No such thing as a free Note8 Samsung Electronics has donated some 4,000 Galaxy Note8 phones for athletes and officials of the International Olympic Committee so that they can share their memories of the Winter Olympics with the world. But the Games’ organizer is in limbo about whether to pass on the sponsor’s item to the 22 athletes from North Korea — giving a device that costs at least $1,000 could violate global sanctions designed to punish their government’s nuclear ambitions.