Samsung has apologized to Chinese consumers after China’s state broadcaster singled the company out in a half-an-hour program late Monday, criticizing its Galaxy S and Note smartphones for crashing as many as 30 times a day.
In a statement on its Chinese website — translated by TNW — Samsung says: “We welcome the scrutiny by the media. As a result of management problems, we have brought inconveniences to consumers, and we offer our sincere apologies.”
The Korean company will be repairing the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 smartphones free of charge, and will refund those who have already paid to fix their devices. It will also offer a free replacement for the handsets that still cannot function properly even after being sent for repair twice.
Samsung is not the first foreign smartphone manufacturer to apologize to Chinese consumers. In April this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the way the company dealt with repair and warranty enquiries for the iPhone 4 and 4s.
Headline image via Chung Sung-Jun/ Getty Images
Grove Dock review: A beautiful, but expensive stand for your iPhone made from bamboo and solid steel
Investing in a decent smartphone or tablet dock is the first step to making sure that your desk, bedside or coffee table isn’t an unbearable, chaotic mess of devices, cables and chargers.
It’s possible to pick up a stand on the cheap, but usually they’re exactly that. Cheap. They tip over whenever you move another object, or dangle in the air whenever you lift your handset out of the dock.
HiRise is a popular option for iPhone and iPad owners, but it’s modern in design and can look out-of-place in a home with older, traditional furniture. If you’re interested in a more rustic aesthetic we recommend the Grove Dock , a stand and charging combo for the iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S and 5C.
Grove specializes in smartphone, tablet and laptop accessories constructed predominantly from wood. The Grove Dock continues that trend with a two-piece design consisting of a bamboo top and solid steel base, the latter of which is available in either white, silver or black.
It’s understated, but beautiful. I’ve had it sitting on my desk for a while now and whenever I need to reach for my iPhone, it still makes me stop for a moment and just admire the craftsmanship.
The bamboo is hand-sanded and it really shows in the quality of the upper shell. This isn’t faux-wood, or brittle to the point where it will break when you apply only the slightest bit of pressure. It’s quality stuff and built to last.
The Grove Dock requires a small amount of assembly; you’ll need to feed your charging cable through the bottom of the base plate and secure it with one of two locking keys offered in the box. It takes a few minutes and doesn’t require any tools, unlike the HiRise.
The stand weighs in at three pounds (1.3 kg), which is far heavier than most docking stations I’ve tried in the past. The ultra-dense construction, combined with four soft rubber bumpers on the bottom of the steel base means that you can always retrieve your iPhone with one hand; in all of my testing it never moved a millimeter on my desk. Not once.
That sturdiness means that you can really put your trust in the Grove Dock. When your alarm goes off or an incoming call flashes across the screen, you can lunge across the room and know that it’ll stay put on almost any surface.
The Grove Dock isn’t cheap though. This beautiful piece of kit will set you back $99, which is a lot of cash for an accessory that ultimately just makes your iPhone stand up nicely.
For comparison, the HiRise costs $34.99, so you’ll need to think hard about whether the Grove Dock’s rock-solid (or bamboo-solid?) construction is worth that extra investment. It’s a fantastic stand, there’s no doubt about it – but I fear that the asking price will be too high for most people.
➤ Grove Dock
Facebook abandons HTC First launch in the UK while it makes ‘a better Facebook Home experience’
The HTC First , the only smartphone to come pre-installed with Facebook Home, is no longer coming to the United Kingdom.
At least not right now, anyway.
The device was originally set to launch with local network operators EE and Orange this summer , but Facebook has reportedly decided to cancel all pre-orders and shipments until further notice, due to “customer feedback” following its availability in the United States.
“Following customer feedback, Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customization features to Facebook Home over the coming months,” a statement sent to Engadget by EE reads. “While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the United Kingdom, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision.”
It continues: “Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future.”
It’s a huge blow for Facebook Home . The service, which combines an interactive lockscreen experience with its new cross-platform Chat Heads messaging service, was met with a rather mixed reaction when it was unveiled earlier this year.
The service is available to a large number of Android users to install as a custom app launcher, but it doesn’t come with all of the functionality found on the HTC First . This is because the hardware was designed from the ground-up to take advantage of the software, thereby allowing Facebook to dive a little deeper into the Android operating system.
There have been rumors that the HTC First isn’t selling very well in the United States, but this hasn’t been confirmed with any concrete sales figures. Regardless, the statement from EE shows that at least in Facebook’s eyes, the dedicated smartphone isn’t ready to be sold to the British public.
“We’ve listened to feedback from users on their experience using Home. While many people love it, we’ve heard a lot of great feedback about how to make Home substantially better,” a spokesperson for Facebook told The Verge .
“As a result we’re focusing the next few months on adding customization features that address the feedback we received. While we focus on making Home better, we are going to limit supporting new devices and think it makes a lot of sense for EE and Orange to hold off deploying the HTC First in Europe.”
By putting the breaks on a wider release, Facebook will give itself some time to improve Facebook Home and fix any glaring problems. It’s a sensible move, given that it’s vital both HTC and Facebook make a good first impression with new users.