Sony unit under Justice Department probe

After coming under fire for their recent global battery recall, product delays, and sinking profits, Sony is once again being examined under a microscope – and this time it’s by no less than the U.S. Justice Department.

According to company spokesman Atsuo Omagari, Sony received a subpoena from the Justice Department’s antitrust division seeking information regarding the Japanese company’s static random access memory (SRAM) business. SRAM is a kind of computer memory that is faster and more reliable than DRAM, or dynamic random access memory. Although it does not need to be refreshed like DRAM, SRAM is also more expensive.

A similar DOJ investigation into price-fixing among DRAM companies has so far netted the Justice Department more than a dozen charges against individuals and more than $731 million in fines against Samsung, Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

This inquiry comes at a pretty bad time for Sony, what with their whole worldwide lithium-ion battery recall. The incident affected almost every major laptop maker in the world, including Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Lenovo. Add to that the delay of the planned European PS3 launch (reportedly due to problems with the PS3’s Blu-Ray) and its reported US$366 million operating losses in the company’s gaming division, and it’s really starting to look like 2006 will be a bad year for the company. Here’s hoping that the PS3 can still turn the company’s financial situation around.

After coming under fire for their recent global battery recall, product delays, and sinking profits, Sony is once again being examined under a microscope – and this time it’s by no less than the U.S. Justice Department.

According to company spokesman Atsuo Omagari, Sony received a subpoena from the Justice Department’s antitrust division seeking information regarding the Japanese company’s static random access memory (SRAM) business. SRAM is a kind of computer memory that is faster and more reliable than DRAM, or dynamic random access memory. Although it does not need to be refreshed like DRAM, SRAM is also more expensive.

A similar DOJ investigation into price-fixing among DRAM companies has so far netted the Justice Department more than a dozen charges against individuals and more than $731 million in fines against Samsung, Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

This inquiry comes at a pretty bad time for Sony, what with their whole worldwide lithium-ion battery recall. The incident affected almost every major laptop maker in the world, including Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Lenovo. Add to that the delay of the planned European PS3 launch (reportedly due to problems with the PS3’s Blu-Ray) and its reported US$366 million operating losses in the company’s gaming division, and it’s really starting to look like 2006 will be a bad year for the company. Here’s hoping that the PS3 can still turn the company’s financial situation around.