It’s slim. It’s elegant. It’s the most premium smartphone Samsung has ever made. The Samsung GALAXY Alpha, as introduced at IFA 2014, Berlin. The new metal-framed stylish smartphone from Samsung is coming to Malaysia tomorrow, 19 September 2014. Here are a couple of things you can expect.
The GALAXY Alpha features a high-quality metal frame, and looks sleek and luxurious. Not words you’d usually use to describe Samsung mobile devices with. The new device is ultra-slim, measuring only 7mm thick and has unique corners that protect the chassis of the phone.
Samsung has continued to use a soft back cover that’s anti-slip.
In terms of hardware, the GALAXY Alpha boasts a brilliant 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display (312PPI). Surprisingly not a Full HD display so it’s more adequate than ground-breaking.
It borrows the heart rate and fingerprint scanners from the S5 and also packs a powerful Samsung Exynos 5430 octa-core processor (twin quad-core 1.3Ghz/1.8Ghz) with 2GB RAM. Should pack a punch in terms of overall performance.
The GALAXY Alpha is fitted with a 1,860mAh battery which is smaller than that of the S5 but should fare quite well due to the lower resolution display.
Unlike the S5, the GALAXY Alpha sports a 12MP rear-facing camera which features an always-on HDR mode.
The GALAXY Alpha supports LTE Cat 6 and will come with 32GB storage (non-expandable).
Pricing and availability
The Samsung GALAXY Alpha retails at RM1,899.00 (US$587). Available in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold and Sleek Silver.
Samsung offered a free Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch (worth RM899) for the first 100 customers who purchased the GALAXY Alpha on 19 September. It was made available at the Samsung Experience Store at The Gardens KL, Samsung Experience Store at Gurney Paragon, Penang and Maxis Centre at KLCC. The limited units were snapped up in no time.
The GALAXY Alpha also comes pre-loaded with the GALAXY Life app to bring consumers exclusive deals and promotions. An exciting deal being offered now is the complimentary 2 days 1 night stay at the Deluxe Safari Tent at Caravan Serai worth RM470. Redemption period starts from today till 30 December 2014 and only 200 places are available.
Initial thoughts
This isn’t a top-end flagship, but more like a premium, niche mid-ranger. It’s also Samsung’s new design direction (and I hope it stays and improves). Still worth a look if you appreciate good looks and a phone that fits in one hand.
[raw_html_snippet id=”google ad 300-250″]
