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Microsoft recalls Xbox cords
By Ben Berkowitz[/color]
[color=black]LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, says it will recall 14.1 million power cords for its Xbox video game console after a defect gave some users minor burns and scorched carpets.[/color]
[color=black]Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer for Microsoft, told Reuters on Thursday the recall covered all Xboxes made for continental Europe before January 13, 2004, and the rest of the world before October 23, 2003.[/color]
[color=black]Consoles built after those dates were designed in such a way that the failures no longer occurred, Bach said.[/color]
[color=black]“It ends up being a combination of both things in the box and circumstances,” he said. “It did take us quite a bit of time to understand that there was a challenge.”[/color]
[color=black]The recall represents a significant portion of the worldwide Xbox installed base of more than 20 million. Microsoft debuted the Xbox in November 2001 in the United States and subsequently rolled it out worldwide.[/color]
[color=black]Based on reports to its customer service unit and warranty repair data, Bach said Microsoft had observed a failure rate of about 1 in 10,000 units.[/color]
[color=black]In 30 of those, users suffered either minor burns or damage to property, including scorched carpets, he said.[/color]
[color=black]Affected customers can request a new power cord free of charge via the Web site, Xbox.com (http://www.xbox.com/)[/color][color=black], or by calling toll-free numbers in their respective countries.
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