The local news outlets are having a field day covering the Samsung (out-of-warranty) “battery swelling” issue today. A quick search of 삼성 갤럭시 노트 배터리 (Samsung Galaxy Note battery) yields a ton of news stories. This is the third Samsung phone affected by battery swelling. Today, the Korean Consumer Agency announced that Samsung will replace Galaxy Note mobile phone batteries, free of charge. While the Note phones were made in 2011 and are now out of warranty, there’s no reason for a battery to fail so quickly- unless it has a quality defect. (Note: I still have a working iPad 1 and iPhone 3GS with good battery life more than four years after they launched.) They’ve pushed Samsung into admitting that the swelling of lithium-ion batteries in phones is not normal. Samsung Service had previously deceived people into think that this was a “natural phenomenon” of normal lithium-ion phone batteries nearing the end of their life cycle. They can’t use that excuse anymore. Continue reading →