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THE WORLD’S BIGGEST smartphone maker Samsung has blamed faulty batteries for the fires that hit its flagship Galaxy Note 7 device last year, as it sought to draw a line under the humiliating recall.
Samsung Electronics was forced to discontinue the smartphone, originally intended to compete with Apple’s iPhone, after a chaotic recall that saw replacement devices also catching fire.
The debacle cost the South Korean company billions in lost profit and reputational damage, during a torrid period when it has also been embroiled in a corruption scandal that has seen President Park Geun-Hye impeached.
Internal and independent investigations “concluded that batteries were found to be the cause of the Note 7 incidents”, Samsung said in a statement.
“We sincerely apologise for the discomfort and concern we have caused to our customers,” Koh Dong-Jin, the head of its mobile business, said bowing before hundreds of reporters and cameramen at a press conference in Seoul.
Samsung Electronics is the most prominent unit of the giant Samsung group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate with a revenue equivalent to about a fifth of the country’s GDP.
It announced a recall of 2.5 million units of the oversized Galaxy Note 7 in September 2016 after several devices exploded or caught fire, with the company blaming batteries from a supplier, widely believed to be its sister firm Samsung SDI.
When replacement phones – with batteries from another firm, largely thought to be Chinese manufacturer ATL – also started to combust, the company decided to kill off the Note 7 for good.
As many as 1.9 million of the phones were sold in the United States, where authorities banned the device from use on planes and even from being placed in checked luggage. Airlines around the world issued similar prohibitions.
The firm has since embarked on a campaign to restore its battered reputation, issuing repeated apologies and putting full-page advertisements in prominent US newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post admitting that it “fell short” on its promises.
Analysts said that Samsung was looking to move on from the debacle with the announcement, which did not implicate other devices.
“Consumers tend to be forgiving the first time,” said Tom Kang, research director at Counterpoint Technology.
But if it happens again, it will leave a lasting mark on Samsung’s quality and brand image.
Samsung had concentrated on innovative design, thinness and battery capacity rather than safety, he said.
The firm’s next model, the Galaxy S8, had been expected to be unveiled at next month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but Samsung’s Koh said it would be delayed to ensure that it had no safety issues.
Obviously prison officers should be afforded all the possible protection available including prosecution. The article really lacks any reasons for why these prosecutions are not taking place. Is it a problem in the process? The Gardai? The DPP? The courts? If the problem is identified then it should be straightforward to rectify
@Nick Allen: The reason is the simple lack of willingness to have a “root and branch” reform of the entire judicial system here. From Judges down to the Parole Board and everything in between needs overhauling and bringing into the 21st century. Judges have far to much discretion regards sentencing, the need for Solicitors and Barristers where one “Lawyer” (like the US system would suffice), a dedicated prosecution service and public defenders offices where both would receive a fixed salary instead of the scam of free legal aid. A Police and Prison Service independent of political interference properly funded and staffed to do the jobs that Society require them to do. Everyone can see the need for change but those in power refuse to change it.
The reason you can’t get a conviction or any type of justice for the crimes against you is the Irish prison service and it’s management do not want or afford you any assistance with making or reporting a crime . It’s a case of they do not want incidents made public or reported, as to do so , would shine alight on a failing system ,that is in crisis . The system is well below what staffing levels it needs ,recruitment is taking place at a snails pace and the reason is simple,MONEY and an IPS policy of ,let’s make it a better place for prisoners. The Irish prisons are turning into welfare lead ,hug a thug holiday camps and the terms Imprisonment / justice for crimes / do the crime serve the time ,are all gone and have been replaced with words such a as residents, occupants and patients .
@joe o hare: I would love to know where you are getting your information from. Is it the Big Book of Fairy Tales? Firstly no Officer would ever “Cry Wolf” as you put it about being assaulted by an inmate because to so so would leave them exposed to a counter charge by the inmate. Secondly with the number of CCTV cameras in each Prison any false accusation would be quickly exposed. Now as for 6 months off on full pay. Firstly an Officers injuries would need to be so severe that the Civil Service Chief Medical Officer would have to make a declaration that the Officer was unfit for duty due to the nature of the injuries received which in itself is extremely rare. An investigation has to take place for an Officer to have an injury declared as an Injury on Duty. So get your facts right.
What use would an additional concurrent sentence serve given that that is the usual outcome in this time of multiple previous convictions, crimes committed out on bail etc. Are there any internal sanctions within the prison system itself?
@Ian Moloney: prisoners who assault staff are placed in the separation and care unit for an amount of time decided by the duty governor. They might lose their TV
Loss of canteen and reduced visits. I’ve seen a lot of assaults on staff both male and female staff and prisoners couldn’t care less about being sent to Septation unit.
With the frequency and frivolous nature of the way our judges gave out suspended sentences the criminals would end up with time off their current sentences if this went to court
This is crazy. An assault on the street would warrant a conviction yet somone doing their job and who gets assaulted gets no justice ??? If staffing levels are reduced then it will not only affect prison officers it will affect all of us too as there will be more and more suspended sentences when prisons cannot cope with the prisoners they already have and are unable to take in more. This is not just a personal safety issue for prisoner officers ( which is serious enough on its own) it’s a public safety issue !!!
@ivan enoughofit poor Joe o hare really hasn’t a bulls notion what he’s talking about but thinks because he used to watch prisoner cell block H years ago it makes him an expert!
@joe o hare: you are talking rubbish .Now let the grown ups have the conversation and you head on out and talk to your imaginary friends,who seem to be informing you incorrectly of happenings in the big bad World
The biggest problem with prisons is the easy availability of drugs, do the prison officers supply them or just get a percentage from the inmates who do.
@joe o hare: you are an ape
@Ivan Enoughofit: No he is just trolling. It’s the likes of him that hate any form of law enforcement. He has been caught out telling lies already which make anything else he has to say worthless.
And here is his much their extra holidays cost the taxpayer.http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/prison-staffs-41000-sick-days-cost-taxpayer-75m-266737.html
@joe o hare: go away Joe .2014 article .
@joe o hare: Now I am going to explain in simple terms especially for you how the above number was calculated. Each Prison Officer works a 12 hour shift. Now because Prison staff work on Bi-weekly basis it means that to average out a 44 hour week they work 4 days one week and 3 the alternative week (excluding compulsory overtime shifts). Now let’s say an Officer is off sick on the week that they are rostered on for 3 days. All 7 days of that week are still counted as Sick Days even though they were only going to work 3 of them. And each Officer only can avail of 12 weeks paid Sick Leave in every 4 year period (3 weeks a year.) Now remember what I said about 7 days counted. In reality it breaks down 1.5 weeks a year if you only count rostered days. So in reality the figure is 1 week a year
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