SYNAPSE CIRCUIT SAMSUNG TALK 3 METAL GURU

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SAMSUNG TALK 3:
THEY’VE DONE IT!

Good evening, Synapse Circuit Readers. What’s happening? As always I hope all is well with you and that you are enjoying your tech amongst many things!

ALPHA & OH, MEGA
#Samsung #GalaxyAlpha #SamsungGalaxyNote4 #GalaxyAlpha #GalaxyS5LTE #GalaxyS5Prime #GalaxyTabS #SamsungUNPACKED2014Episode2 #Mega2 #GalaxyS6

GALAXY ALPHA
August 2014 with the Galaxy Note 4 to follow the much speculated Galaxy Alpha was released last week and without the usual Samsung fanfare. Oww! I guess Samsung are cutting back a little on publicity!

Oh my gosh! They’ve gone and done it! Samsung has produced a metallic handset in the Galaxy Alpha! Here are the specs:

GENERAL   

2G Network
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network 
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100

4G Network 
LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600

SIM                
Nano-SIM

Announced: 2014, August

Status: Exp. release 2014, September

BODY                      
Dimensions: 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm (5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 in)
Weight: 115 g (4.06 oz)

DISPLAY      
Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size: 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (312 ppi pixel density)

Fingerprint sensor (PayPal certified)
Multitouch: Yes
Protection: TBD

SOUND        
Alert types: Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm jack: Yes

MEMORY     
Card slot: No
Internal: 32 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
Speed: HSDPA, 42 Mbps, HSUPA; LTE-A, Cat6, 300 Mbps DL, 50 Mbps UL
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth: v4.0, A2DP, EDR, LE
NFC: Yes

USB  
microUSB v2.0

CAMERA      
Primary: 12 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features: Dual camera, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, panorama, HDR
Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps
Secondary: 2.1 MP

FEATURES 
OS: Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat)
Chipset: Exynos 5 Octa 5430
CPU: Quad-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU: Mali-T628 MP6
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, heart rate
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser: HTML5
Radio: No
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors: Charcoal Black, Sleek Silver, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Scuba Blue
ANT+ support
Dropbox (50 GB cloud storage)
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
SNS integration
MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player
Organizer
Photo/video editor
Document viewer
Voice memo/dial/commands
Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY              
Li-Ion 1860 mAh

All of the above makes for an interesting handset that I presume is aimed at the fashion / style conscious. The official video looks very much like an iPhone parody in that they seem to be serving those who think of themselves as elite. Oh well... The Galaxy Alpha will probably appeal! I think there is a market for this handset as not everyone is going for the OTT specs in premium handsets by the likes of LG, HTC and, of course, Samsung, etc. Not everyone likes those beautiful large screens; I know... ...it is hard to imagine that there are those that do not appreciate the ability to watch a video or surf the web on a handset such as the Galaxy Note 3 or G3 featuring 5.2 inch and above screens. I can see the Galaxy Alpha going down quite well; it is hard to speculate on numbers. Is it possible that the Galaxy Alpha is aimed at the forthcoming iPhone 6 4.7” handset? Considering details of the iPhone 6 haven’t been verified Samsung appears to be taking a brave step in anticipating a few small steps into the future.


GALAXY ALPHA DESIGN
I was quite surprised and relieved that Samsung kept the battery removable on the Galaxy Alpha; it’s one up on the iPhone as Apple has kept the battery in a firmly fixed non-removable position. The dimpled back looks very similar to that of the Galaxy S5 and I think it’s a good thing as it makes the phone easier to grip! I like the design; it is quite an achievement taking in how thin it is at 6.7mm! But I do think the design could have gone back to the Galaxy S3’s roundedness for the Galaxy Alpha as I believe the GS3 design was the one to break in the Galaxy S concept to the masses. However, it is apparent that Samsung has opted for a design that may appeal to migrating iPhone users.

If the Galaxy Alpha becomes a success I would imagine that it will be the start of a whole new design chapter for Samsung. Could the now imminent Galaxy S6 benefit from the Galaxy Alpha? It is said that the Galaxy Note 4 has some actual metal on it and I presume that this is the edge around it which has been plastic in previous models. I just hope the costs do not go up dramatically!

Going back to the Galaxy S6 for a moment... There is talk starting up regarding the possibility of it coming out earlier than the GS5 did to make up for the disappointing sales. So, we could see the Galaxy S6 coming out as early as March 2015. It is plausible as it looks as though Samsung has appeared to have scrapped the Galaxy S5 Prime model for Europe and other nations.

MEGA 2
It has been said that it is hoped that the Galaxy Note 4 will compensate for the disappointing Galaxy S5 sales but I think that the Galaxy S5 is a red herring. Why? Okay... Here’s the spec:

GENERAL   
2G Network   GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network 
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100

SIM    
Micro-SIM

Announced: Exp. announcement 2014, Q3

Status Rumored. Exp. release 2014, Q3

BODY           
Dimensions: TBA

Weight: TBA

DISPLAY      
Type: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size: 720 x 1280 pixels, 5.9 inches (249 ppi pixel density)

Multitouch: Yes

SOUND        
Alert types: Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm jack: Yes

MEMORY     
Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB
Internal: 8 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
Speed HSPA+
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth: v4.0, A2DP, LE
NFC: Yes

USB  
microUSB v2.0

CAMERA      
Primary: 12 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

Features:      
Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection
Video  1080p@30fps

Secondary: 4.7 MP, 1080p

FEATURES 
OS: Android OS, v4.4.3 (KitKat)
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz
GPU: Adreno 306
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser: HTML5
Radio: No
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors            White, Black
SNS integration
MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player
Organizer
Photo/video editor
Document viewer
Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
Voice memo/dial/commands
Predictive text input

Hmmm... The Mega 2 looks like a pretty decent handset that will appeal to those who enjoy the bigger screen without the full on features of the premium handset such as the Galaxy Note. The Mega 2 is a mid-range handset that is coming to the market soon – presumably some time after the Galaxy Note 4 launch. November perhaps? If the contract price is right I could be upgrading one of my smaller handsets when the contract runs out!

SAMSUNG LOSING GROUND?
You may be aware that Samsung’s profits have come into question recently as the groundbreaking consumer electronics manufacturer has missed targets. This comes as no surprise because the electronics market changes rapidly and I did point out that the Chinese market was emerging and that they are hungry for success and have something to prove. Here is the article: The Chinese Are Coming

The Chinese Android manufacturers are producing radical handsets in the Oppo Find 7; Xiaomi Mi4; and the Huawei Ascend P7 to name a few! Not only have the Chinese arrived in great style Google Motorola put out a few groundbreaking handsets in terms of price and one of them is the Moto G! The Moto G captured the low-end market in a big way and this factor has had an impact on the established manufacturers including Samsung. Look at the costs below for a low-end handset:

Motorola Moto G™ 8GB 4G
£149.95

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 3G
£179.95

Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 3G
£159.95

You may know that Google has sold Motorola to Chinese company Lenovo and as you can imagine there will be a number of handset coming from Lenovo with premium specs that could pose a challenge to Samsung and other established manufacturers. The Chinese manufacturers are able to manufacture premium handsets at a lower price to the consumer. It’s not long before they start to unleash handsets aimed at the lower-end of the market with a quad-core processor for just under £100 that will include 4G, 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage! This is the power of Android! I would imagine that Samsung and other established manufacturers have to rethink future offerings rapidly if they are going to continue to be competitive.

THE SLASHER
Now the question is: Will Samsung slash prices on its mid to low-end handsets? That magical time of year is fast approaching... Christmas! Perhaps Samsung will take the opportunity to make massive reductions in a bid to fill the Christmas demand! I don’t think Samsung wants a situation whereby these handsets will be left on the shelves past its sell by date.

Plus if you are in the market for a tablet for the children this year you will be in luck due to the fact that Samsung has put out more tablets than any other manufacturer and as a result older models will go on sale as early as November in the run up to Christmas. Oh, if you are planning on taking out a contract on a Samsung handset it could very well be that you may get a decent tablet to go with it as part of the deal! I am sure that Samsung’s fortune will turn around.

A THOUGHT
Could it be that the reason why the Galaxy S5 hasn’t done as well as expected is due to Samsung devotees looking at the Galaxy Note 4? I think the Galaxy Note 4 may have taken over the Galaxy S as the main flagship! Again, the Galaxy Note is becoming very, very popular on the streets of London. Both men and women have them; it is a joy to see women participating in the smartphone world by playing games, checking their social network accounts and watching video on what used to be thought of as a man’s handset! It is a significant development!

I don’t know about you but I have noticed that the Galaxy Note design makes an impact on the proceeding Galaxy S form. Am I the only one who thinks that the Galaxy S5 is very similar to the Galaxy Note 3? What could restore the Galaxy S is a design that differs from the Galaxy Note range. Imagine what would have happened if Samsung put out a design similar to the LG G3 for the Galaxy S5. And why didn’t Samsung anticipate the QHD screen and have one for the GS5? That’s not like Samsung... Hmmmm...

Something to think about...

THANKS FOR READING...
Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

STANDBY FOR REVIEWS AND COMPETITIONS!

Yes, I am well aware that the site is due an update soon! It’s coming...

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com