Sony said some Vaio laptops may overheat and become distorted. (AP)
TOKYO — Sony said Wednesday it is recalling about 535,000 Vaio laptops world-wide due to a temperature-control defect that may cause excessive heat and distort the shape of the laptop.
There is also the possibility that overheated laptops could cause skin burns, even though no such cases have been reported thus far, the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said.
The recall concerns some of the company's F and C-Series Vaio laptops sold since January 2010. Sony added that the recall applies to 259,000 laptops in the U.S., 103,000 in Europe, 120,000 in Asia and 52,000 in Japan.
Sony said it hasn't received any reports of problems with the laptops in Japan, but it has received a total of 39 reports of overheating and distortion from overseas customers.
The recall comes as Sony is expecting to return to a profit this fiscal year after two straight years in the red, thanks to an improved outlook for its troubled television and video game units.
A Sony spokeswoman said that the company doesn't expect the laptop recall to have any major impact on its earnings.
Sony said that customers with laptops subject to the recall can fix the problem by downloading a program from Vaio's update system or its website. Alternatively, the customers can have Sony come and pick the affected laptops up to do the repair work.
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