I sell batteries for a living, and recently sold a battery to a guy with a Sony VGN-A290. He puts the battery in, and his laptop gives him the following message:
"Caution: This battery cannot be used with your computer. Please use only genuine Sony(R) batteries compatible with this computer. Click "OK" to put your computer into hibernate mode. When your computer hibernates, remove the battery, and insert a genuine Sony battery."
Now, there is a thing called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, that if I remember correctly, makes this completely ilegal. I believe this law says that a company like Sony can sell 1000 laptops to a business, and make them sign a contract that states that if the business uses a third party part to upgrade or fix anything in any one computer, it voids the warranty for all 1000 computers. But for a single person buying a laptop, for personal use, Sony can not do the same thing, the customer can buy any third party parts and there he will not void the warranty.
I called Sony about this, ended up talking to several "techs", they pretty much all told me the same thing, that this is just a "generic message", and it doesn't mean the customer HAS to buy a Sony original part. I read the whole thing again to them, and stressed the parts that said "Please use only genuine Sony(R) batteries" and "insert a genuine Sony battery", but it's like talking to a child, they just don't seem to understand it. Is Sony headed toward a possible class action suit? Isn't what they are doing completely ilegal?
"Caution: This battery cannot be used with your computer. Please use only genuine Sony(R) batteries compatible with this computer. Click "OK" to put your computer into hibernate mode. When your computer hibernates, remove the battery, and insert a genuine Sony battery."
Now, there is a thing called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, that if I remember correctly, makes this completely ilegal. I believe this law says that a company like Sony can sell 1000 laptops to a business, and make them sign a contract that states that if the business uses a third party part to upgrade or fix anything in any one computer, it voids the warranty for all 1000 computers. But for a single person buying a laptop, for personal use, Sony can not do the same thing, the customer can buy any third party parts and there he will not void the warranty.
I called Sony about this, ended up talking to several "techs", they pretty much all told me the same thing, that this is just a "generic message", and it doesn't mean the customer HAS to buy a Sony original part. I read the whole thing again to them, and stressed the parts that said "Please use only genuine Sony(R) batteries" and "insert a genuine Sony battery", but it's like talking to a child, they just don't seem to understand it. Is Sony headed toward a possible class action suit? Isn't what they are doing completely ilegal?
