{"id":38903,"date":"2014-08-13T11:52:18","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T11:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=38903"},"modified":"2014-08-13T11:53:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T11:53:00","slug":"samsung-reveals-galaxy-alpha-metal-framed-smartphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/08\/samsung-reveals-galaxy-alpha-metal-framed-smartphone\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung reveals Galaxy Alpha metal-framed smartphone"},"content":{"rendered":"
Samsung has announced a new smartphone with a metal frame that is smaller and thinner than its flagship model.<\/p>\n
The South Korean company describes the Galaxy Alpha as representing a “new design approach”.<\/p>\n
The firm has previously been criticised for the plastic feel of its handsets at a time when other firms have opted to use materials marketed as having a “premium” feel.<\/p>\n
Samsung Electronics saw a 20% year-on-year drop in its last quarter’s profit.<\/p>\n
It blamed “slow global sales of smartphones”.<\/p>\n
The company recently lost its status as China’s bestselling smartphone-maker to Xiaomi, a local rival, according to the research group Canalys.<\/p>\n
Xiaomi’s latest handset, the Mi 4, also features a metal-framed build.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“This is a clear acknowledgement by Samsung that it needed to address some of the criticism that it faced on the Galaxy S5 and deliver a more premium feel,” Ben Wood, chief of research at the telecoms consultancy CCS Insight, told the BBC.<\/p>\n
“To actually make these devices in the kind of volumes that Samsung needs to deliver them across all its markets is a real challenge, so it’s quite remarkable that it’s been able to turn this product around so quickly.<\/p>\n
“The challenge will be marketing it without cannibalising sales of the S5.”<\/p>\n
‘Missed opportunity’<\/strong><\/p>\n The new handset has a 4.7in (11.9cm) screen, making it slightly smaller than the Galaxy S5.<\/p>\n Its camera also has a lower specification of 12 megapixels, but it benefits from being nearly a fifth slimmer, measuring 6.7mm (0.26in) deep, and is also lighter, weighing in at 114g (4oz).<\/p>\n Samsung\u00a0replaced the head\u00a0of its mobile design team in May, when Lee Min-hyouk took over the role from Chang Dong-hoon.<\/p>\n The move followed several reviews that had praised the Galaxy S5’s capabilities while criticising its feel.<\/p>\n Other manufacturers that had already shifted to offering part or full-metal bodied phones at the time included HTC, Huawei, Apple and Sony.<\/p>\n One expert, who tested the Galaxy Alpha before it was formally announced, has doubts about the new device.<\/p>\n “The back is still a plastic cover and it doesn’t do enough to compete with the look and feel of the HTC One, for instance,” said Francisco Jeronimo, a mobile devices analyst at the research firm IDC.<\/p>\n “This was an opportunity for Samsung, and it’s missed it again.<\/p>\n “Unless the Alpha is made very affordable and put in a mid-tier price band, it may have difficulty as the materials don’t feel as premium as some of its competitors.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Samsung said it would announce the device’s price and shipping date at a later stage.<\/p>\n The company is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 4, its latest large “phablet” handset, in Berlin on 3 September ahead of the start of the Ifa tech show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Samsung says a metal frame and curved corners give the Galaxy Alpha a “sophisticated” look. Samsung has announced a new smartphone with a metal frame that is smaller and thinner than its flagship model. The South Korean company describes the Galaxy Alpha as representing a “new design approach”. The firm has previously been criticised for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":38904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[18,715],"yoast_head":"\n