When Samsung Electronics introduced its sleek, high-end Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in August, one of its senior executives called it “the most intelligent smartphone that we have ever created.”

三星电子(Samsung Electronics)在八月推出光鲜亮丽的高端智能手机盖乐世Note 7(Galaxy Note 7)时，该公司的一名高管称它是“我们造出的最智能的智能手机”。

Today, that model — which the South Korean electronics giant was counting on to help it close the gap with Apple, its biggest rival — looks more like an expensive problem that will not go away.

这家韩国电子巨头本指望它能帮自己缩小与最大的竞争对手苹果(Apple)之间的差距。但现在，这款手机看上去更像是一个代价巨大、挥之不去的问题。

Samsung has temporarily halted production of the Galaxy Note 7, a person familiar with the decision said on Monday, amid reports that a number of the devices had caught fire. The decision comes just five weeks after Samsung said it would recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after reports of battery fires, suggesting that it has not been able to fix the problem.

一名熟悉相关决定的人士周一表示，在得到不少盖乐世Note 7着火的报告后，三星已经暂时停止生产这款手机。就在五周前，三星在得到电池着火的报告后表示将召回250万部盖乐世Note 7，停产的决定意味着它无法解决相关的问题。

On Tuesday, the company asked retailers and carriers to stop selling the phones until the problem was fixed, and said “consumers with either an original Galaxy Note 7 or replacement Galaxy Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device.”

周二，该公司请求零售商和运营商停止销售这款手机，直到问题得到解决，并表示“不管是原来的盖乐世Note 7还是换货后的盖乐世Note 7，用户均应关机并停止使用”。

Samsung had initially said that the problem was solved, after allowing consumers to trade in their phones for new ones. But production was halted after telecommunications companies in the United States and Australia said they would not offer the Galaxy Note 7 following reports of fires involving new phones in which the problem was supposedly fixed.

起初，三星允许消费者以旧换新，称问题已得到解决。但在号称已解决问题的新手机起火的报道出现后，美国和澳大利亚的电信公司表示将停售盖乐世Note 7，三星随即将其停产。

In a disclosure to the South Korean stock exchange on Monday, Samsung said it was “temporarily adjusting the Galaxy Note 7 production schedule in order to take further steps to ensure quality and safety matters.” It said it hoped to provide an update within a month.

在周一提交给韩国股票交易所的情况说明中，三星称自己“临时调整盖乐世Note 7的生产计划，以便采取进一步的措施，确保产品质量和安全”。该公司表示希望在一个月内能就此事的进展做出一个说明。

Samsung made the decision to halt production for consumer safety reasons and in cooperation with the authorities in the United States and China, according to the person familiar with the process.

据熟悉相关程序的前述人士表示，三星是出于消费者安全的考虑，配合美国和中国当局做出停产决定的。

The problems call into question Samsung’s campaign to catch up with Apple. While Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone company by market share, Apple has a strong hold on the expensive end of the market with the iPhone.

相关问题引发了对三星追赶苹果的行动的怀疑。尽管按照市场份额来衡量，三星是全球最大的智能手机公司，但苹果凭借iPhone牢牢控制着高价位市场。

Samsung is also grappling with problems on another front. Last week, a large American hedge fund, Elliott Management, called for the company to overhaul its structure, putting pressure on Samsung’s leaders to justify their actions.

三星在另一个领域也面临着问题。上周，美国大型对冲基金埃利奥特资本管理公司(Elliott Management)要求三星改革公司结构，这让三星的高层面临压力，要证明自己的行动的合理性。

Samsung had been regaining some ground in the high-end market recently with its latest Galaxy phones, which feature curved edges and offer a more premium feel than its budget phones. The Galaxy Note 7 — with its 5.7-inch screen and a price tag exceeding $800 for a phone not tied to a specific carrier — was supposed to add to that momentum.

近来，凭借最新的盖乐世系列手机，三星在高端市场重新获得了一席之地。盖乐世系列的边缘呈弧形，给人的感觉比该公司旗下的平价手机更高端。配备5.7英寸屏、裸机售价超过800美元的盖乐世Note 7本应增强这一势头。

When the company announced the recall last month, it identified “a battery cell issue” and said it had stopped using batteries from that supplier, which it did not identify by name. But the recurring problem led industry experts to wonder whether the problem went beyond sloppy production and resulted from a faulty battery or software design.

上月宣布召回时，三星确认是因为“一个电池问题”并表示已停止使用来自涉事供应商的电池，但三星未公布该供应商的名字。这个问题反复出现，导致行业专家怀疑该问题是否并非只是生产环节的马虎，而是电池或软件设计存在缺陷。

The Galaxy Note 7 boasted a higher-capacity battery to help its increasingly sophisticated features, like an iris scanner for added security. It also supported fast and wireless charging technologies.

为了支持越来越复杂的功能，如增强安全保护的虹膜扫描仪，盖乐世Note 7的电池容量更大。它还支持无线快充技术。

Samsung is by far South Korea’s largest and most profitable company, and its smartphones have been one of its main sources of revenue in recent years. The crisis threatens to undermine the brand name the company has taken decades to build.

三星是韩国迄今为止最大、最赚钱的公司。近年来，智能手机一直是它的主要收入来源之一。这场危机可能会破坏该公司用数十年时间建立起来的品牌。

Last week, Pak Yu-ak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities Company in Seoul, the capital, estimated that the initial recall was the big driver behind a nearly 40 percent drop in operating profit for Samsung’s IT and mobile device division in the third quarter compared with the second quarter, though he predicted a fourth-quarter rebound.

上周，在韩国首都首尔的建佑证券(Kiwoom Securities Company)分析师朴裕乐（Pak Yu-ak，音）估计，起初的召回是三星信息技术和移动设备部门第三季度营业利润环比下降近40%的重要原因，不过他预计第四季度会有回升。

But that was before major telecom companies began saying they would stop offering the Galaxy Note 7. Lee Se-cheol, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities in Seoul, said that if the sales of the Samsung model were to be suspended for the fourth quarter, it would cost $630 million in lost revenue, making the company more dependent on its semiconductor business for profit.

但这是在主要的电信公司开始表示将停售盖乐世Note 7之前。首尔NH投资证券公司分析师李世哲（Lee Se-cheol，音）表示，如果第四季度停止销售盖乐世Note 7，会带来6.3亿美元的收入损失，致使三星更加依赖半导体业务盈利。

Samsung initially won plaudits for the scale of its Sept. 2 recall, the largest ever in the smartphone industry. But the recall has been plagued with problems, including communications issues between Samsung executives and safety officials in the United States.

起初，三星因为9月2日宣布的召回的规模而赢得赞誉。这是智能手机行业迄今为止规模最大的召回。但召回出现了诸多问题，包括三星高管和美国安全官员之间的沟通问题。

Last week, a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States was evacuated after a Galaxy Note 7 began smoking inside the plane. The owner and his family told the news media that the phone was a replacement model. Samsung said it would investigate the incident.

上周，因为飞机上的一部盖乐世Note 7手机开始冒烟，西南航空(Southwest Airlines)一架航班上的乘客被疏散。冒烟手机的所有者及其家人对新闻媒体表示，手机是更换后的新机。三星表示将调查此事。

On Sunday, the American wireless carrier AT&T said it would stop selling or replacing Galaxy Note 7 smartphones because of reports of fires. Another major carrier, T-Mobile, also said it was temporarily halting sales and exchanges of new Galaxy Note 7s.

周日，美国无线运营商AT&T表示因为收到手机起火的报告，将停止销售或更换盖乐世Note 7智能手机。另一家主要的运营商T-Mobile也表示将暂停销售和更换盖乐世Note 7新机。

SK Telecom and other South Korean mobile carriers have not taken similar steps yet, saying that they were closely monitoring the situation.

SK电信(SK Telecom)和韩国其他移动运营商尚未采取类似的举措。它们表示正在密切关注相关情况。

Three of Australia’s biggest telecom companies — Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia — said they had stopped shipping Galaxy Note 7 phones to customers after reports that the replacement model had caught fire in the United States.

澳大利亚排名靠前的三家电信公司泰尔斯特拉(Telstra)、奥普图斯(Optus)和沃达丰澳大利亚(Vodafone Australia)表示，看到美国出现更换的新机着火的报道后，它们已停止向消费者提供盖乐世Note 7。

“We have asked Samsung to provide us with an update on their investigations as a matter of priority and will update our customers as soon as we learn more,” said Steve Carey, a spokesman at Telstra, Australia’s largest carrier. There have been no reported fires in the handsets sold in Australia, Mr. Carey said.

“我们首先要求三星向我们介绍调查的最新进展，一旦了解到更多情况，我们将告知消费者，”澳大利亚最大的运营商泰尔斯特拉的发言人史蒂夫•凯里(Steve Carey)说，并表示尚未收到澳大利亚境内售出的盖乐世Note 7着火的报告。