Acer: Spins recall news
By Ria Sharma

Computer company Acer was on a roll in 2009.  Despite the recession, by the third quarter of 2009 the total number of PCs sold in the world increased by 0.5 percent as compared to 2008.  More importantly for Acer, it overtook Dell to grab the No. 2 spot in the world. HP is the market leader. Acer employs about 6000 people worldwide and had revenues of $16.65 Billion in 2008. In India, it is HQed in Bangalore and has offices in most major cities.

Acer, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, issued a statement to the American public on Jan 8, 2010 (India time) that it would be recalling 22,000 laptops which were made in China. The Acer and US Government statement to the American public read: “Acer has received three reports of computers short circuiting, resulting in slight melting of the external casing. No incidents occurred in the United States. No injuries have been reported.”

Apparently, the problem is an internal microphone wire under the palm rest which can short circuit and overheat. This poses a potential burn hazard to consumers. The recalled notebook computer models are the Acer AS3410, AS3410T, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG. The computer’s screen size is about 13.3 inches measured diagonally.

As America has strict consumer protection laws, Acer has scrambled to clear the air in USA.  But note that the US Govt/Acer statement says that 3 computers had this short circuiting problem and none of them were in the United States.

Could they have been in India?  Or Korea?  Or perhaps Europe?

It would have been ideal if Acer has named the 3 countries where their laptops had problems. Better still, release a statement saying that this is not a problem in India and other specific countries.

Just because the USA is a big market and has strict Government laws does not mean that such information is only released there.  An Acer computer made in China and sold in the USA can find its way to India. Or imported from China into India. After all, we live in a global village.

Acer, can you clarify if this recall applies to any Indian customers as well