The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Sony says battery burn-out probe should have been quicker

Had trouble meeting demand for high-capacity power packs

Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider

Sony has admitted it could have moved "more quickly" to tackle the burning battery bug that hit two of the company's biggest power-pack customers, Dell and Apple, and prompted many others to recall Sony-made lithium-ion batteries.

In an interview with Japanese-language newspaper the Mainchi Shimbun, relayed by Agence France-Presse, Sony President Ryoji Chubachi is quoted as saying: "The company should have investigated the cause of the battery problem more quickly."

Chubachi also hinted that the battery issue may have arisen from Sony's rush to deliver higher-capacity notebook power packs. "We had troubles as we tried to meet the demands for larger battery capacity," he confessed, the paper said.

In October, Sony set aside ¥51.2bn ($444m/£224m/€334m) to cover a worldwide recall of almost 10m lithium-ion notebook batteries. Following a spate of exploding laptop incidents, Dell announced its own battery recall this summer, and was quickly followed by Apple and Lenovo.

They pointed the finger at Sony-made batteries as the cause of the combustion, and in September Sony's battery division said it would support these and other laptop vendors who chose to instigate recalls. Gateway, Fujitsu, Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba and Sony's own Vaio division subsequently asked some of their customers to return Sony-made batteries. ®

What you need to know about cloud backup

More from The Register

Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Ex-HTC execs launch UK-based smartphone maker Kazam
Startup threatens to 'disrupt status quo' this year