South Korean electronics giant Samsung, has suffered one of the biggest and most expensive product scandals in recent history.
近日,韩国电子巨头三星遭受了一桩近些年来最大、损失最多的产品丑闻。
Its latest smartphone flagship, the Galaxy Note 7, rolled out to much *fanfare on Aug 2, but had to be recalled in several markets within mere weeks.
8月2日,三星最新的主打智能手机,盖乐世(Galaxy) Note 7 大张旗鼓地上市了。
Dozens of buyers around the world complained of severe overheating in the phone’s battery, causing fires and even explosions in some cases.
但就在几周后,三星却不得不召回部分市场上的这款新机。
The complaints led Samsung to announce a recall, offering replacement handsets with *upgraded batteries in the US, or software *patches in its home market of South Korea.
全球有数十名用户抱怨该款手机电池过热,有的甚至还引发了火灾,乃至爆炸。这些投诉报告令三星决定召回该手机,并为美国顾客更换配有升级版电池的同款手机;而在韩国的本土市场,官方则紧急发布了软件补丁。
In China, Samsung *assured consumers that Note 7 units sold in the country had a different battery supplier, and were therefore safe from overheating.
三星向消费者们保证,在中国出售的Note 7手机电池来源于不同的供应商,因而不存在电池过热的问题。
Despite some Chinese Note 7 owners reporting overheating, Samsung insisted all units sold in China were safe.
尽管也有一些中国的Note 7用户报告手机电池过热,但三星仍坚称所有在中国销售的产品是安全的。
However, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on Oct 11 that Samsung is to recall Galaxy Note 7 phones on the Chinese mainland.
然而,10月11日,中国国家质量监督检验检疫总局却宣布,三星将召回中国大陆地区的盖乐世Note 7手机。
Users may replace their recalled phones with other Samsung smartphones or get a full refund, the administration said.
总局称,用户可以免费更换其他款的三星智能手机,或是享受全额退款。
In the US, where supposedly safe replacements were issued, some exchanged phones continued to suffer from issues, with some units overheating and catching fire.
而在美国,尽管三星已发布了安全的更换版手机,但一些更换版手机依然出现了同样的过热自燃问题。
Samsung eventually announced a second recall and permanent discontinuation of the Note 7 model on Oct 11, offering full refunds or exchanges to alternative models.
10月11日,三星最终宣布二次召回Note 7 手机并永久停产该机型,并向消费者提供全额退款或免费更换其他机型。
Asides from the huge blow to its reputation globally – the effects of which are yet to be seen – investment bank Credit Suisse estimates that Samsung could lose as much as $17 billion (114 billion yuan) in revenue following this *fiasco.
除了在全球范围内信誉大大受损,这一事件所带来的影响目前尚未可知,瑞士信贷银行估计,在本次重挫后,三星总计损失可高达170亿美元(约1140亿人民币)。