There is one debate in the smartphone world that often wages between consumers (at least those on online websites and forums): are removable batteries on smartphones a great feature, or are they given more importance than they deserve? Samsung has been consistently putting in removable batteries in their phones while other manufacturers have gone the Apple way to use inbuilt batteries that cannot be replaced by the user, and the Korean manufacturer recently showed off how useful a removable battery can be in what can only be deemed a brilliant marketing move.
The folks over at Pocketnow.com have published a nice story of how at a recent music festival in Chicago, Samsung was offering all Galaxy device owners a free battery replacement, all for a tweet that included a particular hashtag. What did the people get in exchange for a measly tweet? A fully recharged phone that they could use to continue taking pictures and videos and keep posting them on social networks, while folks using devices with built-in batteries probably had to go looking for a charging point.
Of course, not everyone visits such music festivals, but Samsung's marketing prowess clearly dictated how removable batteries have their merits in some situations. While we can't defend Samsung's choice of build materials, it seems manufacturers are taking the wrong approach towards making premium feeling and sleek devices, and that removable batteries are an endangered species.
Good move Samsung. Good move.
