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FAA May Ban Galaxy Note 7 On Flights Due To Exploding Batteries (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Samsung has recalled roughly 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after it was discovered that at least 35 of the devices had spontaneously burst into flames due to faulty batteries. As a result, the FAA is deciding whether or not to ban the devices on planes. "The FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are working on guidance related to this issue," an FAA spokesperson told Gizmodo over email. "If the device is recalled by the manufacturer, airline crew and passengers will not be able to bring recalled batteries or electronics that contain recalled batteries in the cabin of an aircraft, or in carry-on and checked baggage." Gizmodo reports: "If this sounds confusing, that's because it is. Samsung has already "recalled" the Galaxy Note 7, but the South Korean company hasn't actually recalled it the right way. The proper way to institute a recall is to get the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission involved from the beginning. Samsung didn't do that. And now, federal agencies like the FAA are left scrambling and days behind, trying to figure out what to do."
As I understand it, the recall effot on the Note 7 has been for the cell service providers to tell their customers to return their phones to the store they bought them from, and then exchange it for a new Note 7 without the problem battery in it. How do they plan on telling ones that have undergone the recall (and thus are safe) from those that haven't, even months later when the recall is "over"?
I hope Samsung takes one HELL of a financial beating over this, because most of the cost will be well-deserved punishment for taking away removable batteries. Had the N7 allowed batteries to be swapped, they could have given anyone who agreed to surrender their defective battery two or three free replacements (total cost to Samsung: about $5-10 at eBay Chinese battery prices) and used customers as a vast, unpaid labor force to do the battery swaps. Instead, Samsung is going to have to eat the cost of a recall (including shipping) AND pay employees to swap the batteries & re-package the phones.
onboard the fiasko called the Boeing Dreamliner. They're right at home.
I wouldn't call the Dreamliner a fiasko (sic), they've sold 1100 and delivered 445 of them. Sales are below expectations, but I'd hardly consider is a fiasco, despite the early problems.
Sales are below expectations for the past year or so, but that tracks an overall drop in widebody orders. It's also to an extent not all that relevant whether the 78 project makes money (and it likely will in the long run) given the amount of research done. There's a forthcoming 757 replacement, and the company's committed to replacing the 737 in the next decade with a full redesign. Expect a lot of recycling design factors from the Dreamliner that'll save money.
The rollout really went incredibly smoothly, too. *All* new airframes have substantial issues going out the door, and Boeing substantially changed the character of a greater than normal set of systems than normal.
1) 35 incidents over 2.5 million devices (thus far). So what are the odds of something happening ever to any one person, much less on a plane (how many have the phones that are NOT recalled, then see #3 below)?
2) How are they supposed to know which GN7's have been swapped with new models or not? (Hint: They can't.) So they will ban anything that looks like a GN7 forever?
3) Can't find proof, but I bet most of the incidents were during high-power charging. How many are going to be charged while on a plane, much less in high-power mode?
4) How many OTHER devices have similar problems, just not well publicized?
It took the FAA most of a decade to finally get a ruling regarding all cellphones, and now you want Mongo the Microencephalic TSA Screener to make advanced technical decisions regarding consumer electronics?
Oh, this is going to be rich...
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If my Surface can be mistaken for an iPad, I don't see why my Note 7 can't be an iPhone.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Then I can afford two instead of one much sooner. To me it isn't negative press but rather positive. The company actually takes accountability for it's products without prodding. And for the idiots that look at this as negative and would rather to an iPhone: good riddance. It will hopefully make the phones cheaper sooner which means more people will buy them. It's an amazing product.
I like removable batteries but those have hard thick outer cases which means less battery capacity. Integrated batteries are soft and flexible and thinly shielded. I like the new backpacks for the note which serve the purpose of a swapable battery. They are battery in a snap case which wirelessly charges the phone. This means you can have multiple backpacks and it's even easier than swapping batteries. Low on battery? Switch from your usual case to the backpack. Couldn't be easier.