Why is Samsung releasing a device like the Galaxy Alpha?

A few hours ago, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Alpha, a device that has nothing ground-breaking but is something of a refined mix of the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S III. Its specs include a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 5430 octa-core processor (one of the fastest in the market), 2 GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Just like the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy Alpha has a heart rate sensor on the back, next to the camera, and a fingerprint scanner built into the home button.

Not so long ago, the Galaxy Alpha was known as the Galaxy F, with the F referring to ‘Fashion.’ Samsung used Galaxy F as an internal codename, and the device was never meant to be an improved version of the Galaxy S5, but rather a ‘Fashion’ version of the Galaxy S4/S III. This will probably make many of you question why Samsung didn’t improve an improved, so-called ‘Fashion’ variant of the Galaxy S5.

Well, the reason for this has to be that Samsung wants to stick with two flagship smartphones for each year in the form of the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note line. In marketing speak, these are strong brand names, which would make it a risky move to place a model between these popular products. As we all know by know, Samsung isn’t known for taking many risks – it instead plays it safe, so much so that the company’s profits have largely stagnated in the last two quarters.

There’s another question that may arise in your mind: if it’s not an improved version of the Galaxy S5, why is there a need to release a ‘Fashion’ version of the Galaxy S4?

Well, the answer to that lies in the form of Samsung’s main competitor: Apple. According to rumors, the iPhone 6 will have a larger screen (most likely 4.7-inch) than previous iPhones. Over the last few years, Samsung has benefited over Apple because of its large-screen devices, with the Galaxy Note line having helped them found the now standard phablet market. For many people switching from an iPhone to a Galaxy device, the main reason was the larger screen.

Now that the “larger screen” motif will become a non-reason for iPhone users to switch, Samsung has naturally had to come up with a better strategy. To compete with the upcoming iPhone, Samsung is throwing the pricing strategy on the tablet, which is similar to the start of the Galaxy S line, wherein Samsung was competing with the iPhone mainly on price (and also on state-of-the-art specifications, though price was the biggest factor.)

Of course, Samsung could also reduce the price of the Galaxy S5 to compete, but in the long term, it would harm the Galaxy S series as a flagship line, especially since the Galaxy S5 is still doing a great job in terms of sales in many markets, compared to Apple’s 4-inch iPhone options.

With the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung is not just competing on price, but the company is also trying to compete through the usage of premium materials. If they want to compete with the next iPhone and have a chance at beating it, Samsung needs to look beyond price. One of the strongest suites of the iPhone is still its premium finish and Apple’s use of quality materials. To counter this, Samsung has put an aluminium frame with chamfered edges on the Galaxy Alpha, something that we’ve seen on previous iPhones.

As I mentioned earlier, the Galaxy Alpha is not a ground-breaking device and offers nothing that we haven’t seen from competitors before. However, it has some refinements compared to other Galaxy smartphones that were released earlier this year (like an improved fingerprint scanner, more premium design, and more.)

The Galaxy Alpha won’t be released worldwide but will instead be exclusive to selected markets (with a launch in late August), and one of the biggest and most important reasons for its existence is to compete with Apple’s next iPhone.

What do you think? Is this the right strategy Samsung needs to take the fight to Apple once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Samsung GALAXY ALPHA – Official Video

Look no further. The next evolution of the Samsung GALAXY smartphone is here.

The new ultra-sleek Samsung GALAXY Alpha redefines smartphone design.

It’s slim at a mere 6.7mm, styled from metal and beautifully curved at its edges for durability.

Packed with flagship features such as an enhanced camera and a fingerprint scanner, it’s the perfect balance of form and function.

For more information click here

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha officially announced

The day that we had all been waiting for is finally here. Samsung today officially announced the Galaxy Alpha, its new metal touting smartphone that we have been consistently hearing about over the past few months. There have been countless rumors about its specifications and dozens of pictures leaked online but none looked better than the official press images that Samsung has released today.

As expected the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display, LTE-A support, 1860mAh battery, fingerprint sensor and more. Software features like the Ultra Power Saving Mode are also present, baked into Android 4.4.4. Despite its metal build the Galaxy Alpha is just 6.7mm thick and it weighs in at 115g.

The Galaxy Alpha will be released in five colors: black, white, gold, silver and blue. Samsung says that the new device will be released sequentially in more than 150 countries starting September 2014.

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Alleged and convincing first images of the Gear VR surface

A few weeks back, we brought you an exclusive first look at the Samsung Gear VR Manager – the app which would contain the instruction and settings regarding Samsung’s upcoming virtual reality device. Today it seems that the device has been photographed in its full, real-world glory.The Gear VR is being developed in tandem with Oculus VR and is scheduled to debut alongside the Galaxy Note 4 at Episode Two of Unpacked 2014. Should this turn out to be true, Samsung will command a very serious position as the first entrant into what is expected to be an industry with near-limitless potential.

Upon closer examination of all of the components captured within the image, we see that there are the goggles that strap onto one’s head, the phone (used as a screen), and a control pad. The phone here seems to be a Galaxy S5 but Oculus VR has been known to operate with the Galaxy Note 3, and given the side-by-side launch with the Galaxy Note 4, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect that to be the device implemented. (Continue after the break)

The goggles headset carries what appears to be a focus dial positioned on the top and has a detachable casing which is used to attach the phone. On the front, stage-right side of the goggles is a protruding USB 3.0 plug which is the point of connection with the phone. The other major piece to this puzzle shown here is the control pad. The pad appears to have some sort of handle extending from the front of it, but its not clear what that would be designed to accomplish. Aside from that, there are three toggles/d-pads featured along with a very dicey button scheme (pun intended).

The inclusion of this control pad is somewhat of an interesting development. In our previous discoveries, we went into a thorough explanation of how a responsive touchpad and button located on the side of the goggles themselves was going to be the method by which the user controlled the device and media. Now, unfortunately this new image does not allow us to see what this touchpad looks like, although it does seem that you can faintly make out its outline there on the stage-right side of the goggles. Given that we know of this touchpad/button layout from our comprehensive walk through of the Gear VR Manager, its safe to assume that its there, but nonetheless it does beg the question of what the separate control pad is designed to do. If games begin to be designed with this technology in mind, then a control pad will absolutely be utilized to further the experience.

The thought that production-level virtual reality could finally be around us as soon as three weeks from now is thrilling to say the least. As a global innovator, Samsung could offer a revolutionary value proposition to consumers with this kind of technology, only furthering its already high quality devices and extensive ecosystem. Getting excited about the Gear VR is absolutely encouraged; the reveal takes place September 3rd.

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Samsung gives the Galaxy Grand 2 a golden paint job

Samsung has been pretty consistent with releasing gold colored versions of its flagships phones in recent months, and now the Korean manufacturer looks to be turning its attention towards its mid-range devices. A gold variant of the Galaxy Grand 2 has been spotted on Samsung India’s website, giving future buyers of one of the company’s best-selling phones another color to choose from. Unfortunately, if you’re looking to this one up, you might have to wait a little as the phone is listed as out of stock for now, though that will likely change in the near future.

As expected, the change in color hasn’t resulted in a change of specs. You still get a 5.25-inch 720p display, 1.2 GHz dua-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5 GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 8 GB of internal storage and a microSD slot, a 2,100 mAh battery, dual SIM slots, and Android 4.3, with an update to Android 4.4 KitKat already out. Sadly, the meager specs are still carrying a high price tag of around $340 (Rs. 20,900), at least in India, so the new color hasn’t changed the fact that the Galaxy Grand 2 remains a poor choice among a sea of newer budget handsets from other manufacturers, like the Moto G.

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Samsung to focus on low-end Tizen phones, ditch Samsung Z?

Samsung’s smartwatches might be chugging along nicely on Tizen, but the company has failed miserably at bringing a smartphone powered by its in-house OS to market. The Samsung Z was recently announced as the first commercial Tizen phone, but its launch was delayed and the phone is still stuck in limbo. Now, sources talking to TizenExperts suggest that Samsung might be looking at ditching all plans to launch the high-end Samsung Z, and focusing on budget phones running Tizen in order to challenge companies like China’s Xiaomi (which recently overtook Samsung as the number one smartphone maker in its home country.)

Focusing on low-end phones sounds like a good strategy for Samsung. Its Android phones are ill-suited for budget devices thanks to the heavy nature of Samsung’s software, so instead of wasting time racing to the bottom with Android, it would be a good move to use Tizen to capture the burgeoning budget smartphone market instead, especially since Tizen is designed to run on devices with as low as 256 MB of RAM. Developers will probably not like the new direction as users of low-end devices are less inclined to spend money on apps and services, but it would give Samsung a nice chance to give Tizen the boost it so desparately needs in the highly competitive smartphone market.

What do you think about this supposed change in strategy for Tizen? Do you think the move to focus on low-end devices is the right one to make, or do you think Samsung should launch Tizen devices in all segments to offer the same choice it has with its Android phones?

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Samsung moves closer to Apple in US smartphone market share

Samsung might be having a hard time in markets like India and China due to its lack of a solid strategy for the burgeoning budget smartphone segment, but over in the U.S., the Korean manufacturer managed to strengthen its foothold in the second quarter of 2014. According to the latest comScore survey, Samsung’s smartphone market share rose to 28.6 percent, a 1.6 percent rise from Q1 that has brought the company closer to Apple’s share of 42.1 percent. Apple also managed a 0.7 percent growth in the same period, while LG, Motorola and HTC saw their market share erode slightly as they hung on to the third, fourth and fifth positions.

Samsung’s increased market share can mainly be attributed to the launch of the Galaxy S5, which released on all major carriers in the U.S. as has been the tradition for all of the company’s flagships in recent years, and the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 will no doubt provide further growth. As far as operating systems are concerned, Android continued to lead with 51.9 percent share at the end of June, followed by Apple at 42.1 percent. Windows Phone, Symbian and BlackBerry brought up the rear, with 3.4, 2.4 and a (measly) 0.1 percent share respectively.

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