Sony has had to draw back sales of its new Tablet, the Xperia S, after discovering that the device is not water resistant as previously advertised.
The Tablet, which was unveiled in August and went on sale to the public in September, was pulled from shelves this week after Sony Corps found a gap between the screen and the casing on some of the devices.
At the unveiling it had been heavily marketed as “splash-proof”, and because not many tablets promote waterproofing it’s obviously a big selling point. However this has to be an embarrassment, to create a tablet that’s supposed to be usable in tough environments only to find out a month after the product has been on the shelves that it’s not.
A statement issued by Sony said the defect is due to a manufacturing flaw and that they will repair or replace any damaged devices. There is no date at the moment for sales to recommence.
Where most people won’t worry about waterproofing, it’s a huge selling point in the Japanese market and with more and more companies creating water resistant devices this could put a big dent in Sony’s pocket.
By Claire Gard