Global electronics player Samsung has formed a new battery advisory group comprising experts and academics as part of its damage-control exercise to regain consumer confidence after its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones were plagued by exploding batteries.
The firm launched two new products on Sunday evening — a Galaxy S3 tablet and a Galaxy Book — and said it was betting big on the next generation 5G network technologies for telecom operators.
“The past six months have undoubtedly been one of the most challenging periods in our history,” said David Lowes, senior vice president and CMO of Samsung Electronics Europe. “We did not meet the high standards of quality and excellence we set for ourselves and the consumers have come to expect from us. We are determined to learn every possible lesson and we recognise that regaining consumer trust can only be earned by actions, not words,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Lowes said that the firm had implemented a broad range of processes to further enhance product safety, following internal and third-party investigations into the exploding batteries episode.
“This includes additional protocols and multiple safety layers and a new eight-point battery safety check. We have also formed a battery advisory group, comprising external advisors, academics and research experts. The aim of this group is to maintain a clear objective perspective on battery safety and innovation, not only for our benefit but also for the benefit of the industry as a whole,” he said.
“We are encouraged by the positive response of customers to the actions we have taken. We are committed to radical and quality innovation that never compromises customer safety,” Mr. Lowes said, stressing that the company is investing heavily in 5G network technologies, new products with powerful hardware and an enhanced VR (virtual reality) user experience.
5G network portfolio
Announcing the launch of its commercial 5G network portfolio, Samsung Electronics America president and COO Tim Baxter said this would save operators the pain of expensive and time-consuming fibre optic installations to connect offices and homes and the first commercial deployment of its solutions is expected by early 2018.
Apart from the core network solution, Samsung has launched integrated 5G radio base stations designed for easy deployment of gigabit coverage and home routers that are compact and can be installed by consumers on their own.
“We have already set up regional trials with three commercial versions of these products in markets such as the U.S., Korea and Japan. A few days ago, we announced an upcoming trial in U.K.,” Mr. Baxter said, adding that 5G networks will enable users to download movies in seconds, use multiple camera angles at sports events, lag-free gaming and self-driving cars, among other things.
Samsung’s new tablets — Galaxy Tab S3 and the Galaxy Book — both sport a 13-megapixel rear camera and offer expandable storage and more efficient batteries that can be charged speedily.
The S3 has a 9.7 inch display while the Galaxy book has two versions with 10.6-inch and 12-inch display options.
Both devices support Pogo keyboards with no separate charging or pairing required.
The Galaxy Book is aimed at users who need to do more with their tablets and offers the full desktop Microsoft Office experience with Windows 10.
(The correspondent is in Spain at the invitation of Samsung Electronics)
