Samsung scraps troubled Note 7

AFP, SEOUL: Samsung yesterday pulled the final plug on its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, permanently discontinuing production of the flagship device that has been mired in a disastrous recall over exploding batteries.
Earlier in the day, the South Korean conglomerate had halted sales and exchanges of the Note 7 and urged customers to stop using them, following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire.
The move sent Samsung’s share price into a steep dive and, once the markets had closed, the company announced it was scrapping the model entirely.
“Putting consumer safety as the top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s,” it said in a statement.
A company spokesperson confirmed that the suspension was “permanent.”
While numerous analysts had predicted just such an outcome, it was still a stunning move for a company that prides itself on the quality production of cutting-edge technology.
It is especially damaging because the large-sized Note series, along with the Galaxy S smartphones, are Samsung’s flagship bearers in the fierce battle with arch-rival Apple’s iPhones for supremacy in the high-end handset market.
The final decision came a little over a month after Samsung ordered the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets following complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging. 
What followed was a PR disaster as reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire.
“If it’s once, it could be taken as a mistake. But for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model so there’s going to be a considerable loss of consumer faith,” said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities.
“The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability ... so in this case brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again,” Roh said.

Samsung scraps troubled Note 7

AFP, SEOUL: Samsung yesterday pulled the final plug on its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, permanently discontinuing production of the flagship device that has been mired in a disastrous recall over exploding batteries. Earlier in the day, the South Korean conglomerate had halted sales and exchanges of the Note 7 and urged customers to stop using them, following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire. The move sent Samsungs share price into a steepdive and, once the marketshad closed, the company announced it was scrapping the model entirely. Putting consumer safety as the top priority, we have reached a final decision to halt production of Galaxy Note 7s, it said in a statement. A company spokesperson confirmed that the suspension was permanent. While numerous analysts had predicted just such an outcome, it was still a stunning move for a company that prides itself on the quality production of cutting-edge technology. It is especially damaging because the large-sized Note series, along with the Galaxy S smartphones, are Samsungs flagship bearers in the fierce battle with arch-rival Apples iPhones for supremacy in the high-end handset market. The final decision came a little over a month after Samsung ordered the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets following complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging. What followed was a PR disaster as reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire. If its once, it could be taken as a mistake. But for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model so theres going to be a considerable loss of consumer faith, said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities. The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability ... so in this case brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again, Roh said.