back to article Samsung fans flames of burning Galaxy Note 7 mystery

Samsung's figured out why its Galaxy Note 7 phablets burned up the mobile phone market last year, but won't say why until next week. The Register hailed the Galaxy Note 7 as the world’s best Android phone after fondling a pre-release unit in early August 2016. Four weeks later, when actual product hit the market, reports …

  1. redpawn

    Rogue Engineers?

    Rogue engineers works well as an excuse I've heard. Should be able to find a handful to sacrifice for fudging tests in the face of deadlines. If that fails a manager or two and a mid-level executive can be thrown in for good measure.

    1. Neoc

      Re: Rogue Engineers?

      Worked for VW.

      1. Trigonoceps occipitalis

        Re: Rogue Engineers?

        And Google.

    2. Mark 85

      Re: Rogue Engineers?

      Whew.. I was worried you were going to blame Archibald "Harry" Tuttle.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Rogue Engineers?

      Why do you expect any different.

      A high level executive has no clue how his/her business works. If anything Brooks trial proved that one for sure. She is not alone too.

      Recent example with an international airline CEO. He is so genuinely out of touch with reality that he: 1) Supports Heathrow Expansion; 2) Does not realize that said expansion goes right over his (relatively) new architect designed super-duper office; 3) He will be paying for both demolition, expansion and new offices somewhere else out of his own pocket with Heathrow collecting commission and smiling all the way to the bank. This person is renumerated to the tune of 6.5M per year too despite clearly not being able to comprehend where his company is going. Tell me, if, for example, they had something along the lines of VW or Samsung (*), how the f*** can you find him guilty?

      (*) They may actually have one. Flight 268 was pretty damn close.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Rogue Engineers?

        He will be paying for both demolition, expansion and new offices somewhere else out of his own pocket

        Why should he care, it's peanuts compared to what he'll make from an expanded Heathrow.

        1. Jedit Silver badge

          "Why should he care, it's peanuts compared to what he'll make"

          Because perception is everything. If he'd presented a case that the short term losses would be recouped by the expansion, nobody would be saying a thing. But he didn't plan for it, and was in fact quite surprised by the news that his brand spanking new corporate HQ would have to be demolished. As a result he's now known for okaying a major decision without investigating the possible consequences. This time it may work out in BA's favour, but what about next time?

          1. Matt Siddall

            Re: "Why should he care, it's peanuts compared to what he'll make"

            I heard that it was planned. The building cost more to build than planned and more to run than they like, and they could get a big wodge of taxpayers cash if a compulsory purchase is necessary.

            Not sure where I read it, but similar ideas can be found online, see for example this blog post from back in July 2015: http://www.cityunslicker.co.uk/2015/07/another-hidden-reason-why-ba-would-liek.html

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Rogue Engineers?

        Brooks? *Rebecca* Brooks of the Sun?! May I recommend reading Private Eye, they have a different opinion.

  2. Phil Kingston

    Imma go with them throwing some parts supplier under the bus. Or maybe the norks.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Hard to do that since the company that made most of the first batch of bad batteries was Samsung SDI.

    2. MrT

      Cost cutting/profit gouging seems equally likely. Keep shaving a few pennies off here and there, then marginal gains start to add up, until the impact on the item shifts from the margins to something more central whilst folk were not looking, distracted by the money.

    3. Naselus

      Also, the second set of batteries were sourced from a different supplier and still had an alarming tendency to combust. It's got to be a software fuckup (fails to turn off charging when overcharged).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Or could be a problem in the charging circuit hardware in the phone. If it was software, they could have fixed it via a firmware update (assuming they had found it in time)

  3. Sampler
    Coat

    Apple Pies

    I mean, corporate spies, intentionally breaking the design fed up with Samsung still faffing around with the rounded corners lawsuit...

  4. Your alien overlord - fear me
    Flame

    I heard it was done personally by Trump because they weren't manufactered in American. Saw it on a Facebook news feed so must be true !!!!!

  5. Milton

    Exploding, still

    Shouldn't it be the asswipe tabloids wildly exaggerating spontaneous combustion as "explosions"? Why does the Reg feel the need to keep using the word, when it simply is not true?

    Irreverence of journalistic style is fine, even welcome, but persistent childish hype - not so much.

    1. Andre Carneiro

      Re: Exploding, still

      Couldn't agree more,

      I get the impression journalism has firmly hit The Age of Hyperbole.

      And it's making me slightly nauseous.

      Oh, how I miss the British stiff upper lip...

      (DOI: I'm not British. I'm one of those disgusting Europeans who came here to take your jobs, freeload on the NHS, pay your taxes, etc., etc., etc...)

      1. Aladdin Sane

        Re: Exploding, still

        'And it's making me slightly nauseated.'

        FTFY.

        1. Andre Carneiro

          Re: Exploding, still

          Thank you

          I'm claiming an exemption due to my aforementioned foreigner status on that one ;)

        2. pxd
          Facepalm

          Re: Exploding, still

          Still trying to figure out if I can reverse my accidental down vote; in the meanwhile, sorry about that. pxd

      2. IsJustabloke
        Meh

        Re: Exploding, still

        "I get the impression journalism has firmly hit The Age of Hyperbole"

        You say that like its a new thing... it was ever thus.

        every *event* has always been heralded as worst / biggest / baddest / whaterverist.

      3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Exploding, still

        I get the impression journalism has firmly hit The Age of Hyperbole.

        And has been since, roughly, 1800CE..

        Big headlines sell copies/page impressions/advertising revenue[1].

        [1] For people unable to comprehend ad-blockers anyway.

  6. This post has been deleted by its author

  7. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
    Mushroom

    "Explosion" .... Ever seen a LiPo go up?

    I had a few dodgy ones a while back, so we staged "exploding LiPo day" for son + friends.

    (yes they were at a safe distance, eye protection worn etc.)

    The best one was the smallest - a 1000mAh cheap heli cell. After a little abuse from a 12V lead-acid, and a short-out, the pop, whoosh, and unfeasibly huge jet of flame could definitely be described as an "explosion"!

    >>>> this is a picture >>> :-)

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: "Explosion" .... Ever seen a LiPo go up?

      the pop, whoosh,

      I got that out of a 12v transitor when putting 240v AC though it. For a small, 1980's-transistor[1] value of pop and whoosh..

      [1] Glowed like an LED for a brief moment too. Most impressed.

      1. PNGuinn
        Flame

        Re: "Explosion" .... Ever seen a LiPo go up?

        A humble wire ended neon connected directly across the mains is quite spectacular. The glass bit launches itself, usually intact(ish) off it's wire leads like something worthy of Spacex on a good day.

        Via a suitable smallish limiting resistor it's much prettier. Lovely colour changes in the rather large light output until the inevitable bright orange glass meltdown.

        For added fun substitute a NIXIE tube and watch the discharge jump about the digits ...

        A misspent youth in R & D can be fun ...

      2. Vic

        Re: "Explosion" .... Ever seen a LiPo go up?

        Glowed like an LED for a brief moment too. Most impressed.

        I had to fix an HT fault in a TV a few years back. The component responsible was easy to find - disk capacitors are not supposed to emit white light...

        Vic.

  8. Alistair
    Windows

    Pop, Whoosh, unh unh.

    I truly appreciate the whooooof of 5 litres of gasoline on 5 or 6 broken up skids in the middle of a big pit, on rapidly cooling September evening under an open sky and miles from the nearest cell tower.

    However I suspect Samsung will have a convoluted combination of (Anita Ekbert, Mamie Van Duren) software errors, and an odd sensor embedded in the battery that periodically sent out a strange signal, causing the software to do bizarre things.

    <Hmm I'm in a musical mood today apparently>

  9. DanceMan

    Who goes under the bus?

    Perhaps the family's son who was just charged after 22 hours of questioning in the influence peddling scandal? Killing one bird with two stones?

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