Sony recalls 100,000 laptop batteries

The Japanese Electronics giant-Sony-on Friday said that it was cooperating in a recall of 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by HP(Hewlett Packard), Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer . There have been 40 reports of overheating, in some cases involving smoke or flames, according to a company statement.

Sony-world's second largest Lithium-ion battery manufacturer after Sanyo- two years ago in a similar incident recalled nearly 9 million high-capacity batteries. The result? It affected the economy of all global competing PC manufacturers, and cost Sony close to $400 million! So, why hasn't Sony learned from its previous experiences? Beats me! That's the big question!

Sony stated that the faulty batteries were from the same subsidiary that made the batteries recalled two years ago, Sony Energy Devices in Tochigi, Japan. Sony said efforts to make manufacturing lines there more efficient appeared to have backfired, leading to substandard cells. A possible flaw in the metal foil for electrodes could also have led to overheating, the company said.

Dell and HP have taken immediate measures- HP has a website for its owners to check whether their batteries are defected, and Dell too has a similar website. This is definitely not good news for Sony.

A new nex-gen speaker from Sony!

Sony has developed next-generation prototype speakers that hang from a ceiling or come with an entire home audio system built-into the base, utilizing the same technology in its distinctiveSountina .

The two working prototypes were unveiled Wednesday at a Sony event in Tokyo held for electronics retailers and its dealers. Like the Sountina, they emit sound from long, glass tubes, saidNobukazu Suzuki, an acoustic system engineer in Sony's audio business group and developer of the speakers.

Also like the recently-launched Sountina, the glass tube in the prototypes is energized by small drive devices that couple with the tube and vibrate vertically. Waves travel up through the tube and are dispersed in a 360 degree spread horizontally from the tube. What all this means is that sound spreads out from the tube in a uniform manner and can be heard equally well from any position around it.

The hanging speaker, dubbed "Hibiki," looks like a stylish light and is envisaged as something that could be positioned over a table or in a room where it could hang without looking like a speaker, said Suzuki.

The second prototype, named "Kanade," is an upright speaker not dissimilar to the Sountina only smaller and not as imposing. Just under the speaker a digital audio player is integrated into the device so the unit can function as an all-in-one audio system with nothing but a power cable required.

Technology development of both devices is complete, so the biggest hurdle standing between them and the store shelf is a marketing decision. That's something that Sony hasn't yet taken so there's no word on when or if they might ever become products.

Sony's NSA-PF1 Sountina, which was unveiled in May, went on sale in Japan in June at the premium price of ¥1 million (US$9,295)(Rs 422113). It's also becoming available in major markets around the world.

London launch of new iPhone buged with software problems

Software compatibility problems marred the launch of the iPhone 3G at Apple's flagship store in London, where customers had difficulty activating their new phones.

Apple has an exclusive deal with network operator O2 in the UK -- but O2's web-based activation system requires the use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to register a new phone- meaning it won't work with the Safari browser bundled in Apple's Mac OS X. In its Regent Street store, Apple had installed VMware Fusion desktop virtualization software on some of its Macintosh computers, allowing them to run Internet Explorer on Windows, but the activation process was still not working.

"It just goes dead," said would-be customer Mark Phipps, who left the store frustrated and without an iPhone 3G. "They wouldn't reserve us one, which is a real kick in the teeth," he said. Phipps is one of at least three customers that left the store disappointed by the delays. Another, Josh Young, said the activation process was completely broken. He planned to return later.

The short line that had formed outside the store by the time it opened at 8 a.m. quickly moved inside, but two hours later the line had lengthened and extended out onto the street again. Further details were hard to come by: Store staff would not allow journalists inside the building.

The launch went more smoothly in Japan, where the iPhone went on sale for the first time. The first new iPhone owner emerged from the store of Apple's local partner, Softbank, within 20 minutes of the launch.

A PSP Loco Roco sequel on the way? Maybe...

Speaking to industry mag MCV, it seems that Sony have let slip on the upcoming release of a sequel to the much adored PSP title LocoRoco.

A pretty bland hint indeed,but is obviously fantastic news for those of us who adored the original-which should be pretty much every PSP owner out there.

With the PSP selling like hot cakes in Japan especially, a healthy set of releases towards the end of the year could see the slinky hand held become the gift to be given to anyone. And with LocoRoco 2 on the way, that's a major step in the right direction.

Will post if more news is out...