Love my Samsung refrigerator! And, my bedroom LCD TV and smartphone, too!
Obviously there is a snobbish, hidden, anti-Asian prejudice in McGowan's sentiments, as well as anti-big-corp. But, big corps can create whole new and significant technology if they want to and if they have the stomach for it. There would likely be no digital audio today without Sony and Philips. Some things take really big resources, not just smart new ideas.
I honestly do not see Samsung being that innovative based on their track record in other categories, but ever improving quality seems to be a major goal of theirs. And, it remains to be seen whether this just means they are going to step beyond TV sound bars into mid-fi AVRs and separate speakers for sale at Best Buy. Or, if it means they are going to swing for the fences to try to something really new, esoteric, exciting and different. Or, maybe they just want to be like Hyundai, which started as junk, but led to constantly improving their quality to now, where they can deliver a reasonably respectable chunk of what the premium brands, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc., deliver but at a much lower price. (I still prefer a Big 3 German car in terms of performance, especially handling/road worthiness, though, myself, after having also owned Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, etc.)
But, a lot of the reaction is about the hurt feelings of our poor, dear, maligned friends in the "high end" manufacturer fraternity and how threatened they feel. But, if this makes them step up their game, which it might or not under the best of circumstances for awhile, I am all for it.
