In the US, the authorities have instructed Sony to conduct a recall of its Vaio laptops since problems with overheating were reported. According to Sony, the problem affects about more than half a million of its F and C series laptops which were sold since the beginning of 2010. On the other hand, the American Consumer Product Safety Commission said that “the computers can overheat, posing a burn hazard.”

Sony claimed that this is not a recall because the problem can be repaired with a software patch. Meanwhile, there were no reports of any users suffering burns, but Sony received a number of reports of its laptop overheating, distorting keyboards and casings.

There are 103,000 laptops in Europe, 260,000 in the US, 120,000 in South East Asia and 52,000 in Japan that need to be fixed. Nick Sharples, Sony’s European communications director, said that it is possible to update the firmware online which will repair the problem.