Sprint today became the first network to allow all of its Galaxy Note 7 customers to exchange their handset for any other type of smartphone.
The change in policy comes a day after a supposedly safe replacement Galaxy Note 7 apparently set alight on a U.S. passenger plane before takeoff, causing an evacuation of the aircraft.
"If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window," a Sprint spokesperson told Recode.
According to Samsung, devices issued as replacements in its recall have been deemed safe because they use batteries that came from a different supplier to those that could overheat. However, reports of exploding Note 7 phones persist, which the company says it is looking into.
A Sprint representative said it is "working collaboratively with Samsung to better understand the most recent concerns regarding replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones".
Most carriers have encouraged their customers to exchange their first-generation Note 7 devices in exchange for either a refund or a replacement updated Note 7 handset, however Sprint is the first to allow all customers to return the replacement version as well, outside of standard return windows.
Samsung announced strong third-quarter earnings guidance to investors on Friday despite its exploding smartphone woes, thanks in part to the company's component and display panel business.
Top Rated Comments
Samsung's chickens are coming home to roost. The fact that they rushed this into production to presumably "beat Apple" goes to show that they don't care about the consumer's needs, and that they are inexplicably more interested in what Apple is doing instead.
Funny how people say that Samsung will "dominate" Apple next year; well, when you flood the market with dozens of cheap crap phones (most of which are free), of course they're going to dominate. It's like pissing in an ocean of piss and and saying the guy urinating lost because he got overtaken by a tidal wave of urine.
[doublepost=1475840274][/doublepost]I can't help but think that each platform's general stickiness has a lot more to do with users' purchasing decisions for the vast majority of consumers. It isn't a lack of competition but more an abundance of preference for familiarity.
Say what you will about innovation (which is fairly subjective these days), but there doesn't seem to be a lack of competition... unless you mean the two horse OS race? But even there you have Samsung and others modding Android so it's one horse and then a bunch of other horses that all belong to one family.
The one feature Samsung has going for it now is the ability to blow up. No thanks. I'll stick with the proven winner.