Now that the Note 7 has been discontinued permanently, Samsung is sending a very special protective box for customers to return the smartphone in. The boxes themselves are thermally insulated and the kit actually contains a pair of safety gloves! You will first need to power off the Note 7 and put it into the shielding bag. Next, the shielding bag containing the phone is to be put inside the replacement box. The replacement box will then go into another inner box, following which, the whole package is to be placed inside the final box, which will be shipped back to the manufacturer. One can only ship the item via ground transportation as none of the devices will be allowed on an aircraft. If this doesn't give you an idea about how serious the issue is, nothing will.

We are sad to see such a well made device undone by such disastrous internal engineering flaws, but considering that this was a flagship device with premium pricing, one cannot help but feel astonished that something like this could ever happen to such a device, especially when it was made by the world's number one smartphone maker. If you have not already, return your Galaxy Note 7 NOW. Even if it has been marked as safe, that marking is invalid in light of the current situation.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Now that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is officially discontinued after reports of even the replacement devices catching fire were confirmed, here are a few other options that you can check out instead.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Although it's priced less than the Note 7, the S7 Edge isn't really lacking much in comparison. The retina scanner, the stylus (S-pen) and a slightly larger 5.7-inch display are the only things that differentiate the two. In fact, the S7 Edge rocks the same camera sensors, 4GB of RAM, SD 820/Exynos 8890 SoC and 1440p Super AMOLED panel (5.5-inch) as its larger sibling.

Google Pixel XL

When it comes to software stability and security, it would be hard to recommend anything over Android's greatest flagship yet; the Google Pixel XL with a 5.5-inch 1440p AMOLED panel. It's also more powerful than the Note 7 with a SD 821 SoC under the hood. It has exceptional cameras that might simply be the best that any smartphone has offered yet.

LG V20

The final recommendation on this list will include the LG V20, which also has a 5.7-inch 1440p panel like the Note 7, along with an additional 2.1-inch display on top of the main one. We expect nothing short of spectacular clicks from the upcoming device as well (dual rear camera) because LG is well known for endowing its high-end smartphones with brilliant cameras.
In case you haven't already, switch your Note 7 off and return it immediately.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

It's finally over for the Galaxy Note 7 as Samsung decides to pull the plug on the potentially dangerous phablet, all over the world. A second recall is now being put into effect which will even include the replacement units which were supposed to be safe. Production of the Note 7 has also been stopped and this is what the OEM had to say regarding the matter.

"Taking our customer's safety as our highest priority, we have decided to halt sales and production of the Galaxy Note 7,"

"Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7,"

According to the authorities and the manufacturer, all owners should power off their Note 7 smartphone, irrespective of whether they have a device marked as safe or not. This is definitely the biggest disaster in the smartphone business ever for the company. Analysts are predicting somewhere around $17 billion in terms of the expenditure that Samsung will have to bear as a result of this whole incident. Also, Samsung lost eight percent in the share market in one day on October 11, which in itself is a record in the last ten years. The long term effect that this will have on Samsung's reputation and sales is however, unimaginable.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

As expected, Verizon has now joined AT&T and T-Mobile in the decision to stop selling the Galaxy Note 7, at least for a while. It was quite expected as the news reports about new and safe Galaxy Note 7s exploding have been piling up since the last week. In addition to that, various reports are also suggesting that Samsung themselves may have halted the production process of the phablet for now. The good news is that if you own a Galaxy Note 7 then all the three carriers are offering a free replacement, as long as the value of the new smartphone is equal to or less than that of the Note 7. The offer is applicable on both older models, as well as the replacement units.

After the Southwest Airlines incident and the bedroom fire in Lexington, Sprint is the only major carrier in the US which is still continuing to sell the Note 7. Although we would advise against buying a Note 7 at this time, to be truthful, it would be very hard to find one as well. Even if you do however, hold onto your money at least until Samsung comes out in the open with a statement.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

WKYT News has reported another incident regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire and this time it happened in Lexington, Kentucky. The owner of the phone stated that he woke up in the morning to a smoke filled bedroom and a hissing noise that was emanating from his Note 7. The point to be noted is that Mr. Michael Klering confirmed that the phone was not being charged during the incident. Things turned for the worse when Mr. Klering was diagnosed with acute bronchitis as a direct result of smoke inhalation later in the day. He went to the hospital emergency room after coughing up and vomiting black mucous.

The concerned Note 7 was a replacement unit marked as safe and just a week old, as claimed by the owner. Mr. Klering further states that Samsung has already asked for the hazardous smartphone but he refused to give it to them and instead went public with the incident. He has agreed to have the damaged device go through an X-ray on the manufacturer's request though. What is even more disturbing is the message that you will read in the next line, allegedly from Samsung.

"Just now got this. I can try and slow him down if we think it will matter, or we just let him do what he keeps threatening to do and see if he does it"

As you can imagine, this is the message that triggered him to go to the press and get legal help. It should also be noted that this incident occurred before the Southwest Airlines incident which originally caused the CPSC to probe into the matter, along with other departments of the government.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)