Competition is fierce in the smartphone industry and marketing wars are not uncommon but Samsung recently stooped to a new low by paying some students in Taiwan to post negative (and fake) reviews and comments on its rival HTC's One series of smartphones, even as the South Korean smartphone maker gets ready to launch Galaxy S4 smartphone in the U.S.
Even as both the companies get ready to duke out in the U.S. with their flagship smartphones - the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One - Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is currently investigating allegations that Samsung has allegedly paid students in Taiwan to post fake HTC One reviews and portray its rival's smartphone in negative light. Taiwan is HTC's home market
The reviews in question had one goal - downplay HTC One and heap praises on Samsung's line-up of smartphones, especially Galaxy S4.
The shady marketing practice came to light when a Taiwanese website published documents purportedly from a marketing firm hired by Samsung- the documents in question detailed the various posts the marketing firm had made on the forums of a number of tech sites.
In one such post, a user complained how his girlfriend's HTC One X phone constantly crashed and how Samsung Galaxy Note was superior to HTC Sensation XL handset. In another post, purportedly a review, a benchmark test praises how Samsung Galaxy S3 outperforms HTC One X in terms of graphics and battery life.
Fortunately, better sense prevailed over Samsung, which regretted its action and issued an apologetic statement.
"The recent incident was unfortunate, and occurred due to insufficient understanding of these fundamental principles (transparency and honesty)," Samsung Taiwan said in its Facebook page. "Samsung Electronics Taiwan (SET) has ceased all marketing activities that involve the posting of anonymous comments, and will ensure that all SET online marketing activities will be fully compliant with the company's Online Communications Credo."
Samsung went on to state that it will "continue to reinforce education and training for our employees to prevent any future recurrence."
The South Korean smartphone maker may be forced to pay a fine of up to NT$25 million (US$835,000) if the FTC in Taiwan concludes the company did involve itself in this shady marketing practice.
Per industry estimates, 10 million units of Samsung Galaxy S4 will be shipped in May, compared to 2 million units of HTC One.
