back to article Samsung snafu grounds blue Galaxy S III

Samsung confirmed the Galaxy S III Pebble Blue version has been delayed as it has to meet the "highest internal quality standards", although factory-line sources claim a company blunder is to blame. While the Samsung Galaxy S III launched today across the globe, only the white version of the handset will be available, with the …


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  1. Silverburn

    Designed for humans?

    Designed BY humans too, by the sounds of things.

    Though quite how they managed to churn through a million $$$ worth of units before noticing the problem is interesting. No QA? No preprod unit testing? Hmmm.

    1. jai

      that lack of preprod testing doesn't bode well for future issues with the phone.

      probably best to wait a few months before getting one

      1. Anonymous Coward


        Didn't do the iPhone 4 any harm, and that didn't even work properly as a phone!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I didn't know cheap plastic was so hard to manufacture, and that blue paint was in short supply.

      To be honest I think the white and blue colours are both a bit GIRLY!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yet another metric / imperial mismatch

    Screen size specified in cm, case build in inches. It just shows how fast phone sizes are increasing that nobody at the factory considered a 12" phone unusual.

    1. Jedit
      Paris Hilton

      "... nobody at the factory considered a 12" phone unusual"

      Do I not recall Samsung releasing one of their early tablets with a phone built into it?

      (Paris ... though admittedly, more because of the question mark than the unusual 12 inches.)

  3. jai

    newly invented colour?

    this is a brand new colour blue? it doesn't exist on Pantone's charts?

    1. Steven Raith

      Re: newly invented colour?

      It's a hooloovoo, and clearly it took exception to it's new surroundings and made a mess of it.

      Steven R

      1. Oliver Mayes

        @Steven R

        Made in France?

  4. cs94njw

    Grrr and double grrr :(

  5. The New Turtle

    "Well done, Sammy. Designed for humans, inspired by nature… built for different dimensions. Oopsy daisy."

    You know the phrase - to err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer (aided design).

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well that's just great

    I preordered the S III. You can guess which color. Not a *happy camper* right now.

    1. cs94njw

      Re: Well that's just great

      It's punishment for deviating from iPhone fanboiness :(

    2. Richard Taylor 2 Silver badge


      you simply ordered one......

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So how long....

    ... before Apple sue for this blatant copying?

    After all they pioneered being able to announce a phone in more than one colour and then failing to deliver all but one of them...

  8. Geoff Campbell

    Can I just say....


    Just spoken to Carphone Warehouse, with whom I have had an order in for a blue S3 for nearly a month now. They have no date for delivery, but should have some further information by the end of the day.

    I think if there is a significant delay, I'll cancel the order and shop around in a few weeks, the price is bound to have dropped a bit. I certainly won't be having a white one, thanks everso.


    1. Richard Taylor 2 Silver badge

      Oh dear

      It can't be that important (after all you are not being required to queue outside a certain store to show your allegiance to the cause)?

      1. ZillaOfManilla

        Re: Oh dear

        Westfield Stratford had a queue today at 18:00. Made me laugh after seening the barista queueing for a phone pi$$ take advert Samsung do for the Galaxy Note.

        1. Doogie1

          Re: Oh dear

          With 3 million advanced orders, I think we're witnessing the birth of the Samboi!

    2. Richard Taylor 2 Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      Oh dear


    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Can I just say....

      Cool story, bro.

    4. Return To Sender

      Re: Can I just say....

      Mine on pre-order with CPW too. Yes, blue. In this case, however, I won't be cancelling the order as I managed to get the 'pre order now and get a free Galaxy Tab 10' offer. I have no idea what tablets are actually useful for, but I figure it's a free chance to find out, or failing that a reasonable number of Her Majesty's beer tokens on eBay...

      Chappie on the end of the 'phone says that unofficially Samsung are estimating a week; the 2-3 weeks is 'expectation management'. So I'm guessing about 5 weeks, which is probably long enough to iron out a few more bugs from their ICS implementation.

      The real bugger for me was that as this has to be a new contract, not an upgrade (the N900's overdue), I can't easily keep my current number if I stay on the same network. What I'll have to do is get a cheap / free PayG SIM on another network, PAC my number to that, once that's working PAC the number back to the original network and finally cancel the original contract. Go figure...

  9. g e


    I don't want a white one.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bugger

      Why not? It goes well with your Google badge card.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not too unusual

    I worked for a company which was building the PCB's for the original Nokia communicator, no-one noticed that the CAD files were inverted and the boards we shipped were mirror images of what the customer asked for....

    Same company also did the PCB's for the airbags in Ford Mondeos once upon a time, I refused to get in one just in case :-)

    1. fridaynightsmoke

      Re: Not too unusual

      Very true, PCBs that designed or manufactured back to front are not uncommon... I think I saw one that was somehow manufactured inside out once :)

      Always check your Gerbers carefully, kids.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "sources close to the manufacturing process"

    And friendly with Samsung's competitors?? More information on the source to show no bias please!!

    Samsung fail to deliver on time - their bad and annoys customers

    Spin that the delay is due to design incompetence - competitors pushing out information to try and show that Samsung can't do design and that they should ignore any phone that they make

  12. cs94njw
    Thumb Down

    Just got a text from Three:

    "Due to a stock issue at Samsung with the blue Galaxy SIII, we're unable to deliver on your original delivery date. We'll send you a text in the next few days to confirm a new date."

    1. djack

      I got that text too, mere seconds after reading the article

      1. CraigW

        I didn't yet, but probably because they f*cked up my order yet again.

    2. cs94njw

      Grrrr.... I didn't want to have to use my HTC Desire tomorrow :(

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I must be lucky, just had a call with three and mine is arriving tomorrow... well it SHOULD be arriving, lets see if it does!

  13. Bodestone

    But.. Just 2 colours?

    OK, I'll not be leaving my Note any time soon but I would have to forgo what looks like an awesome phone because they don't offer it in black/dark grey.

    I don't believe any phone/techy gadget should ever be white. it's a terrible colour that should be confined to fridges and washing machines.

    1. Horridbloke
      Paris Hilton

      Re: But.. Just 2 colours?

      Don't worry, the SII is now available in a range of revolting colours so this one eventually will be as well.

      Paris, because somebody must have bought a pink SII.

  14. Alan Brown Silver badge

    revolting colours are easy

    Just add suitable soft cover,


    (My (uncased) S2 survived a 3 metre drop onto concrete with only a tiny mark to show for it.. the things are TOUGH!)

  15. thomas k.


    Thank the Maker it's just a phone and not an interplanetary probe!

  16. Mike Moyle Silver badge

    "... a newly invented blue colour and special hyperglaze material"

    So bow Samsung is copying Apple's overblown marketing verbiage, too?

  17. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge

    This is the

    engineering world I inhabit

    The land of super whizzy robots and computer powered machines able to pump out 10 000 widgets a minute.

    Until the customer calls and says "which issue drawing do you have?"

    In which case 1 of 2 things happen, either the scrap man is very happy and we have to work 24/7 to get the part delivery back on schedule.. or re-machine the already made bits to the new issue and have to work 48/14 to keep both operations up to speed.

  18. Doogie1
    Thumb Down

    Maybe they should have got a Barista to design it!

  19. Niall

    @Jedit "one of their early tablets with a phone built into it"


    I have their Galaxy Tab 7.7, and actually it can be used as a phone. I was in Dublin airport with an Irish 3G SIM, wanted to make a phone call but my HTC phone took micro-SIM. Was seriously tempted to use the tablet for a phone call. Fearing the ridicule, paid roaming charges!

    Not sure why they actually put an earpiece in it.

  20. Stefing

    Apparently (!) 600,000 cases had to be binned, with pre-orders of over 9 million - and assuming half are for blue - that's still a hell of a lot of production and distribution to sort out in short order.

    But at least they're not distributing a phone that they know to be flawed and then claiming that we're holding it wrong.

  21. Lance 3

    How could it be a dimensions issue. Why would the dimensions be different for the blue over the white? Shouldn't the CAD files be the same for either color?

    1. Fireplug

      The battery covers, at least, are slightly different from blue to white. The white cover isn't textured like the blue. There may well be other slight differences.

  22. spegru

    CAD Fail? Missed opportunity

    for a Derek Jacobi - style herbalist monk explanation

  23. Pantagoon

    I have invented the 'Jobsian Number'...

    This is a measure of the intelligence of forum posters.

    You calculate it by looking at the first 20 comments and counting how many of them mention Apple, their products or Steve Jobs etc. Both praising and slagging off are counted but please note: Jobsian Numbers can only be applied to NON Apple related articles.

    I have limited the count to the first 20 as I don't have the patience to read any more comments when they are littered by people thinking they are being funny / controversial / edgy / trolls.

    This article has a Jobsian Number of 3. I don't know how it compares with other stories but have a feeling that it is on the low side.

    And yes, I had a bad nights sleep and feel very grumpy.

    1. frank ly

      Re: I have invented the 'Jobsian Number'...

      Have you ever considered doing something with your life? (If you get any ideas, please share them with me).

      1. Pantagoon


        Holy shit, no way. That would require me to get off my fat arse and stop reading The Reg.

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