Could There Be Four Different Galaxy Note IIIs???
Now this is an interesting rumour. Over the past while we’ve been hearing all sorts of different things about variations of the upcoming Galaxy Note III. Screen size has varied from 5.7″-6″+. The processor could be a Snapdragon 800 in some places or the Exynos 5 Octo-core in other places. And we’ve heard about differing screen types (LCD and AMOLED) in different regions. However, this latest rumour about variations is the strangest and most intriguing yet.
According to ETNews, a Korean website, Samsung will be launching four variations of the Galaxy Note III. Yes, it’s true Samsung has done the variation thing before (the Galaxy S4 comes in the original, which has two version already, ACTIVE, ZOOM, and MINI), but this is a little different. Those variants all had very distinguishable differences and focuses whereas these seem like very similar devices simply with swapped out parts. Here’s the breakdown:
Model 01: High quality materials, 13 megapixel camera, unbreakable AMOLED, limited edition.
Model 02: Plastic body, 13 megapixel camera, regular AMOLED.
Model 03: Plastic body, 13 megapixel camera, LCD.
Model 04: Plastic body, 8 megapixel camera, LCD.
Model 2 and 3 kind of make sense. If Samsung is having trouble producing enough AMOLED displays for the device, grabbing some LCDs to help fill the orders is a understandable move. Even model 1 kind of makes sense as this will likely cost a good deal more. However, I think having a “premium” version will ultimately lead to a negative backlash from consumers as they’ll undoubtedly wonder why their Note III isn’t as good despite the hundreds of dollars they’ll likely be paying for it. Model 4 makes the least sense to me. Is downgrading the camera really going to save them that much money? And again, is it worth the negative backlash that will likely follow?
While I love Samsung’s devices, they may be creating their own problems with moves such as this. I could easily see some die hard techies jumping off the Samsung ship in favour of HTC or Sony for their next phablet simply because their region is not getting model 1. This is a rumour so take it as such for now but it’s an interesting story nonetheless.
What do you guys think? Will this create too much confusion if Samsung goes ahead with this?