Lessons from Samsung

There's a lot to learn from the Samsung Note7 debacle.

Being absolutely sure something works as intended before you throw it out to the public is of paramount importance. If you screw this up, you end up with huge recalls which are incredibly damaging to all of the companies and shareholders involved -- and the customers who are negatively impacted.

This episode is also a sign of something else -- mobile phone companies are even MORE desperate now than they were before. They have made these phones as fast and efficient as they can -- before they start causing fires. They have gone beyond the limits of what can be safely improved in processing power and battery life. So, to sell the next models they need to come up with a new feature.

 I'm eager for our product to hit the public in a big way -- for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is because it will make Microvision's stock a lot more valuable. I want to watch people using it, I want to see people sharing their pictures with them.



Boston Globe -- A lot more at the source

Samsung Corp.’s decision on Tuesday to abandon its troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, after dozens exploded or caught fire, will cost the company billions of dollars. That may be the price Samsung has to pay to rescue its good name — and to keep competitors from undermining its position as the world’s largest seller of smartphones.
Willy Shih, a professor at the Harvard Business School, said that in trying to make the new phone thinner, lighter, and more powerful than the one before it, while retaining long battery life, Samsung pushed its technology too far.

“To me, it illustrates those trade-offs that designers and engineers make as we get closer and closer to the edge,” Shih said.