Understanding Samsung Android Phones Naming Scheme: Galaxy S, R, W, M, Y

Just a few weeks back Samsung had announced that it was getting a bit tired of trying to think up catchy new names for all of its phones and instead was going to be reverting back to the habit of using a combination of letters and numbers.
This practice was standard procedure just a few years back and is a tradition that is only really still employed by Nokia. But surely thinking up new names can’t be that difficult?
The recent unveiling of several new Android phones from Samsung go some way to explaining why they are making this change, as it appears that they plan to release a large volume of new models from now on.

S is flagship, R for Royal

At the top of the Galaxy range will be the S series. This is the flagship device and the current flagship, the Galaxy S2, is currently enjoying enormous success across the globe. Just below this is the R series, which is short for Royal. In many respects this is not a whole lot different to the S series, although there are a few minor changes. For one, the first Galaxy R does not come with a Super AMOLED Plus screen like the S2, and instead uses a Super LCD screen. The difference is not really noticeable unless the two phones are placed side by side, although it will result in a significant reduction in cost.

W for Wonder, M for Midrange, Y for Youthful

Although not quite as spectacular as the R or S series, the Galaxy W range is still classed as a fairly high end set of devices. The W stands for Wonder, and the new Galaxy W certainly does offer a pretty impressive set of features. It is not dual core like those handsets above it, but it is certainly no feeble smartphone. Just below the W range is the M range, with M being short for Midrange. At the bottom of the hierarchy is the Y range, supposedly aimed at the Youthful phone user but also with plenty to offer to older customers too.

Pro and Plus

Phones can also be suffixed with either a “Pro” or a “Plus”, the former signifying a physical keyboard and the latter being a slight upgrade of an earlier model. Samsung is launching a few Pro models with its first new batch of Galaxy phones, in the form of the Galaxy M Pro and the Galaxy W Pro.
These two devices do not come with slide-out keyboards as you would imagine with an Android device but instead come with compact BlackBerry style keyboards that are becoming increasingly popular due to the extensive use of social networks and instant messaging services.
In terms of software all the phones are fairly similar, a combination of Android and TouchWiz offering excellent entertainment and messaging features, and the main differences between them being with the hardware.
Samsung is quickly becoming the most solid producer of Android phones, and the biggest threat to Apple’s popularity. The success of the Galaxy S2, which has sold over 5 million units in the space of just a few months, is no doubt a large part of the reason that Samsung is seeking to extend the Galaxy range to other sections of the phone market. With models that cover the whole spectrum of phone users it seems that finally there is a Galaxy phone for everyone. There are the high powered S, R and W phones as well as highly capable midrange M phones and also more affordable Y phones – all of which offer a superb Android Gingerbread experience.