Back in August pre-orders of the Galaxy Note 7 were “outstanding” even with a hefty $1,049.99 no-term pricing. Many Canadian carriers were offering promos via Samsung – the most popular ones were the choice of a Samsung Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker or the Samsung Level Box Pro. These freebies had a street value of $250 CAD and many customers were wondering if those had to be returned with their Galaxy Note 7. Our source reached out to Samsung, and the answer is ‘No,’ none of the promotional gifts need to be returned. This decree even includes those customers that returned their Note 7s and did not purchase a Samsung smartphone as a replacement, but decided to buy another brand.
All users during the first recall were also entitled to a $25 credit to help cover the buyers’ inconvenience. We also learned earlier today that Samsung was offering a $100 credit on your bill if you returned your Note 7 to the dealer and purchased either a Samsung Galaxy S7 or a Galaxy S7 Edge. Samsung is also offering to reimburse you for your Note 7 accessories if you have a proper receipt. This outpouring of credits is all in an effort to keep valued customers, although 40-percent of Samsung customers claim they will not buy another Samsung smartphone, while almost one-third said they were switching to an iPhone. It is a shame because look how many Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones were sold this year with no problems. Samsung sells hundreds of millions of phone globally, and there has never been anything such as the Galaxy Note 7 issue.
There has also been talk that Samsung will ditch the ‘Note’ name or possibly even the device. The Galaxy Note series is unique among phablets, and no other manufacturer has been able to touch its design philosophy. Samsung and Wacom have developed a touchscreen and S Pen that are better than ever. Millions of Notes are sold each year, and many people would miss being able to take notes, draw out a design, or paint a beautiful picture. With Samsung’s track record with their other devices, they have to determine what design flaw caused this, fix it, and move on. Hopefully, this is not the end of the Note era.