Samsung(NEW YORK) — Samsung is stepping up its urgent call for Galaxy Note7 owners to exchange phones as outrage grows over the company’s response to the dangers of its newest smartphone.
The South Korean tech giant is involved in an “exchange program” with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), but has yet to make an official recall after reports the lithium-ion batteries in certain Note7 devices had started fires.
“Samsung continues to ensure that consumer safety remains our top priority. We are asking users to power down their Galaxy Note7s and exchange them now.” said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, in a statement. “New Note7 replacement devices will be issued to exchange program participants upon completion of the CPSC process. In the interim, consumers can return their Note7 for another device.”
But is the “exchange program” enough?
New reports of problems with the Note7 continue to emerge. A 6-year-old Brooklyn boy was rushed to the hospital this weekend after his family said he was burned by the smartphone when it caught fire while he was watching a video. Joni Barwick of Marion, Illinois, said recently she woke up to her Note7 “exploding” on her nightstand.
According to Samsung Monday, the company believes it has a fix for the Note 7, and has rushed production of some phones. The CPSC said that it is moving into a stage of evaluating Samsung’s new battery for the smartphone and will be “independently evaluating the new battery to ensure the consumer will not be harmed.”
Former CPSC official Pamela Gilbert told ABC News what Samsung has done has been confusing for consumers.
“What Samsung did it is like the Wild, Wild West,” Gilbert said to ABC News. “We have left consumers in a situation where they are totally confused, they don’t know was there a recall, was there not a recall: ‘What am I supposed to do with my phone?'”
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