Handsets

Samsung Outs New Smartphone Naming Scheme

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If the recent slew of newly named Galaxy devices have left you confused, you’re not the only one. Samsung is looking to get a handle on its lineup by deploying a standardized naming scheme, one that seeks to duplicate the recognizability of the Galaxy S name. When one hears Galaxy S, they know it is referring to Samsung’s top-of-the-line flagship handset. Now the names Galaxy R, Galaxy W, Galaxy Y, and Galaxy M will be tied to varying tiers of handsets to create recognizable separations between devices. We have already seen the announcement of the Galaxy R, and it keeps in line with Samsung’s definition of this designator as a premium device.  Galaxy W will refer to “high-tier” phones, Galaxy M will designate “mid-tier,” and Galaxy Y will denote entry-level or “youth-minded” devices.

Rather than assigning a new name or number designation to each subsequent phone, the naming scheme used with the Galaxy S series will be duplicated. Where there was a Galaxy S II there will be a Galaxy R II, and so forth. Additional modifier will be used to identify specific features. “Plus” will be assigned to phones with small spec embellishments barring no other significant design changes, “Pro” will be used exclusively for handsets with QWERTY keyboards, and “LTE” will specify the presence of next-gen 4G radios.

Still, we doubt Samsung will be able to completely escape the naming issue. Multiple variants and carrier-specific versions for the US market will no doubt leave room for the application of more unique names given the region. Still, for global marketing purposes the new scheme should provide a bit of clarity.

[via UnwiredView]

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16 Comments

  1. M for magical? I smell another lawsuit from Apple.

    1. LOL!

      Why does Samsung keep doing this to themselves?!?!?! On 2nd thought….yea…keep fucking with Apple, they deserve it now. The possible Xoom lawsuit put me in hate-a-company mode…

    2. Seriously, they’re like asking for it. C’mon Sammy, you should know better.

    3. They use different ingredients though.
      The iPhone is made using a patented formula of grounded down unicorn horns and pixie dust.

      The Galaxy M will be made out regular composite metals with a few sprinkles of iphone dust purchased from the will it blend guy for that little sparkle of magic. And since it’s still manufactured by apple it’s not a patent violation.

  2. Something about Galaxy R3 Pro+ LTE doesn’t really roll off the tongue. Samsung’s problem isn’t that the naming is confused. It’s that the product lineup is confused.

    1. What? I kinda like the idea of owning a future Samsung Galaxy RiV Extreme Edition FX Pro+ 4.5G LTE-Advanced with Dolby Digital Sennheiser Enhanced Sound

      1. That is definitely my next phone.

      2. Damn. just the name of the phone will sell like hotcakes. Now we need seido to release the 58,000mAh battery pack for 4 hours of talk time.

  3. Good luck with that. When you start defining products by age groups (youth) it’s a death knell. Who above 13 will want to be seen with a Galaxy-Y? Everyone will want to look like the hotshot with the R. Not so smart a move…

    1. Agreed. If anything, they should keep it simple, E=Entry level, M=mid, and H=High end. The age groups is plain silly.

    2. you just gave the exact reason why it is a smart move. people will want the R which will, of course, cost more money

  4. Makes a lot of sense but the average consumer will not think that far into it.

  5. By the time they reach u.s. carriers they’ll all have idiotic names anyway
    .

  6. Now that they’ve sorted out this tremendously important naming issue, maybe they can focus on making some of these phones available in the US.

  7. This is a joke right?!?! (Checking time machine and calendar for possible April 1st space time continuum tear)

  8. Really just need to name them like cars.

    Samsung Within: Galaxy S II type R
    Samsung Attain: Galaxy S II type W
    etc etc etc

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