- Title: Samsung seeks to bury fiery past with Galaxy Note 8 launch
- Date: 23rd August 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 23, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN LINE SIGN READING "BIGGER THINGS" WIDE VIEW OF SAMSUNG NOTE 8 EVENT SPACE NOTE 8 DEVICES ON DISPLAY NOTE 8 DEVICE POSTER OF PHONE
- Embargoed: 6th September 2017 21:48
- Keywords: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone phablet
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0016VDPE31
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd set out to wipe the slate clean in New York on Wednesday (August 23) with the new Galaxy Note 8 phablet, hoping features like dual rear cameras and its biggest-ever screen will extinguish memories of its fire-prone predecessor.
The world's largest smartphone maker by market share debuted the phone-cum-tablet as it gears up to compete for pre-holiday season sales with a widely expected 10th anniversary iPhone from U.S. rival Apple Inc.
The unveiling came five months after the release of the Galaxy S8 smartphone. Analysts said brisk sales of that device indicate recovery in Samsung's standing after battery fires prompted the October withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 just two months into sales at an opportunity cost of $5.48 billion.
"I think it's going to do very well in the marketplace," Jack Gold, tech analyst for J. Gold & Associates said.
Safety concerns briefly cost Samsung its number one rank, according to researcher Counterpoint. It has since regained ground, with Strategy Analytics putting its second-quarter market share at 22 percent, more than Apple and China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd combined.
The Note 8 will be sold starting Sept. 15, Samsung said, without elaborating on place or price. Verizon, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, said it will begin taking pre-orders on Thursday for the phone that has a retail price of $960.
Samsung's Note series usually sport bigger screens than the S series and come with a removable stylus. The trademark curved screen of the latest incarnation measures 6.3 inches corner to corner, just 0.1 inch bigger than the S8+.
The South Korean company has been a main driver of growth in handsets with 6 inch-plus screens, a category Strategy Analytics expects to grow 10 times faster than the overall market next year.
Samsung has also installed dual rear cameras on a handset for the first time, which promises improved photographic control and picture quality.
Other features include security technology, such as facial recognition and fingerprint and iris scanning, and artificial intelligence in the form of Samsung's Bixby voice-command assistant.
Samsung also took a jab at Apple at the launch event, mentioning its new phone will have a standard headphone jack, unlike the iPhone 7 which has a single jack, a feature that has been criticized by some users. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
