Samsung finally puts the Note 7 out of its misery

Samsung has discontinued production on the Note 7. The replacement units had a high number of reports that they were also bursting into flame. It might be a little early to do a post-mortem on the whole saga, but there are a few things we know.

It isn't totally clear if the problem is entirely a battery construction issue. There may be a software issue that contributes or is the real cause of the problem. Or, it could be a construction issue that is creating a physical short somehow.

One of the common themes in complaints was that the battery is not user replaceable. And as long as Samsung, and any other supplier, treats the volatile battery and the electronics as a single package they will probably get the same complaint. Everyone could see this whole problem being a non-issue just with a little design change.

Samsung's brand is tarnished, and that means more sales for other makers. The iPhone 7 has had a handful of hot phones, but since they were outselling the Note 7 by a great deal, it doesn't look like their problem is going to be outside the norm. The Google Pixel was released at about the right time so it may see a boost in sales, as well as LG. We may even see HTCand Huawei increase marketing to take advantage of the shift.

Samsung is also trying to make sure there are no Note 7s still out there by the time they are done. So if your local store does not replace the phone for you, make sure to keep calling Samsung until you find someone that understands the policy. To Samsung, they want everyone to wake up and realize it was all just a dream. There is even a rumor that the Note 8 won't have that number because it will remind everyone they are counting from 7. Look for the new Note to have a different badge.

It is said that it's easy to make fish stew but it's hard to make a fish. Samsung has a long road ahead to climb back into the driver's seat of the Android world.