The story doesn't end there however, because when I bought the camera, the salesman convinced me to buy a 3-year extended warranty. I discovered tonight that it already guaranteed by Samsung for 2 years and so I paid this extra cash for what turns out to be a 1 year extension on the warranty - a real con by the retailer.
Give him an earful, and get him to make it a 5 year warranty (2+3)
Digicams can munch through batteries in no time. Samsung do a NIMH AA rechargable.