We were surprised to find out that many owners of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 weren’t taking the recall seriously. Per Samsung:
To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers’ safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.
For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks.
We had heard about the recall from various news sources (i.e. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today).
It was AndroidCentral’s Jerry Hildenbrand “slap you on the side of the head” post that really got our attention (and we don’t even have one of these snazzy new devices).
That’s it in a nutshell.
Our Enchanted Jukebox couldn’t let this PSA (as in Public Service Announcement) moment slip by without spinning up this tune:
Some Historical Perspective:
Our Tommie was very involved with battery design back in the day. Here’s some background care of the Battery Facts folks:
- Edison started his work on the battery in the 1890s, just after the motor car had been introduced.
- Edison began looking for a way to make batteries lighter, more reliable, and at least three times more powerful so that they could become the basis of a successful electric car.
- By 1903, after Edison and his team conducted tests of all sorts of metals and other materials, they determined a battery using potassium hydroxide, which reacted with the battery’s iron and nickel electrodes, would create a battery with a strong output that was reliable and rechargeable.
- Announced with great fanfare and bold claims about its performance, the new battery found its way into electric vehicles (which included many urban delivery and transport trucks).
- Then stories about battery failures started coming out. Many of the batteries began to leak, and others lost much of their power after a short while.
- Edison shut down the factory immediately.
- Between 1905 and 1908, the whole battery was redesigned. Although the new battery used more expensive materials, it had better performance and more power.
- By 1910, battery production was again underway at a new factory near the West Orange, NJ laboratory.
- All good but… too late. Henry Ford’s Model T launched a year earlier –lightweight, inexpensive AND petrol-based.
And 100 years later, the 2010 Tesla Roadster —the first ever mass produced electric sports car— appeared.
Circling Back Around…
Seriously, people?
Put the phone down and follow the recall directions.
Don’t risk harming yourself, your property, others… you get the point.
That’s a wrap!
Be smart my friends!
–The Gang
Update 12 Oct 16: The Samsung Note 7 has been discontinued. This post has interesting options for alternatives: With the Galaxy Note7 dead, here are 7 other Android phablets to consider http://www.techconnect.com/article/3130227/android/with-the-galaxy-note7-dead-here-are-7-other-android-phablets-to-consider.html via @idgtechconnect