Apparently, there are plenty of parties who are not satisfied in the way Samsung sold a dangerous smartphone and handled the first and the second Galaxy Note 7 recall, followed by total discontinuation of the device. The first of these class action lawsuits have come into public view as Motherboard explains that the three plaintiffs filing the case against Samsung are doing so on the ground that Samsung inadequately handled the Note 7 recall process. Instead of suing the company for selling smartphones that have the potential to explode, they are claiming that Samsung did not arrange for sufficient replacement devices while initiating the recall/exchange process.

"Samsung informed consumers they would have to wait several days, and even weeks in many cases, before receiving a replacement smartphone. During this time, and as a result of Defendant failing to provide consumers with an adequate replacement, consumers continued to incur monthly device and plan charges from their cellular carriers for phones they could not safely use."

Samsung refused to comment on the situation citing pending litigation; however, we would not be surprised if more of these lawsuits begin to appear from here on. The more prominent and demanding ones will of course involve customers who actually had a Note 7 that caught fire and caused property/physical/psychological damage.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Amidst the biggest mess that the company has ever had to clean up by recalling the 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices shipped all over the world, Samsung is already devising a strategy to let its customers know that their new upcoming batch of Note 7 smartphones will have a safe battery. Samsung will soon start selling the Note 7 once again, as soon as replacements for the potentially dangerous devices are ready of course. The safe new smartphones will sport a green colored battery icon in the UI, while the older phones will continue to sport the white battery icon that has been the norm for Samsung until this incident.

This news report by Cho Mu-Hyun from ZDNet has created a bit of confusion as well because many users who have already replaced their Note 7 with a new one are still seeing the old white battery icon. Therefore it is not quite clear at the moment whether the green icon will only be implemented in Korea or if it will be an international icon of safety. We will know more soon as Samsung makes an official statement.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)