Samsung's highly-anticipated Galaxy S3 smartphone finally hit U.S. stores on Thursday through T-Mobile USA, increasing all the hype surrounding the device. Amid all the excitement, however, a new report casts a shadow on the safety of Samsung's new flagship smartphone.
On a Web forum called boards.ie, a Samsung Galaxy S3 owner based in Dublin said he had recently experienced a major issue with the device. Basically, the smartphone caught on fire. Forum user dillo2k10 said his HSPA+ Samsung Galaxy S3, purchased from UK retailer Carphone Warehouse, effectively caught alight while placed in an in-car holster.
"So I [was] driving along today with my Galaxy S3 in my car mount when suddenly a white flame sparks and a bang came out of the iPhone," wrote the user. "I pulled in to look at my phone, the phone burned from the inside out. Burned through the plastic and melted my case to my phone. The phone kept working but without any signal."
"The phone was destroyed and it slightly burned a piece of plastic on the inside of my car," added the user. The unlucky Galaxy S3 owner took the handset back to Carphone Warehouse, which further sent it to be investigated. The user was not given a replacement phone at the time.
Samsung acknowledged the incident on a blog post on Thursday. "There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY SIII that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device," Samsung wrote. "Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question."
In an update to the original post, the user said the Carphone Warehouse did not help, but Samsung dealt with the issue. "After receiving no help from the Carphone Warehouse, Samsung contacted me, the head of the customer services came out to see me and gave me a replacement phone," wrote dillo2k10. "Even said he would send me out free stuff."
As expected, the report about a Samsung Galaxy S3 catching fire raised serious concerns about the safety of the device and its heat-related issues. The same unlucky owner, however, tried to put some of those concerns to rest. "There is no confirmation that it was a fault with the phone," reads the user's update. "It may actually have been caused by a combination of my car mount and my cars heating system. Just delighted to have my Galaxy back."
Meanwhile, other Samsung Galaxy S3 owners are keeping their fingers crossed and hope this was an isolated incident. "I would like to know if my SIII also will burst into sudden flames, or if it was only that one," one user commented on Samsung's blog post. Following this incident, likely many owners face the same concerns. Samsung will be investigating the issue and provide more details on the situation once the investigation is complete. "We are committed to providing our customers with the safest products possible and are looking at this seriously," said the company.
