[heydj]

This whole episode of Note7 has made me a fan of Samsung. I used to be on the fence when it came to this brand but now look at it favorably. My logic:

Few units initially exploded and Samsung recalled all phones and offered to replace with new sets. Unfortunately new sets also have same issue. No doubt quality checks need to be stronger but it speaks volumes about the company willing to take billion dollar hit.

Compare this to another company that introduced a phone few years back with a tendency to drop calls and not catch any network. Response to this by company CEO then was consumers don't know how to hold the phone and should get a bumper.

Anyways Lg V20 here I come.

[nishsingh]

For me, the only good thing that came out of the Note 7 disaster is that I got to learn about the recall disaster that Ford was faced with its Pinto in the late 70s:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/n...club/91900128/

Maybe Samsung too will learn from Ford about how to bounce back from a tarnished image. If not, pretty sure that Google will be looking to fill in the void with its next iteration of Pixel phones (for me, the first generation Pixels aren't as premium as Note or Galaxy phones).

[kbk_75]

What Steve Jobs said regarding the iPhone 4 was complete bs and everybody knew it. The problem was easily fixed, though. You just needed to stick the phone in a case / bumper. There is no way you can compare that to phones catching fire at random, causing aircraft to be evacuated, causing burns to users...

There's nothing to admire as far as Samsung's reaction is concerned. They really had zero option if they had any desire to remain in the mobile phone business, it was the only thing they could do to maintain any form of credibility.

As things stand they've taken a hit to their reputation and their bottom line. If they hadn't fully stopped the Note 7 and somebody had died because of one catching fire, then their problems would've been many times bigger.

[bsdbsd]

Originally Posted by heydj

Anyways Lg V20 here I come.

Just be advised that LG V20 may (MAY) suffer from bootloop issues. Google is your friend.

[Sunrock]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

No offense intended but when was the last time you used a Samsung flagship device?

I first used Samsung personally with the S2 which I bought at launch. That phone is still working well with a staff of mine to this day.

I did not like that S3, S4, S5 - Because of the software and the design. S6 improved the software but I didnt bite because of the smaller battery and un-expandable storage.

With the S7 and S7 Edge Samsung have really hit the nail on the head. I am a demanding user and the phone achieves perfect harmony in : Fantastic Display, Great Cameras, Fast performance, Usable Touchwiz, Respectable battery life and killer looks.

I bought one phone in August, One in September, and Another one now in October. That should tell you how happy I am with the phone.

I use the S7 I am a power user. The durability factor is just missing, I was more satisfied with my moto x which was half the cost. The phone just
lacks durability and consistency. The battery performance is steadily decreasing and the way the wiz racks up bloat is phenomenal.

[speedguy]

Samsung is a classic case of too many eggs in one small basket. The company itself doesn't know whether they are premium smart phone maker or mass market handlers.
I haven't seen S7 in flesh, but neither of their so called premium smart phone looked worth of its price tag. It just lacks something that Apple has in it. Period.
No offense to anyone

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by Sunrock

I use the S7 I am a power user. The durability factor is just missing, I was more satisfied with my moto x which was half the cost. The phone just
lacks durability and consistency. The battery performance is steadily decreasing and the way the wiz racks up bloat is phenomenal.

Agreed on the durability. Its a glass phone literally. For someone as clumsy as me Its unusable without a case.

No problems in battery or slow down for me as yet

Originally Posted by speedguy

I haven't seen S7 in flesh, but neither of their so called premium smart phone looked worth of its price tag. It just lacks something that Apple has in it. Period.
No offense to anyone

No offense taken. But isnt not seeing a product and forming an opinion on whether it has / lacks something kinda illogical?

See the S7 edge in a store and say its crap. Thats fine. Passing judgement without even looking makes little sense to me.

That said Samsung has WAY too many models and phones. No arguments there

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Sunrock

Good marketing, giving cheaper impression, but in fact costly and top it all will a product that works well for three months.

We've had 3 phones in the family (S2, S3 and Note 3) that are in use. The S2 lasted (rather retired) 4 years, S3 is still in use is in its 5th year. Note 3 in its 3rd year. The S3 and Note 3 especially have undergone abuse (throws, drops you name it) from my now 2 year old. I myself have dropped it umpteen times. On the contrary, 6S screen broke on the first drop, costed 170€ to get the screen fixed. Never had such issues or a warranty claim with any of the 3 phones in their lifetime.

While this is a huge goof up, I don't think Samsung is going to sink like RIM in mobile business yet.

[sreeshs]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Samsung is a classic case of too many eggs in one small basket. The company itself doesn't know whether they are premium smart phone maker or mass market handlers.
I haven't seen S7 in flesh, but neither of their so called premium smart phone looked worth of its price tag. It just lacks something that Apple has in it. Period.
No offense to anyone

I would be one of the early first hand users of Note II and still use it without any problems. Yet some minor problems (red LED constant light up, wrong lock screen clock time) do irritate me but overall its a good phone, never cared to upgrade as I had already spent much on Note II itself.

So Samsung has good phones but they seem to have put many (MANY) models in to the market with no clear cut differentiators. If they would have stayed with some 5 quality phone models, I think they could have used the company resources well to make all 5 good market captures.

[Avenger_123]

Absolutely love the Samsung phones, currently use a S7 Edge and my next phone also is going to be a sammy. Started with a Galaxy S2, which lasted 4 years of abuse. Switched to Xperia Z3 last year, didn't like it and am completely satisfied with S7 now - especially the camera - unbelievable.

Batteries are becoming complicated and are the loose link in the chain, battery tech is not keeping pace with the Silicon growth, am sure lot of investment and R&D is in progress and we will see new innovation from Sammy and others soon.

Note 7 was an absolutely brilliant device, really unfortunate it had to be stopped, no other android vendor comes close to challenging Apple's over priced and closed ecosystem phones. I was seeing lot of phones especially S7 here in US and I hope it continues this way.

I think as somebody mentioned they had too much going on, with back to back launches. But when we think of it, that is the only way to be in customers minds, especially if you are fighting a huge brand like apple, and the whole thing was working fine with record sales of Note 7.

Another company doing that is Tesla now - with so many product launches, and trying to be in news and customer minds, lets hope they have a better result !!

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Also, an interesting snippet about Samsung. Back in 1995 when Samsung was faced with an issue of defective phones, then chairman Mr. Lee Kun-hee burned a pile of 150,000 of these defective phones to demonstrate Samsung's commitment to quality.

Lessons from history are easily forgotten, isn't it?

Originally Posted by Avenger_123

Batteries are becoming complicated and are the loose link in the chain, battery tech is not keeping pace with the Silicon growth, am sure lot of investment and R&D is in progress and we will see new innovation from Sammy and others soon.

Every manufacturer, including Samsung and from Apple to cheap Chinese manufacturers, have nailed the vagaries of Li-on battery. S7 problem looks like design flaw.

BTW, recall is brilliantly handled by Samsung. They are sending fire-proof boxes (with gloves ) to send back the phone.

Link: http://www.xda-developers.com/samsun...safety-gloves/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pySvc17K2jE

[faithless_1984]

Hate to say this but they got what they deserved ! My whole family uses Samsung phones, it was natural for us to upgrade to better models when they are launched but now we will think twice before buying another Samsung mobile.

My dad bought an S7 Edge 3 months ago and since then it has only given us problems. It developed screen issues within a month and had to be submitted to their service center where they replaced the screen the next day. Ok fine my dad ignored it thinking its a gadget so things can go wrong sometimes. But it happened AGAIN in a few weeks !
This time the service experience was pathetic, the part was not available and they had no idea about its supply either. We got various excuses but no concrete answer. In the end had to wait for a week to get it repaired and delivered. Met 2 other people with the same phone/problem at the service center.
Now my dad keeps a spare phone handy just in case this one acts up again. If not for this episode i would have bought one too next month !
I don`t wanna switch to Apple. I don`t like other Android phones. What to do now. Hate you Samsung.

[Turbanator]

They should now make S7 & S7 edge more competitive, to keep people in their ecosystem, perhaps increase warranty and lower prices and maintain their turnover.

Quoting from my previous post, Samsung US is actually doing this now, they are giving $100 rebate in case customers buy any other Samsung phone. Since they have not launched Note 7 in India, it will be a good idea to reduce prices or offer some goodies. Very important for them to retain customers with Galaxy brand

https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-re...ollars-credit/

The Korean electronics titan said it will give $100 in credit at "carrier or retail outlets" to customers who turn in their Note 7 for another Samsung phone, starting Thursday afternoon

[vigneshnr]

When the first Note was launched in the US, it caught my attention immediately and I was wondering whether such a NICHE device would ever reach the shores of India. I still remember an youtube video showing how difficult, awkward or easy it is to carry a Note (in a guy's jeans pocket).

And I was pleasantly surprised when it was launched here without much delays.

Close to 4 years on Note 1 then I picked up Note 4. More than 1.5 years gone now (and as I'm writing this, the handset is in service for repair - that's an other story). Should i call myself a fanboy.. yes to some extent; But more rationally pegged rather than just being plain emotional.

To me, 'Note' always meant creative productivity. And there seemed to be a never ending learning curve with the device.

By now, I've made countless records with s-pen. I bet - it's the most helpful innovation for work, especially when it comes to communicating feedback on ppts, images, docs etc. And turning dull work into more fun.

Coming to the case, someone was stating that the phone's complexity lead to such mess - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/bu...ated.html?_r=0

But when Samsung launches Note 8, they will have me again.

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

We have been service providers to Samsung India ( not the Mobile division. Our relation ended in 2010) and the only thing the Intl. Logistics person knew was to reduce service costs,so that he could tighten his collar and show in his annual performance report. If this attitude is there across their divisions, I can understand why the product failed.

I can speak a bit from the cultural context. I'm married to a Korean who herself says she will never work for a Korean company. The work culture is based on performance and numbers at any cost! There is intense pressure to deliver, especially once the top management has said "This needs to happen" then it HAS TO HAPPEN - no questions asked. No permission for questions to be asked either.

A couple of years ago, the daughter of the owner of Korean Air and a VP herself in the company had a major anger fit over cabin service and was arrested over the same. This also points to the culture where the top management cannot be questioned by subordinates.

Korea's big companies are all family owned and they have tremendous influence and political clout. From what my wife and her friends in the tech world are saying, this event seems to be a symptom of the culture more than anything else. This culture has definitely taken their nation from zero to hero very quickly, but it seems as though there has to be a change now that they are established. Simply put, Hyundai now has to make quality cars rather than cheap cars and they made the transition well. Samsung has been struggling to do this and redefine itself as a premium brand after scoring on the success of cheaper mass-market devices. It's a very complex situation, but has almost everything to do with the top management culture.

Recently, with the aim of reducing costs, Samsung began making parts in-house for their phones. It is this step that has resulted in the quality problems because they were not given enough time to reliably build products that they, perhaps, didn't know how to build as well as their former suppliers did.