They are remaking the Prodigy. The new version is the Prodigy Everfeel. The difference is slight from the older version.

You'll be seeing different names now for certain because the lines just changed. Serta sold the iComfort Prodigy bed for almost 3 full years. Now they are updating the fabric and increasing gel density in their dual action memory foam. But you can still get the same mattress.

Hi Joe -- Rest assured, your frustration about this issue is shared by many! However, the blame for this issue actually resides more with the retailers than the manufacturers.

Retailers naturally don't want you to be able to compare their products to those at other retailers. So, they force the manufacturers to give them unique names (and covers) for the products they carry. What's more, the largest (most powerful) retailers even demand that their products be tweaked in some additional way (eg, adding a thin layer of extra foam). This way they can claim that their product is unlike anyone else's (note this before you put any stock in any "low price guarantees" you may see...).

While it's true that it's the manufacturers that allow this system to exist, many of them dislike this system as much as you do. Imagine being a brand manager trying to market a product that you can't even refer to by name (because there are so many names for it)! Likewise, have you ever wondered why so much mattress advertising is full of vague claims about better sleep or rejuvenation instead of focusing on specific features that make their products special? If so, consider the dilemma that many manufacturers face: how can they advertise some tangible feature(s) as the key to what makes their brand great, when their customers (the stores) are trying to convince you that their models from this brand are unique from what you see at other stores?

Net, as you (and many others) have pointed out, the system is certainly flawed. But in terms of answering the question of "why," you need look no further than the largest mattress retailers in your area. In this case, they are more likely the perpetrators than any manufacturer.