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Samsung is Hoping To Rekindle Note Brand Name Next Year (techcrunch.com) 85

Posted by msmash from the brand-value dept.
Samsung is stepping up its brand damage limitation efforts in the wake of the flaming battery disaster of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone by offering owners of the recalled device in South Korea the ability to upgrade to a Galaxy S8 or Note 8 device next year if they trade in their Note 7 for a Galaxy S7 now. TechCrunch adds:The offer implies Samsung is not in fact intending to retire the Note brand name for good, despite it now being associated with smoldering batteries and exploding smartphones. A cause for the battery overheating problem, which affected some replacement Note 7 devices as well as a number of original devices, has yet to be conclusively identified by the company. Users in its home country who opt for the upgrade program will only need to pay half the price of a Galaxy S7 in order to exchange to an S8 or Note 8 next year -- so they're being offered next year's flagship Samsung phablet at around half price. The company is presumably hoping brand loyalty to the Note can begin at home, although it's possible it might extent the offer to other markets.
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Samsung is Hoping To Rekindle Note Brand Name Next Year More

Samsung is Hoping To Rekindle Note Brand Name Next Year

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  • 'rekindle' - good one! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 25, 2016 @12:22PM (#53147613)

    Best use of sarcasm in a Slashdot title so far!

  • "Rekindle" is a curious word choice to use when talking about a tablet ;)
  • That's a great idea - it will make fore some awesome marketing.

    Wait, what do you mean they're not selling it to the South Korean Army as a new Hand Grenade line?

    • Wait, what do you mean they're not selling it to the South Korean Army as a new Hand Grenade line?

      A better idea would be to sell it to the North Korean Army and wait for hilarity to ensue

  • Why do they keep the name "Note"? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2016 @12:51PM (#53147905)
    The name "Note" is strongly linked to the burning batteries, even more than "Samsung". So they're trying to make everyone forget about the battery disaster by using again the name "Note" on a new - hopefully not burning - phone? That's a big mistake. They should swallow the bad year 2016 and start with a complete new brand name next year.

    • The name "Note" is strongly linked to the burning batteries, even more than "Samsung".

      7 generations of a device which ties directly to the device's primary function of being a "Notepad" Honestly I see 2 types of people when I go about my day to day lives: a) People who realise a device and a brand name are two different things and will buy a device regardless of what sticker is on it, and b) people who will laugh and mock but also have incredibly short attention spans.

      In the technology world a brand name isn't really as toxic as you think, especially when it represents a single outlier devic

    • BS, the average news retention of todays consumers is a couple of months. there will be a small impact on the next gen
      and nothing on the one after.
      By next year, people will have no memory of these things, which is both sensible (a tiny %age of people had a real problem,
      however hype has taken over) and terrible (companies need to learn from this, in the areas of treating their customers
      with enough care and respect).

      The big thing that can be taken away from this is that Samsung do seem capable of turning the

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by dottrap ( 1897528 )

        Unfortunately for Samsung, the problem may have crossed the threshold of marketing disaster. While the typical hype might be forgotten quickly, this problem turned into a federal offense to carry these phones on a US carrier.

        The fact that air travelers must now suddenly be aware of their phone's make and model, and explicitly be aware of the Galaxy Note brand as "the banned one", is a PR disaster.

        Most people don't know or care about these details which is why most of these events blow over after a few month

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      The name for the next class of device should be "Sovereign".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      They can stick with the Note if they make one major change, a use removable battery but that discount means, big ole fuck you to everyone, the phone killing built in battery remains hence the special deal because they have nothing special to sell.

  • There is no need to rekindle the Galaxy Note brand, it's already on fire! ;)

  • Best phone I've ever owned. Amazing camera and blazing fast. Need to add external storage, and a removable battery (although you can replace the 'sealed' battery with little effort).

    • I still use a Note 4 with a custom ROM and I love it. The photos it takes are amazing. It performs pretty much every task I want well. The only downside is that it does tend to overheat when used with a GearVR headset and it seems not to be able to handle some highly-graphics-intensive videos well. I notice that newer Galaxy series devices are actually using a lower 12MP camera now. Not sure why since the 16MP on the Note4 is so amazing.

      I'm not a heavy SPen user but use it frequently enough that I want

    • Oh the irony. The jokes just keep coming.

  • Er (Score:3)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2016 @01:42PM (#53148387) Journal

    I'm not sure using the term "re-kindle" is the best choice of words.

  • Users in its home country who opt for the upgrade program will only need to pay half the price of a Galaxy S7 in order to exchange to an S8 or Note 8 next year -- so they're being offered next year's flagship Samsung phablet at around half price

    Is this in addition to a refund, or instead?

  • Galaxy Next? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I'm not sure they can save this. Consumers have short memories, but Ford isn't selling Pintos, irrespective of root cause.

  • Note (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2016 @02:23PM (#53148751)
    Samsung has made a lot of good phones and then one bad one.. It would be pretty ridiculous to think they couldn't go back to making good phones again, doesn't matter what it is called. I will buy the next Note simply because I need a phone with a stylus and no one else seems to be able to make one.
    • Same here. My requirements for a phone are large screen, stylus input, decent camera and tactile home button. The Note is the only phone that fits the bill.
      I've had a Note 2, now have my trusty old Note 3, and the wife has a Note 4. I was thinking of upgrading but the Note 3 is still kicking along nicely. Although it is getting a bit laggy, and there's no Marshmallow update for this model, so I might look at an upgrade.
      One con, is my Note 3 was the best phone you could get when released, and cost me $800

      • I'm never going to pay more for a phone than a laptop...

        Why? Barring x86 a smartphone does more. Especially the Note.

        • I'm never going to pay more for a phone than a laptop...

          Why? Barring x86 a smartphone does more. Especially the Note.

          I have a Note, and a Dell XPS. Productivity-wise I do a LOT more with my laptop, I use it 10 hours a day. The phone is for the odd call/txt/message, and checking the odd web page or map or mobile music. My phone lasts about 2-3 years, whereas I'm getting 5 years at least out of my laptop (hardware/OS upgrades are an issue with phones).
          So for me, the laptop does more.

          • You spend more time on your laptop because it has a more suitable form factor. That doesn't mean it should be more expensive. As far as actual technical features go your phone does more and the form factor makes it even more difficult to manufacture.

            • You spend more time on your laptop because it has a more suitable form factor. That doesn't mean it should be more expensive. As far as actual technical features go your phone does more and the form factor makes it even more difficult to manufacture.

              Bigger screen cost more money
              More powerful CPU cost more money
              More RAM cost more money
              More Storage cost more money
              It costs more because it has higher spec'd components in almost every area.

  • ... and I am not inclined to replace it by any device without a replaceable battery.

    And by the way, of course the replacement batteries I bought are from 3rd-party manufacturers, of which there are very good ones, reliable and not quite as explosive as Samsung originals, yet still less expensive.

  • I dare you, try it. I'll switch brands if the 8 is curved ONLY.
    Don't pull an apple and be brave or courageous, damn well give us options

  • I really hope that Samsung does not kill the Note line. That would leave me desperate for another manufacturer to bring out an equivalent.

    I remember going out of my way to spend over US$3,000 on a Windows laptop with a screen the rotated so it was over the keyboard and had a digitiser that allowed my to take handwritten notes. When it was new, it had a useful battery life of over 10 hours and it took it to every meeting. It was amazing that I no longer had to carry, or produce, any paperwork when traveli

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