Nokia stops sales of Lumia 2520 tablet over electric shock fears

Nokia issued an advisory for customers in the US and parts of Europe warning them of electric shock from a battery charger meant for its Lumia 2520.

LONDON: Mobile devices company Nokia issued an advisory for customers in the US and parts of Europe warning them of electric shock from a battery charger meant for its Lumia tablet 2520 due to a defect by its vendor.

During an internal quality control process, Nokia identified a potential product quality issue that may lead to a safety concern with certain AC-300 chargers, manufactured by a third-party supplier.

"Under certain conditions, the plastic cover of the charger's exchangeable plug could come loose and separate. If loose and separated, certain internal components pose a hazard of an electric shock if touched while the plug remains in a live socket," Nokia said in a statement.

Lumia 2520 is the first tablet from stable of Nokia which was unveiled in October for $499 before taxes. It is not yet launched in India.

AC-300 chargers are exclusively used with Nokia's Window based Lumia 2520 tablet.

Nokia issued advisory for customers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and UK , strongly advising them to suspend use of the charger until further notice.

The company also warned consumers to suspend use of Lumia 2520 travel charger accessory purchased in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, UK and the US.

"In total, approximately 30,000 chargers are impacted by this advisory. This includes approximately 600 travel charger accessories sold in the US," the statement said.

The company has temoprarily delayed sales of the Lumia 2520 tablet and the travel charger accessories, including the AC-300 chargers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and UK. It has suspended sales of the travel charger accessory in US.

"While there have been no confirmed consumer incidents related to this potential quality issue, product quality and safety are top priorities at Nokia. We apologise to the owners of the Lumia 2520, and we are working with urgency to minimise the inconvenience," Nokia's Executive Vice President for Smart Devices Jo Harlow said.

Social networking site Wikia adds new feature Fan Studio

Social networking site Wikia announced a new effort to attract more brands to its platform with the creation of Fan Studio.

The idea behind the studio is to help advertisers connect with Wikia's network of users, many of whom go to the site for entertainment and games.

As part of the launch, gaming company Carbine Studios is using Wikia to roll out one of its forthcoming multi-player online games, called WildStar, for a large number of players.

"One of the things that really struck us the most about Wikia is it's a social universe for fans by fans," said Mona Hamilton, vice president of brands at Carbine.

While Carbine Studios has bought advertising on Wikia in the past, this is the first time it has partnered with the network to engage with WildStar players to help develop and market the game.

Founded in 2006 by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley, a former board trustee of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikia has more than 100 million monthly unique global visitors, according to online measurement and advertising company Quantcast. It has more than 400,000 existing communities and attracts many video game users.

Wikia is not alone in enticing brands to connect with its community. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

are also trying to court Madison Avenue with the idea that brands can better target users based on interests.

Jennifer Betka, senior vice president of marketing at Wikia, said Wikia's fan base is "extremely knowledgeable" about what they love.

"This is the brand acting as a peer," she said. "We go through an extensive green-lighting process with the brands and fans and make the decision," she said about the vetting process for Fan Studio, because Wikia must balance the needs of the community without alienating members.

Wikia depends on advertising revenue but does not disclose the figure.

Wikia has partnered with other advertisers in the past and is doing more now that it has unveiled Fan Studio.

In December, it struck a deal with Warner Brother's video game division, which tapped Wikia's community for its games based on the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit."

Wikia also said it hired Simon Cox as director of programming for games to help Fan Studio increase the number of partnerships with advertisers. Cox previously was the head of creative for content marketing start-up Dialect.