When Mike had a problem with his lovely Ultrabook’s trackpad, there was no reason to fret: it was under warranty. He shipped it off to Samsung’s repair depot and waited for the return of his freshly repaired computer. He didn’t know that he was actually doing the opposite: that he was sending his notebook to Samsung’s top-secret anti-repair facility, where your devices somehow emerge more broken than they were in the first place. [More]
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Apple Lists Samsung Products It Wants Banned; Samsung Vows To Fight
By 8.28.12
As you probably heard, over the weekend, a jury found in favor of Apple in the computer company’s fight against Samsung over allegations that the latter willfully copied Apple’s iPad and iPhone designs to make its own products. Now, Apple has provided the judge with its list of eight Samsung products it says should no longer be sold in the U.S. [More]
No, Sears, That’s Okay, We Didn’t Really Need A Working Refrigerator
By 7.31.12
Kristina’s Sears misadventure began with an icemaker. She lives with her aunt, and the icemaker/water spout on the refrigerator started leaking. The aunt decided to replace the appliance, so they headed to Sears. There they found a lovely Samsung fridge marked down on clearance. Why was it on clearance? Oh, you see, another customer had ordered it, then changed their mind. But it was still a new appliance purchase from Sears’ point of view, and would be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. It was when the fridge was DOA that everything began to go horribly wrong. [More]
Apple Has To Post Note On Its Locker Saying Samsung Didn’t Copy Its Homework
By 7.18.12
As a result of a UK court’s ruling that Samsung hadn’t copied Apple’s designs of products like the iPad and iPhone, a judge is now ordering Apple to explain to everyone that said ruling exists. Apple shouldn’t be too upset, though. After all, that judge also said Apple’s designs were way cooler than Samsung’s. [More]
Samsung Provides Out-Of-Warranty TV Repair After I Express My Disappointment
By 7.10.12
When your TV conks out, there is that moment when you play the “When Did I Buy It?” game to try to figure out whether it is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. And when you realize it’s several months past the warranty date, that when you begin playing a different game: “Should I pay to fix it or just go to town on it with my old golf clubs?” Luckily for one Consumerist reader, he found a Samsung rep who understood his pain and decided to do something about it. [More]
Judge Says Samsung Tablet Can’t Possibly Be An iPad Rip-Off Because It’s Not Cool Enough
By 7.9.12
The good news for Samsung over in Britain is that a judge says the company’s three Galaxy tablets aren’t rip-offs of Apple’s iPad. The bad news is that they’re not copies because they’re just like, so uncool and couldn’t possibly be edgy enough to be mistaken for an iPad by anyone who knows anything about cool stuff. [More]
Apple Triumphs Over Samsung With Injunction Against Sale Of 10-Inch Galaxy Tab
By 6.27.12
Apple just scored a huge victory over Samsung and its 10-inch Galaxy Tab in a California Federal court. A judge ruled that Apple had made a “strong” claim that the Samsung tablet had copied its iPad design. This war has been waging since April of last year, when Apple sued Samsung, claiming the other company had ripped off its iPhone and iPad. [More]
With Sidekick G4, T-Mobile Casts Me Into Smartphone Replacement Purgatory
By 4.23.12
Sara really loved her HTC G1 from T-Mobile, and bought the similar-ish Samsung Sidekick 4G as a replacement when its years of loyal service ended. The new phone has not been so loyal. It locks up, won’t respond to the touchscreen, and periodically wipes its memory card for no clear reason. Sure, she could back up the memory card content elsewhere, but the non-operational phone is a real problem. Now she’s on her third replacement. T-Mobile is happy to send her a replacement, but she doesn’t want a fifth phone that will inevitably have the same problems. Sara, welcome to smartphone replacement purgatory! [More]
Maybe Your New TV Is Watching You
By 3.20.12
It’s the entire point, really. New smart TVs from Samsung boast video cameras with facial-recognition software and microphones with speech-recognition software. They can tell who’s in the room, understand spoken commands, and be controlled with gestures. That’s great news for those of us who can never find the remote, but made our friends over at HD Guru wonder: is there anyone behind that camera watching us back?
What Is This "Connected Appliance" Stuff All About Anyway?
By 1.12.12
While much of the buzz at any Consumer Electronics Show revolves around the sexier kids in school — TVs, computers, cell phones — there is a quiet rumble surrounding the impending release of a horde of “connected appliances,” which is a blanket term for fridges, washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves and ovens that communicate in some way with each other and maybe with the outside world. [More]
Photos: Behind The Scenes At CES 2012
By 1.10.12
In a few hours, the folks at the Consumer Electronics Show will fling open the doors to the Las Vegas Convention Center and a crowd the size of a small city will begin gawking and toying with the latest in doodads and whatsthats. But for the second year in a row, me and my trusty camera phone were able to convince someone I had a reason to be on the show floor so I could snap a handful of last-minute preparation pics before anyone caught on to my antics.
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Samsung Delighted To Announce Ads On Your Smart TV's Home Screen
By 1.9.12
Samsung was delighted to announce this morning at CES that they intend to place ads to the home screens of your fancy new Smart TVs. Does this annoy you? [More]
Verizon Blocks Google Wallet On Some New Smartphones
By 12.6.11
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus may run on Google’s Android OS, but that doesn’t mean Verizon Wireless is going to allow the device to run Google’s pay-by-phone app Google Wallet. [More]
European Cell Phone Regulators Worried About War Between Apple And Samsung
By 11.22.11
Look, Apple, Samsung — your fight over patents and intellectual property could affect all of Europe. Think about that, while you’re locked in battle over intellectual property rights! And now you’ve gone and upset EU regulators. [More]
Samsung Tries To Distance Itself From Worst Ad-Nominated TV Spot
By 10.6.11
Yesterday, we announced this year’s slate of nominees for the Worst Ad In America awards, and among the TV spots slugging it out for the title of Absolute Worst Ad is one that appears to be for the Samsung Infuse 4G… or so you might think. [More]
Apple Injunction Forces Samsung To Pull Tablet From Trade Show
By 9.5.11
Apple scored a hit against Samsung in their battle for tablet computer dominance after they won an injunction blocking sales of the new Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany. Samsung then had to remove the Galaxy Tab from a big electronics show. [More]
Verizon Tech Support: Make Your Smartphone Stupider So It'll Work
By 8.25.11
Last fall, David upgraded his Verizon Wireless phone to the Samsung Fascinate, That’s a decently powerful Android smartphone with a decent processor and the ability to run all sorts of online apps. You wouldn’t know that if you were David, though. Even his warranty replacement phone is appears to be having software problems that make it unusable unless he uses it just for phone calls and texts, disabling everything else. That’s what Verizon support has advised him to do. Because that’s what people buy Android smartphones for. [More]
Line Your Samsung Oven With Aluminum Foil, Void Your Warranty
By 8.22.11
Do you line your oven with foil? Rae does. She always has, and her parents always have. It’s such a normal thing to do with an oven, it didn’t occur to Rae not to do it. She lined her oven with foil, then popped a frozen pizza in there on the first night after it was delivered. The foil melted the interior oven surface, and now Samsung tells Rae and her husband that they’ve voided the warranty. [More]
