vaio Fit 11A, which launched in February, that their computers may have a faulty battery pack that is at risk of overheating and catching fire. A formal recall is expected soon.

The computer manufacturer said it had shipped 25,905 of the Vaio Fit 11A in 52 countries since its launch, including 7,158 in Europe, 2,088 in China, 3,619 in Japan and 497 in the US.

Sony said three PCs had caught on fire around the battery pack, which was manufactured by Panasonic Corp.

The setback comes just weeks after Sony announced in February its plans to sell off the Vaio computer division to Japan Industrial Partners. The Japanese investment fund will take over the planning, design and development of PC products, leaving Sony free to concentrate on smartphones and tablets in July.

Sales of desktop computers are in decline across the industry as consumers switch their activity to laptops and phones.

• Sony considering selloff of Vaio PC business as sales dwindle