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After months of speculation and jokes, the Galaxy Note 7 FE
has finally had its abbreviation confirmed via a promotional poster now
on display in South Korea. The Galaxy Note Fan Edition is expected to
be announced in select countries on July 7, starting in South Korea. The name is fitting, as it will likely only be committed Note 7 fans that will want to pick one up.
Samsung has, as expected, recovered perfectly well from the global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 last year, and now has much more stringent safety testing procedures
in place. The choice to counter the massive expense – both financial
and environmental – of disposing of millions of Note 7s by retrofitting a
smaller battery and re-issuing the ill-fated device is contentious to
say the least.
Should a single Galaxy Note FE have battery issues, it will go
public in an instant and resurrect the whole specter of last year’s
fiasco, producing far worse PR returns than the company will make
financially by reselling refurbed devices. But, if no such incident
should occur, the company stands to reap the rewards of the
near-mythical status of the Note 7 as a rock star taken before its time.

With the Galaxy Note 8
launch less than two months away, this should not in any way be
understood as a real product launch, but more like a Sunday garage sale
to try to make a few (billion) pennies off some leftovers. Heartbroken
fans of the Note 7 will have their second chance at owning one, while
first-timers will have access to a discounted Galaxy Note experience
(hold-out Note 7 owners might even be able to flash Note FE firmware on
their phones).
But the discount might not be all that significant, with recent
rumors pegging the price at around $650-$700, even if the device is not
intended to be sold in North America. That price, which is not far off
the Note 7’s original retail price, is far too steep to make a
refurbished – and perceptually tainted – flagship from last year fly off
shelves. Would you want to pay $700 for a phone that will likely get
you grief every time you pull it out in public? Sure it’ll have the same
specs as the Note 7, barring the battery, but is that really worth $700
anymore?
Historically, the previous Note has been discounted heavily in
the build up to the new Note launch anyway, so a $700 price is utterly
unreasonable, both for what the Galaxy Note FE is and for what normal
Notes typically sell for at this time in its product life cycle. The
Galaxy Note FE will need to be priced much lower than that, likely
sub-$500, if it is to make all the refurb work worth it. If it’s any
more than that, the half a million Fan Editions may well just sit on
shelves while real Note fans wait out the Note 8 launch in August.
Let us know your thoughts: do you think Samsung should
have left well enough alone, or would you still be interested in picking
up a refurbed Note 7? At what price?
Link : androidauthority
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