14 DAY TRIAL // A considerably large number of articles has been recently written on heating issues with some portable computer systems developed by major systems manufacturers. Most of the reported issues were due to some faulty graphics chips provided by NVIDIA, and affected products from HP and Dell, with several reports indicating that even some of the Apple MacBook Pro owners had to deal with such problems. However, NVIDIA's faulty chips were not the reason for the heating issues reported by concerned Lenovo ThinkPad X61 users, as we informed you last week.
Now, recent reports indicate that Sony too may have some notebooks that have been shipped with issues, which, in turn, could lead to overheating. The company has announced today that some of its VAIO TZ models, sold between May 2007 and July 2008, are prone to overheating. In the same announcement, Sony revealed that it had received 15 complaints of overheating, with one customer even reporting a minor burn.
The reported issues have something to do with a wiring problem that can cause a short-circuit and overheating. So far, the following VAIO models - VGN-TZ100 series, VGN-TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series and VGN-TZ2000 series - are said to be affected. The company has announced that not all models are vulnerable to the potential issue, while recommending that users visit a dedicated web page in order to find out if their VAIO notebook is subject to the reported heating issues.
Sony has stated that it will support the diagnostics and repairing (if necessary) of any affected models, free of charge. “At no charge, Sony will provide an inspection and, if necessary, on-site repair at your home or office.” Besides the dedicated website, the company has also made available a customer hotline, where users can call and learn whether their notebooks also suffer from the potential issue.
The company has also stressed that only the TZ-series products present the reported heating issue, and that other VAIO users shouldn't be concerned about this problem.