Toshiba may hit up Sony for cash after battery fiasco
By Evan Blass 
posted Oct 16th 2006 4:04AM
posted Oct 16th 2006 4:04AM
Now that the bulk of major laptop manufacturers have copped to battery problems and initiated recall plans, it's time for the finger-pointing to begin. First up is Sony's fellow Japanese manufacturer Toshiba, whose spokesperson has fired a warning shot across its competitor's bow with threats to seek compensation related to the aftermath of this ugly incident. Toshiba is claiming that the faulty batteries have tarnished the reputation of its brand and consequently hurt sales, with Sony the obvious target of its efforts to recoup lost revenue. This is one development that we'll be watching closely, because if money changes hands here, you can bet that everyone else will want a piece of the pie too -- and right now, that's exactly what Sony doesn't need.
I sure hope that "money changes hands", I'd like an example for future battery manufacturers so they'll remember to go for quality. The idea that one of Sony's little bombs could burn a hole into my beloved computer (or any of my body parts for that matter) does not sit right with me.
And yes, I had to take part in the recall program.
No manufacturer on the scale of Sony would knowingly sell millions of batteries that are defective. I agree, Sony hasn't been the best in the past while but realistically they wouldnt knowingly produce and sell a dangerous defective product.
Their (ailing) brandname is an important part of the company, and I doubt they'd sacrifice that just to sell batteries a few cents cheaper. Sony has and still does produce some amazing products, but it's a fact that that sometimes these things happens, even by a corporation so large.
It's not going to be an 'example' to any respectable(err..) company- Only that the manufacturing process in this instance was faulty.
funny how there are millions of Viao laptops yet not one of those, which all have batteries made by Sony, have a problem...
you ever reverse the polarity on a rechargable battery?
all those Sony related doomsayers are jus silly
I'm not saying you're doing such. In fact you seem pretty neutral but the whole idea that the brand name is "ailing" started there. Anyone have an idea of how much money Apple put into it's nano...and what would have happened had the nano bombed? Sony's largest industry...that of Brodcast Professional/Industrial equipment is still quite strong even with all the money invested in the PS3 so even if Sony falls out of the consumer market the brand name isn't going any where.
Yeah right. Sony takes cost cutting to another level and they think their brand name has so much power that they can get away with garbage consumer level products because stupid people will buy a lower quality product with a higher price if it has the Sony name on it. You are a prime example of this phenomenon.
I think I'd honestly fit better in the 'fanboy' category rather than 'doomsayer'. I just have the ability to see past my own personal biases and into reality. Ofcourse, it's all subjective ;)
Toshiba has an F rating with the BBB. How can this tarnish their reputation any further. Seriously - Toshiba has the most poorly designed and cheaply made computers I have ever had to service. An exploding battery would be the least of my concerns - hell it might actually get them to replace a lemon for a change.
How does Toshiba feel they have been hurt by this recall? Every other major manufacturer out there has had the same problem so they are all in the same boat. I really don't think this problem has put the consumer off laptops all together, which would be the only way they are being hurt.
I think the fact that all the major players have this problem helps. A customer loyal to a particular brand is not going to jump because of a battery recall since there is really nowhere for them to jump to that doesn't have the same issue.
The brand being hurt would be Sony since many people are not going to want a Sony since they have not done the recall.
"Toshiba is claiming that the faulty batteries have tarnished the reputation of its brand..."
If that's the case then when can we expect Toshiba to sue themselves over the questionable build quality of their own notebooks over the past couple of years?
^^^That last line was intended for "Deluxe"