AT&T is set to carry the first of Samsung’s A Series of “premium feel” phones, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. The sleek-looking metal-bound smartphone is set to be available online and with AT&T retailers starting September 26.
We’ve covered the Galaxy Alpha recently, as it was launched just ahead of IFA 2014 at Berlin a few weeks back. The main argument for this phone is that it may be the first metal-bound smartphone that Samsung has produced in recent years. Our main complaint against it is its middling specs – but we guess that Samsung did not place it at the flagship level because then it would compete with the Galaxy S5. Honestly speaking, if the Galaxy Alpha had S5’s specs, it would be an altogether different proposition.
The phone sports a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 HD display, a step down from the 1080p screen of the Galaxy S5. It will carry the mainstream Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor – the international version carries an Exynos octa-core processor, and US consumers can rightly feel aggrieved at that. The phone comes with 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. The metal bindings have dictated that there will be no microSD expansion slot on this phone, and this will all be powered by a 1,860mAh battery.
AT&T customers will be able to get the Samsung Galaxy Alpha at USD$199.99 on a two year contract. The pricing will be USD$613.00 off contract. The phone’s metal design is novel enough that customers should still be able to enjoy the device, especially its 4K-capture camera. It also gets the Ultra Power Saving Mode feature launched with the Galaxy S5, so the phone can last at least 24 hours more at 10% of battery life with only call and text features activated.
SOURCE: AT&T
