Galaxy Note 7 Is Not Dead, Samsung Says It Will Sell Refurbished Units (samsung.com)
Samsung announced on Monday it plans to sell refurbished units of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, months after the handset was pulled from the markets due to fire-prone batteries. The company says it is yet to determine the markets it will sell the refurbished Note 7 units, and it is in talks with relevant regulatory authorities and carriers. The company also has a plan in place for the units it doesn't want to bring back to the market. In a statement, the company said, "For remaining Galaxy Note 7 devices, components such as semiconductors and camera modules shall be detached by companies specializing in such services and used for test sample production purposes. Finally, for left over component recycling, Samsung shall first extract precious metals, such as copper, nickel, gold and silver by utilizing eco-friendly companies specializing in such processes."
So; is this going to be a fire sale?
Ba dum tss!
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
So we can still take exploding phones onto flights
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
From the PR point of view this is a very bad move.
Disagree, they've been riding on bad PR from green groups who have kept this at the forefront.
The less people remember about the Note 7 fiasco, the better. By reselling them, Samsung damages its reputation even further because people have exactly zero good associations with the fire catching Note 7s.
Actually people have many good associations with the fire catching Note 7s, which is why so many people didn't want to let it go in the first place. It was in many regards an awesome phablet and the lack of the Note 7 leaves a gaping hole in the market. Re-introducing the Note 7:
- Shows that Samsung can fix defects.
- Puts good hardware back on the market.
- Reminds people what kind of a phone it is when it doesn't burst into flames.
- Recovers some huge sunk costs.
Given people's incredibly short memory of {$techgadget} gate, there's no reason this will continue to be bad PR. Well. ... Unless tomorrow the news comes out that all those idiots thinking recalled Note 7s were collectors items suddenly find their hordes devalued.