Sony Confirms Battery Fire Risk with Vaio Fit 11A Laptop


Sony Vaio Fit 11A battery fire

Sony has urged customers to stop using the new Vaio Fit 11A following three reports of the battery catching fire.Sony



Sony has warned customers that using its new Vaio laptops could potentially result in the computers overheating and catching fire.


The Sony Vaio Fit 11A laptops were launched in February and have since been shipped to 52 countries around the world.


Sony hasn't confirmed if it has stopped selling the Vaio Fit 11A or if it will be issuing a recall of all units sold so far. IBTimes UK has contacted Sony to try and confirm these details.


Of the 25,905 laptops sold, 7,158 were in Europe; 497 were in the US and 3,619 were in Sony's home market of Japan.


According to the electronics giant, there have been three reported incidents of Vaio laptops setting fire.


"There is a risk that battery overheating could damage part of the computer," Sony said in a statement on its website. "We're asking customers to stop using their PC immediately, unplug the cable and stop using it."


The batteries in question were in fact manufactured by Sony rival Panasonic. The lithium-ion battery pack powers the laptop, as well as the tablet computer that it is capable of transforming into.


Shift of focus


The news comes just a few months before a deal is expected to be completed for the sale of Sony's Vaio computer division.


Sony announced in February that it would be quitting the PC business in order to focus on mobile for a variety of reasons, including "drastic changes in the global PC industry".


The investment fund Japanese Industrial Partners (JIP) will be taking control of the business for an as yet undisclosed sum.


When the deal was first announced, Sony stated: "The optimal solution is to concentrate its mobile product lineup on smartphones and tablets and to transfer its PC business to a new company."



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