This could possibly be a major blow to the South Korean giant, which was counting on the Galaxy Note 7 to maintain its strong mobile earnings momentum against Apple new iPhones expected to be unveiled next week.
Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday it will halt the sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and will prepare replacement devices for phones already sold after finding problems with the battery cell used.
Samsung, in a statement, said it will take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices for the phones already sold. It was not clear when new sales of the devices would begin.
Earlier, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's mobile recovery was under pressure on Thursday after it delayed shipments of its premium Galaxy Note 7 smartphone amid reports of exploding batteries, wiping almost $7 billion off its market value. Investors drove the stock to two-week lows after the global smartphone leader told Reuters that the shipments had been delayed for quality control testing, and that shipments to South Korea's top three mobile carriers had been halted.
Faults with the new flagship device could deal a major blow to the South Korean giant, which was counting on the Galaxy Note 7 to maintain its strong mobile earnings momentum against Apple Inc's new iPhones expected to be unveiled next week.
The South Korean firm said it had halted supply of the new phone to the top three South Korean carriers and that shipments were being delayed as it conducted additional quality testing. It did not elaborate on any problems it may have found with the gadget, which was launched in South Korea and other markets on Aug. 19.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported separately that Samsung Electronics had pushed back the launch of the Galaxy Note 7 in key European markets such as Britain and France. Shipments to the United States appear to have halted as well, Yonhap said, without citing a direct source.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "samsung, Galaxy Note 7, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy Note 7 catches fire, web exclusive, trending news, Samsung, Galaxy Note 7,")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}