Samsung Accused of Paying Developers for Promotion
Oops!
Back in April, Samsung found itself facing an investigation over questionable marketing techniques. Samsung's marketing department allegedly hired students to post negative comments about the HTC One on a number of tech and gadget websites that linked to favorable benchmark results for the HTC One. At the time, Samsung said that "future marketing work would be more in line with its company philosophy of transparency and honesty." Unfortunately, it seems one company working for Samsung never got the memo about transparency.
Samsung has said its ad agency is to blame for recent reports that it had been offering money to developers to promote the South Korean company. The Verge yesterday reported that developers on the Stack Overflow community had been offered money to promote Samsung's Smart App Challenge. According to the report, viral marketing company Fllu was contacting Stack Overflow community members and offering cash in exchange for mentions of the Samsung Smart App Challenge.
Though Fllu originally denied that Samsung was a client, the Verge was able to verify through email headers that the emails sent to Stack Overflow users came from the same source as its own communications with Fllu. Samsung has said Fllu's actions are "clearly against Samsung Electronics corporate policy," while Fllu now admits that it was working for Samsung. Samsung has reiterated its commitment to "engaging in transparent and honest communications with consumers."
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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flaxx I really dislike Samsung, and this makes me dislike them even more! Just blatantly dishonest and dishonourable.Reply -
stevejnb Reply11282700 said:I really dislike Samsung, and this makes me dislike them even more! Just blatantly dishonest and dishonourable.
You know, while I'm not personally a big fan of Samsung, I have to ask... What major tech companies DO you like for being honest and honourable? Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Sony, Nintendo, HP, and any other major one you can name - a google search and five minutes time will uncover stuff worse stuff than this.
So, curious - what companies DO you think are honest and honourable?
PS - Samsung's phones and tablets are overpriced and overrated. Good enough products, but they've taken a page out of Apple's book and think their name is worth something when they are slapping prices on their products which, in my experience, trade battery life for a few ounces of weight and being a bit thinner while loading basic Android with garbage that slows the OS down. I am not a Samsung fan, but "dishonest and honourable"? Please.. -
Christiaan Lourens I am probably the only person who doesn't really dislike any tech company unless their support staff are not helpful or friendly. That said I even like EA :PReply -
sykozis I dislike companies who's marketing departments are dishonest or have useless tech support staff. There are some companies that will market a product knowing full well that they are lying to consumers while counting the dollars they're collecting as a result of their lies. I won't name any of those companies as I'm sure we all know who they are. I do encourage friends and family to avoid their products where possible and ensure they know the facts in instances where the products simply can't be avoided.Reply -
hitman40 "Samsung's marketing department" first sentence of this article. That means this move mentioned in this article doesn't represent Samsung as a company. So why the fuss about Samsung being dishonest? Every company does something one way over another, it's a competition.Reply -
chibiwings I think what i saw on a forum the other day i,it is still related on this i think.., Where a benchmarking software favors Samsung product and produces better results if their hardware is detected. And there is a proof. where the name of Samsung phone is hard coded on the benchmarking software.Reply -
stanley780 Well at least they make great products. I own the s4 and a pro series ssd. I haven't had any issues with both and very happy with them. While this is dishonest it doesn't really affect me since they still produce fantastic products.Reply -
stanley780 Reply11283930 said:11283780 said:Well at least they make great products. I own the s4 and a pro series ssd. I haven't had any issues with both and very happy with them. While this is dishonest it doesn't really affect me since they still produce fantastic products.
The S4 is a great product? Only half the stated RAM is usable and the benchmarks were inflated....great product. Samsung is proving it can't beat the competition without cheating.
I'm sorry i haven't encountered any apps on the phone that need 1gb of ram, maybe when that happens I will root it and free up 1/2 a gb by getting rid of touchwiz. And who buys a phone based solely on benchmarks?
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BranFlake5 We're probably going to see more Samsung rumors, It became a hot topic and the focus is on them. We shouldn't shut them out, we should wait for their response and if these are in fact true, shame on not only Samsung, but all companies with similar practices.Reply