Earlier today, with little fanfare, Samsung officially announced the long rumored Galaxy Alpha that will be released in over 150 countries next month. Even though sales will begin in September, Samsung announced the device in enough advance so as not to take anything away from one of their most popular devices, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. A Russian website was able to obtain a Galaxy Alpha and give us some real hands on observations, as well as a quick video (see below) of the device – although it is in Russian, the pictures in the video and gallery can be read in all languages.
The most watched and anticipated specification of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha was – plastic or metal…well let’s just say we got both. Rather than going full metal like the HTC One M8 or Apple, Samsung chose to use a rubberized plastic for the back – maybe not as nice looking as an all-metal back, but certainly more practical – with a nice surface to grip the device, allowing for a removable back and no interference with the radio signals. The reviewers say that it is primarily a slim body with a metal frame – at 6.7mm, it would rank as very slim design and with the metal frame and rubberized backing, it makes for an elegant look and feel. They believe that this model keeps the basic Samsung philosophy but quiets the critics of the plastic design.
Here are some key findings from the review: There is a subtle, but more pronounced grid pattern of the front that more closely matches the back – The dimple pattern on the back is less pronounced that the Galaxy S5, giving it a richer look, rather than the Band-Aid effect of the Galaxy S5 – Between the rubberized grip and thin stature of the device, it feels good in your hand and very secure grip is obtainable – Although it has a larger screen, it is not much larger than the current iPhone (see gallery) – The Galaxy Alpha is not IP67 certified, so there is no water resistance here – There is no microSD Card (very strange for Samsung) and internal memory is pegged at 32GB with only 25GB available for use – The Galaxy Alpha is Samsung’s first device to include a nano-SIM card – The display is bright with good viewing angles and with good visibility in the sunlight – The camera is “decent” with OIS – The battery, although small, did afford them 11 hours watching an HD Video.
Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know what you think of the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha – should Samsung have bothered coming out with it, or a better question might be, why did they come out with the Alpha…as always we would love to hear from you.
