Samsung launches new version of Galaxy Note that was prone to catch fire

The redesigned model goes on sale with 400,000 units and has a battery with a 3,200 mAh capacity

Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled the redesigned version of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, whose production and sale was stopped last year due to repeated incidents of handsets catching fire.

This new modified version, Galaxy Note FE (Fan Edition) goes on sale on Friday in South Korea, with a price tag of 699,600 won ($607), reports Efe news.

Samsung had to halt production and sales of Galaxy Note 7 (the first-ever withdrawal in the history of mobile phones) due to faulty fire-prone batteries.

The phablet's fiasco led to a net operating loss of almost 6.1 billion won for Samsung.

The redesigned Galaxy Note goes on sale with 400,000 units and has a battery with a 3,200 mAh capacity, less than the original model, which had 3,400 mAh.

One of the reasons the batteries caught fire was an attempt to make them very long-lasting while minimising their size.

The latest device, available in four colours (Black Onyx, Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium) includes software like the Bixby voice assistant, used in their latest S8 smartphone, apart from hardware updates such as an iris scanner.

It is not yet known when and how many units will be available for sale in other countries.