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Samsung prepping onslaught of midrange Galaxy phones for US carriers

Samsung prepping onslaught of midrange Galaxy phones for US carriers

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Samsung is working on a number of midrange Galaxy handsets at the request of US carriers.

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Samsung Jasper (@evleaks)
Samsung Jasper (@evleaks)

The Galaxy S III gets virtually all of the attention in Samsung's phone portfolio, and that makes it easy to forget that carriers — particularly American ones — continue to request seemingly dozens of bespoke devices that slot underneath. We've been tipped to a few that are in the pipeline, and here's a quick rundown:

  • Galaxy Admire 4G for MetroPCS. An upgrade to the Admire, the Admire 4G adds LTE support and more closely resembles the original Galaxy S (exactly the design Apple's trying to stop, in fact). Strangely, it's currently slated to get Android 2.3 — hopefully that changes by the time it's on shelves.
  • Galaxy Discover for TracFone. The ultra-budget prepaid carrier doesn't currently offer any branded smartphones, so the Galaxy Discover could end up being its first. It's slated to get Android 4.0, Bluetooth 3.0, "ample" internal storage, and external expansion up to 32GB. This one looks a bit like an original Galaxy S, too, but features three capacitive buttons along the bottom instead of the classic four.
  • Galaxy Stellar for Verizon. This is the phone that leaked last month as the "Jasper," a Droid Charge successor that keeps the original's unusual pointy chin. It's tapped to get a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2,100mAh battery, Android 4.0, and — of course — LTE.
  • Galaxy Stratosphere 2 for Verizon. Samsung doesn't seem to have any intention of pushing QWERTY sliders globally, but American carriers are clearly still asking for them — and that's where the Stratosphere 2 comes into play. The follow-on to last year's Stratosphere, this new model features global GSM roaming capability, SAFE approval to make IT departments happy, S Beam, and S Voice.
  • Galaxy Victory 4G LTE for Sprint. Leaked several weeks ago under model number SPH-L300, the unwieldy name underpins a phone that will likely slot in underneath the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S III in Sprint's portfolio: Android 4.0, LTE support, NFC, a 5-megapixel camera, and WVGA display are all rumored to be on tap.

We'd prefer simpler names that weren't likely dictated (at least in part) by the carriers that the devices are intended to reach — but when you're producing this many models, letters and numbers alone might not cut it.