How bad are Sony batteries? Bad enough for Sony itself to recall 90,000 Vaio-branded batteries from Japan and China. And Sony may wind up recalling some 300,000 batteries, says a Japanese trade weekly. (Sony dismissed the story as mere speculation.)

In any case, Gizmodo UK says, Sony's headaches are multiplying as Toshiba and Fujitsu are making noises about collecting compensation from Sony not just for the recall but for the damage to their laptop sales. Quoting Fujitsu:

"We recognize we are recalling the products on the request by Sony so we will ask them to shoulder the cost. But we would only consider seeking more compensation for missed sales opportunities and a damaged brand image if retail outlets start returning products or consumers start no-buy campaigns."

This could be an even bigger mess for Sony, because if it has to pay big bucks to Fujitsu and Toshiba, all those other companies with Sony battery trouble such as Apple, Dell, Lenovo and Hitachi will line up for their pound of flesh. For Sony, that might feel more like a ton of bricks.

And take another look at this Japanese news story from earlier this month, which says that Sony engaged in willful blindness, having been made aware of the problem with a Dell laptop but declining to investigate further, since "no accidents had been reported in other computers," as the AFP report on the report puts it.