I received my brand new unit two days ago. It was manufactured in July (I understand that pre July units may have contained the old software) and has the new chip (confirmed by Mr Combelles in person).
Initially, the unit could not read any discs but that was because I did not place the "puck" on the disc. It was my fault but the manual makes no mention of the necessity of locking the disc with the puck! Sattothestars: many thanks for your advice.
Else, the player is playing flawlessly: no tracking problems, no cutoffs between tracks, no skipping, and all buttons on the remote are working perfectly. However, if the sliding drawer is opened whilst in play, the unit stops playing immediately. Also, the (new?) manual explicitly mentions that the drawer should remain closed. But someone stated earlier that leaving the drawer open may yield improved sonics. Could it be that the new chip requires the lid to remain closed?