More Smartphones from Samsung

Samsung has always had a huge array of mobile products, expanding especially in the last 2 years with the introduction of the galaxy note and galaxy tab, in addition to the Galaxy line, which are the most popular android phones on the market. However, the Korean electronics giant has introduced a new trend propagating across its platforms. Samsung has been introducing, along with its original products, related versions of the devices with minor variations. Enter the Galaxy S4 mini, active, and Google Play edition, which vary from the stock S4 in size, toughness, and android edition, respectively. While this seems quite enough, it seems Samsung is preparing to take this trend to its very limit.

We love choice, but...what?

According to Korean technology news site ETNews, Samsung is laying the groundwork to launch even more models than it currently does, by a factor of 4. The logic behind this is most likely to appeal to a greater percentage of consumers, who are meant to feel that there is a model out there that perfectly suits their needs. However, it takes the risk of inundating itself, because if said consumer begins to look for a new phone or tablet, they are barraged by the number of devices available.

The enigmatic Galaxy Note 3 is surrounded by rumors, including the number of models that will be available. However, when a site that collects Samsung User Agent Profiles turned up two UAPs from the company, we had a lead. The profiles, which are SM-N900T and SM-N900A, showed products with full HD displays, but no other information. There was no way to determine the difference between the products connected to the two codes. However, this does show that the product, whatever it is, runs by the code SM-N900. When a writer for Android Beat, Stefan Constantinescu, ran a query on the SM-N900 profile, he discovered a site that monitors and records imports and exports of India, where Samsung manufactures their products. Their database contained eight references to the SM-N900 code that were imported to India from South Korea, Samsung's head of operations. They were supposedly imported for R&D (research and development) purposes. They varied slightly from the two originals. They are:

• SM-N900
• SM-N900V
• SM-N900T
• SM-N900A
• SM-N900AI
• SM-N900P
• SM-N900R4
• SM-N900S

The long list of profiles leads to two possible conclusions:

1) Samsung is simply testing multiple prototypes of the devices

2) The Galaxy Note 3 has many different models, each code corresponds to a different one

Samsung Updates also suggested that the A, S, T, and V codes could stand for the major US carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, which could mean the Galaxy Note 3 would be carrier-specific, or even exclusive.

One problem for Samsung is that it is considered to be a high-end, high-priced manufacturer, and will most likely work to perpetuate that label. Unfortunately, this could cause them to actually lose audience as the market shifts toward low-cost, mid-range devices, regardless of their range of options. However, it's possible that one of the models could actually be designed as a low-cost model, with some features unavailable. Seeing Samsung's tendency toward high-end, high-cost phones and tablets like the Galaxy line, this is not likely.

With the Motorola X picking up speed in the tech world, one of the rumors concerning it- and one of the best proven- is that it will be completely customizable, down to the ability to choose a wooden backing over options of plastic, aluminum, and possibly others. This seems like a different approach to the same problem that Samsung is looking to solve-creating more choice for consumers. It will be interesting to see these two concepts perform alongside one another and compare their performance.

Samsung is taking a huge risk; if the device- the Galaxy Note 3, for example- fails, then all eight versions fail. Also, for developers, modifying their software to suit so many different devices may be a nightmare. Will the tech world want to take on the immense burden of Samsung, or have they finally gone too far?