Samsung issued an apology to Chinese
consumers on Wednesday after China's state-
run media criticized the Korean electronics
giant for selling handsets with allegedly
faulty memory chips.
The company offered to provide free repairs
and extended warranties on seven models
after a broadcast on the influential China
Central Television on Tuesday reported how
Samsung handsets, including the Galaxy S
and Galaxy Note series, crash several times a
day due to the memory chips. The report
said the issue could be resolved with a $100
chip upgrade that was not covered under
current warranties.
In a statement posted to Samsung's China
Web site, the electronics giant apologized for
the inconvenience, which it blamed on
"management problems." It also pledged to
repair affected devices, refunds on
previously-repaired devices, and replacement
handsets in some cases.
Samsung is not the first tech coming to
come under CCTV scrutiny for its warranty
practices. In April, Apple CEO Tim Cook
issued an apology over its warranty policies
in China and promised improved services
after a report on the station. The initial
report claimed Apple repaired only broken or
otherwise faulty parts within its products for
customers in China, versus providing new
replacements in other countries.
Cook's apology came during Apple's
continuing efforts to land an iPhone
distribution deal with the world's largest
mobile carrier. Support from China Mobile,
which has about 745 million customers,
would open up a vast number of new
customers for Apple.
Meanwhile, Samsung hopes its apology goes
a long way toward helping it maintain its
lead position in China's smartphone market .
The company sold 30 million devices in the
country last year for a 17.7 percent market
share, outpacing the 11 percent share
commanded by No. 3 Apple.
No comments:
Post a Comment