By this time, we all know what a hideous flop Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been. Replacement phones should have helped. But even that has backfired, literally. Now, Samsung stops all Galaxy Note 7 sales.
Because last week alone, four explosions and burn incidents occurred. In Nicholasville, Kentucky, a man awoke to see his bedroom in smoke. This was because his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught fire. Not only that, the man was diagnosed was acute bronchitis. This occurs when one inhales too much smoke, especially at once. That same week, Southwest Airlines evacuated a flight from Louisville, KY to Baltimore, MD. The culprit? It was a replacement Note 7. In Framington, Minnesota, a 13-year-old girl burned her hand. A replacement Note 7 also caused this. Now, Samsung stops all production and sales of this product.
Also, major US carriers like AT&T stopped carrying the Note 7. Another major carrier, T-Mobile, cut ties with the Note 7. ?Carriers in Australia and China follow suit. Several weeks back, Samsung issued a recall on the Note 7. They offered replacement phones for those who needed them. Many took them at their word. It’s Samsung right? Samsung is one of the biggest phone makers in the world. We can trust them with replacement phones, right? Apparently, we can’t.
Battery issues remain the root of the problem. So Samusng finally did the same thing. They gave up and stopped the Note 7 sales and production altogether. They should have done this several weeks ago. Think of the scandal and retribution that will come from the Note 7 failure. It’s already happening. American hedge fund Elliot Management, demands answers from Samsung. Some estimates have Samsung profits down 40%. Also, another expert says Samsung Galaxy Note 7 stoppages will cost the company $630 million dollars in Q4 2016 alone. Consequently, this is during the critical holiday shopping season. Furthermore, Samsung has issues almost the same issues involving their washer/dryer systems. Think of all the problems Samsung faced recently. How many consumers will be able to trust Samsung again after this?
We all know the iPhone 7 is the first smartphone without a headphone jack. One You Tube vlogger literally drills a hole to create a homemade jack. He then plays music on it like it was nothing. Don’t you do that. Drilling holes in your phone will cause permanent damage. Don’t know what trick photography he used, but commons sense should tell you not to drill holes in any smartphone. There was the scratch and bend test. This phone’s scratch level is 6. That means it’s durable enough, but it’s good to get some screen protection.
The abuse intensifies. A man threw his phone out of flying helicopter. It still worked! The screen was only moderately damaged, but the phone still worked! One shot his iPhone 7 with a .50 caliber rifle. The slow motion is really cool. The battery started smoking as soon as the bullet forced it to the ground. Another vlogger put the iPhone 7 through some water tests, since it’s supposed to be water resistant. He threw the phone in water a meter deep for 30 minutes. But wait…there’s more. He jumps in a lake with the iPhone 7. The phone still works.
This should go without saying: Don’t try these things at home! Remember, you paid $650 for this phone. That’s an investment you don’t want to throw away. But I am awed at how much this phone can take. This phone survived a helicopter drop and a jump in the lake. It had better. Look at how much it costs. But use some common sense too. Do you really think even the mighty iPhone 7 will survive getting shot? I admit, it’s cool to watch, but no phone will survive a rifle blast. Do you think the Apple iPhone 7 survives torture tests?
So I’m looking for things to write about. I see a picture of a Hilary Clinton rally. This one photo shows what technology did to us.
The picture shows hundreds of people, most of them young adults, have their backs toward Hilary Clinton with their smartphones out. They’re taking selfies, simultaneously. There is a barrier between Mrs. Clinton and the crowd, and the Democratic presidential candidate is waving. It looks like she’s waving for the selfie taking crowd, not to get their attention. The photo was taken by Hilary For America. It was taken by campaign design leader Victor Ng and posted on Twitter. Looking at the photo, the selfie takers didn’t care if they got a picture of Hilary Clinton or not, just as long as they were in the photo. There’s a blogger named Technically Incorrect who wrote a poem about this tragedy of a photo. Incorrect said “If we want to be seen with you, we’ll turn our backs to you.?We need to attach ourselves to your fame…That way, we achieve our own sort of mini-fame. Technically Incorrect made other valiant points as well.
Remember the 2014 Oscars, when Ellen DeGeneres took the selfie with movie stars? That was one of the most shared moments in social media history. And that was actually a planned promo of a Samsung smartphone. But this picture was no accident, no promotion, no planned stunt. This was real life. This was a real example of what technology can do to us as human beings. I can see if the smartphones photos toward Hilary Clinton. But they weren’t. The crowd pointed the phone at themselves. I could maybe see a selfie of a person shaking hands with Mrs. Clinton. That would be a good selfie. But this? This defies any logic or dignity. Personally, I hope those young people are embarrassed to be seen in this selfie laced photo. I’d be embarrassed to be seen like this. I’ve been to public gatherings where famous people spoke and performed. I’ve taken pictures. But the pictures were of the celebrity, not of me admiring the celebrity! What is 2010s technology doing to us?
Did you order the new Apple iPhone 7 online? Do you plan to stand in line all night (and if so, why?!) at an Apple Store? Do you hope this all night adventure will get you an iPhone 7 without a reservation? You better listen up. Here is an Apple iPhone 7 supply update.
Apple already confirms this newest iPhone will be in short supply, especially for those who walk-in, or should I say file in, with no reservation. In a statement, Apple said iPhone 7 in jet black won’t be available for walk-ins. All iPhone 7 Plus models, no matter what color, are already sold out for the initial period. No Plus inventory will be available for immediate purchase. The jet black iPhone 7 is very hard to come by, even for Apple employees and staffs, and they usually have the first crack at new products. The jet black 7 plus gets good reviews all around. That’s the color and flavor most critics and tech journalists chose. So that explains a lot. But fear not, iPhone 7 customer walk-ins. However, iPhone 7 silver, gold, rose gold, and regular black will be available for walk-ins at your nearest Apple store. But even those will be in limited supply. Apple urges you to check for availability before going to the Apple store.
I would also like to advise if you’re not going to get the iPhone 7, don’t go to any Apple Store for the next few days. They’re going to be mad houses. Apple iPhone has something else going for them. Their rivals, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, has problems. Their phones are exploding, literally, so much that recalls are being ordered. Apple isn’t going to tell you this, but it doesn’t take a marketing degree to figure out this works in Apple’s favor. How many Samsung Galaxy Note customers will run into Apple iPhone’s arms? I’m the kind of person that waits for personal testimony, then maybe get the product. Will you be standing in line for the Apple iPhone 7?
As you remember, I wrote a review about the upcoming Apple iPhone 7. Unlike iPhone predecessors, the iPhone 7 won’t have a headphone jack for earphones of any kind. They’re not alone. Everywhere you go, new technology kills old jack.
The iPhone 7 isn’t the first to start this new technological trend. Moto was the first American smartphone without a headphone jack. The new and sleek Moto Z Droid comes without a jack. Smartphone companies in China are taking the headphone jack out of their smartphones. Let’s look at why they want to get rid of the historic headphone jack. One reason is the headphone jack is so historic. It’s been around since the mid-1960s.
The first radio to have one was the Sony EFM-117J. That radio was first released in 1964. Since then, it’s been a critical part of portable radio. In the 1970s, we used the jack on 8-tracks. For the ’80s and ’90s, it was the Walkman; in the ’90s and 2000s, it was the CD Discman, and now, the smartphone. In the eyes of many tech leaders, the jack is 1960s technology on 2010s devices. Plus, phones are getting thinner, thanks to public demand. These phones are getting too thin for the jack. The headphone jack is 3.5 millimeters thick, the thickest part of a smartphone today.
So why should we keep the headphone jack?
How are we going to listen to our music in our cubicle without distracting a colleague? I’m on a bus, plane, or train. How do I watch movies on my smart device without distracting the person next to me? Technology has an answer for that too. Wireless Bluetooth headphones sales are going up, up, and up. Apple has earbugs that plug into the the charging jack. Personally, earbugs are too small for my taste. I still like my older earphones. I guess I could plug them into a charging or USB-jack with an adapter. But that just sounds like too much hassle. But I am glad there are other options, like Bluetooth headphones. What alternatives would you recommend to replace the headphone jack?
Don’t be alarmed by that question. It may seem far fetched. It may seem ridiculous. But I read an article that has surprising statistics. Is the smartphone era over?
The smartphone era began in 2007. That year, Apple released the iPhone. That iPhone started a revolution. With more apps, sizes, and cooler functions, the demand for better smartphones increased. So did the supply. When the 2010s decade began, less than 100 million smartphones were shipped. By 2016, shipments are several times that high. So what’s the problem? Data suggests smartphone growth will be less than 2% in 2016. In 2015, that number was 10.4%. In hot markets, like the US, Canada, Japan and Western Europe, that number is expected to fall further. In ‘rising’ markets, like China, India, Russia and Brazil, numbers remain modest. But even there, there’s little sign of massive growth. It’s not that people are tired of their smartphones. Quite the opposite. People are so satisfied with their existing phones they don’t want to get new ones. That’s what hindering growth.
This means smartphone companies must work harder to entice consumers to upgrade. Smartwatches used to do the trick. But less smartwatches are dependent on smartphones. However, the VR movement could be what the smartphone needs. Virtual reality headsets depend on smartphones to even function. But is the smartphone era over? No, it’s not. That’s like calling the TV era over in the 1970s, when by this point, everyone had color television. By the decade’s end, cable TV and home video games emerged. Suddenly, everyone wanted a TV in their room, especially kids. That’s what kept TV sales going. So VR, watches, better apps, and other things will keep smartphone sales going. The smartphone isn’t going away anytime soon. They’re just coming up with ways to make it better. The iPhone’s 10th anniversary is soon. What will Apple come up with to mark the occasion?
