Samsung’s Flagship Device Goes Down in Flames

Cecilia Santostefano

Samsung’s reputation has found itself in a bit of a blazing controversy. Back in early September, Florida resident Nathan Dornacher found his Jeep Grand Cherokee in flames after leaving his Note 7 charging on the center console.[1] After thirty-five smartphone-exploding incidents were reported and confirmed, Samsung initially recalled its smartphone in ten countries.[2] As a result, customers could obtain a refund for their device or ask for a different device.[3]

It wasn’t until September 15 that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission came out and told its customers to “immediately stop using and power down the [Note 7] device.”[4] This warning, however, seems to be ineffective, as data analysis shows “the usage rate of the phone among existing users has been almost the exact same since the day of the [initial] recall [by Samsung].”[5]

The recall is quite the costly setback for Samsung, as the Galaxy Note 7 was a means to compete with large competitors like Apple.[6] New Note 7 devices are, however, scheduled to hit stores no later than September 21.[7]

 

[1] Josh Cascio, Jeep totaled by exploding Note 7, FOX 13 News, (September 7, 2016, 10:51 PM), http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/203295058-story.

[2] Cascio, supra note 1.

[3] Jill Disis, U.S. formally recalls Samsung Galaxy Note 7, CNN, (September 15, 2016, 5:33 PM), http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/15/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-cpsc/.

[4] Disis, supra note 3.

[5] Alex Johnson, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Owners Keep Using Their Fire-Prone Phones, NBC, (September 16, 2016, 8:07 AM), http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/samsung-galaxy-note-7-owners-keep-using-fire-prone-phones-n649251.

[6] Ankur Banerjee, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Recalled Over Battery Fires, Huffington Post, (September 15, 2016, 4:05 PM), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/us-consumer-product-safety-commission-reportedly-plans-recall-of-samsung-galaxy-note-7_us_57dafcffe4b08cb1409476ec?section=us_technology.

[7] Banerjee, supra note 6.