Samsung To Discontinue Galaxy Alpha For Cheaper Galaxy A5

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Samsung To Discontinue Galaxy Alpha For Cheaper Galaxy A5

Posted by samzenpus on Monday December 29, 2014 @05:37AM from the end-of-the-line dept.

An anonymous reader writes that Samsung is giving up on their Galaxy Alpha smartphones. "Samsung will reportedly stop producing the metal-clad Galaxy Alpha early next year, and instead position the Galaxy A5 smartphone as its replacement. According to a report, with the launch of Galaxy A5 in South Korea - which can be as early as mid-January and as late as early February - Samsung will phase out production of the Galaxy Alpha once the current inventory of materials is exhausted for the smartphone, reported Korean publication ET News on Friday."

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Lemme guess by Opportunist · 2014-12-29 05:44 · Score: 1

Cheaper crap, same retail price?

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We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
1. Re:Lemme guess by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 05:45 · Score: 0
  
  That's the Samdung way!
Samsung customers by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 05:47 · Score: 0

are just a retail experiment.
That is all. I know who they employ in their UX/UI design centers - crap!
Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Tailhook · 2014-12-29 05:50 · Score: 2

The Alpha only recently became available in the US, and it certainly had my eye, being not phablet sized but still a "flagship" class phone and very well built. I'd have been happy to pay the price, but I passed, for one simple reason:
TouchWiz.
No thanks Samsung. Not having it. Your TouchWiz crapped up A5 can sod off as well.

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Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
1. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Threni · 2014-12-29 06:01 · Score: 2
  
  Get a Sony Z3 from a retailer who doesn't add network crap to it (IE carphone warehouse in the UK). Samsung are their own worse enemy. Great phones but ruined with dreadful UIs and a poor android upgrade record. They look destined to repeat all HTCs mistakes!
2. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Grishnakh · 2014-12-29 06:14 · Score: 0
  
  TouchWiz.
  No thanks Samsung. Not having it. Your TouchWiz crapped up A5 can sod off as well.
  What alternative is there, besides iPhone?
  For reference, I have an older HTC (Sensation), and it's crapped up too with HTC's bloatware and "Sense" UI. It's horribly slow and I can't wait to get rid of this POS, and my next phone definitely won't be an HTC. Since I really don't want to join the cult of Apple, and I sure as hell am not going to get a Windows Phone, Samsung appears to be the default choice.
3. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by djdanlib · 2014-12-29 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  Still a few Android flagships to choose from if you don't want any of those:
  Motorola Turbo
  LG G3
  OnePlus One (if you can get an invite)
  Sony Xperia Z3
4. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 06:21 · Score: 0
  
  blackberry or MS
5. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Beat+The+Odds · 2014-12-29 06:22 · Score: 1
  
  The Alpha only recently became available in the US, and it certainly had my eye, being not phablet sized but still a "flagship" class phone and very well built. I'd have been happy to pay the price, but I passed, for one simple reason:
  TouchWiz.
  No thanks Samsung. Not having it. Your TouchWiz crapped up A5 can sod off as well.
  You don't have to get your undies in a bunch.
  There are plenty of launchers that you can use instead of TouchWiz. I Use Nova Launcher Pro on my S4.
6. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by CastrTroy · 2014-12-29 06:28 · Score: 2
  
  Updates are my biggest problem with Android. I'm due for a new phone in a couple months and I would really like to go with Android because it fits all my needs in everything except the updates department. With the way Apple handles things, you can be reasonably sure you'll get updates for a couple years. With Android it's hit and miss depending on the handset you get, and sometimes depending on your carrier. I got burned on the last phone I bought where it never received any updates after I bought it. I tried running Cyanogen on it but even thought they said that it worked, I could never get it to boot. I really don't want to go with iPhone because they only have a couple models and they are all higher priced than what I'm willing to pay for a cell phone. At this point even Windows phone looks like it has a better update record than Android. I'm seriously considering not getting an Android phone, or just going with the cheapest one I can find so that if it doesn't get any updates and can get a new low end phone every year to keep in step with updates.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
7. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Grishnakh · 2014-12-29 06:28 · Score: 1
  
  Sony's out because they're almost as evil as Comcast.
  I'll have to look into the other ones.
8. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Scoth · 2014-12-29 06:29 · Score: 1
  
  I picked up the HTC One M7 when it was new, and the Sense 5.0 is a drastic, drastic improvement over the previous iterations. Plus more recent updates (up to 6.0 now, I think) you can even disable Blinkfeed completely and the like, giving it a feel very close to stock. I've been fairly happy with it. The only thing really making me consider upgrading now is the terrible camera.
9. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Grishnakh · 2014-12-29 06:29 · Score: 1
  
  I already said there's no way in hell I'm getting a Windows Phone.
  Blackberries are out too because they're not Android; I'm not buying into a dying brand with a dying ecosystem (one reason to also avoid MS).
10. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 06:39 · Score: 0
  
  The Alpha only recently became available in the US, and it certainly had my eye, being not phablet sized but still a "flagship" class phone and very well built. I'd have been happy to pay the price, but I passed, for one simple reason:
  TouchWiz.
  No thanks Samsung. Not having it. Your TouchWiz crapped up A5 can sod off as well.
  The A5 is a bigger phone so its not really a replacement for the Alpha.
  If you want an Alpha sized phone without touchwiz, wait a month or two and see how the CyanogenMod 11 port is going.
11. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Grishnakh · 2014-12-29 06:42 · Score: 2
  
  Yeah, but the other problem is that I'm pissed that HTC stopped bothering with updates to this phone almost as soon as I got it, and it's been steadily getting slower and slower, and is almost unusable now. Why would I want to reward a company that doesn't do any after-the-sale support with more business?
12. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by cyber-vandal · 2014-12-29 06:45 · Score: 1
  
  A Nexus 6 is what you want then.
13. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by punkr0x · 2014-12-29 07:00 · Score: 1
  
  Updates are not the problem they used to be. Most manufacturers have realized the importance of supporting their flagship devices with timely updates. And google has rolled a lot of the functionality updates into the google play services app, which can be updated through the play store independent of the OS. If this is really the only thing keeping you from Android, I would say look at the track record of some of the major manufacturers over the past two years and see if any of them are satisfactory.
14. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 07:06 · Score: 0
  
  So you're really just here to hear yourself talk, right? Why even mention apple as an alternative if you're already dismissing anything that isn't android? Are you implying that samsung is the only android phone out there worth the plastic it's built from? If that's so then the Android market must really be crap. Go back to a LG flip phone.
15. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by FictionPimp · 2014-12-29 07:09 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'm waiting for the jeans market to catch up and make pockets big enough to carry the Nexus 6, then I'll look at the phone.
16. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Threni · 2014-12-29 07:44 · Score: 1
  
  As has been pointed out, updates aren't that important any more. Sure, Lollipop looks a little different to previous versions (although it's hard not to laugh when you compared it with the previous versions, having read all the PR fluff from the last 8 months or however long it's been since it was "announced", and it's still only on about 0.2% of devices so far, and it'll be another year before it's on even 10% of devices) but the apps themselves have largely been updated with the new UI principles. Manufacturers are sort of lamely informally bound to keep devices updated for around 18 months after release. Ultimately, though, it's Google Play Services which is responsible for keeping your phone up to date in terms of security fixes and some services/APIs, and pretty much every Android device in current use supports this. I'd certainly not consider getting an iPhone or Windows device because of this.
17. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by the_B0fh · 2014-12-29 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  Uh, Nexus?
18. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by the_B0fh · 2014-12-29 08:03 · Score: 1
  
  The A5 is a bigger phone so its not really a replacement for the Alpha.
  If you want an Alpha sized phone without touchwiz, wait a month or two and see how the CyanogenMod 11 port is going.
  In other words, buy a piece of hardware/software combo, and throw away the software, and warranty, and spend a bunch of time and effort screwing with it to try to make it work?
  Why not just buy a Nexus or another phone?
19. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by bhcompy · 2014-12-29 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  I like TouchWiz.
20. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 08:46 · Score: 0
  
  The A5 is a bigger phone so its not really a replacement for the Alpha.
  If you want an Alpha sized phone without touchwiz, wait a month or two and see how the CyanogenMod 11 port is going.
  In other words, buy a piece of hardware/software combo, and throw away the software, and warranty, and spend a bunch of time and effort screwing with it to try to make it work?
  Why not just buy a Nexus or another phone?
  Umm, cause the only other Alpha sized phone is the iPhone 6? Which if you are into the android ecosystem then you probably won't want to move to.
21. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:02 · Score: 0
  
  In my opinion, it's not bad. However, I switched to Nova Launcher because I needed the ability to lock the desktop; otherwise, I just ended up dragging crap off my home screen all the time. Once I made that switch, I discovered I could resize widgets, change the number of rows and columns on my home screens, add multiple dock screens, increase the number of apps in my dock screen, and generally do all kinds of other cool stuff that TouchWiz doesn't let you do. Costs $5 to unlock the premium features, but it's the best money I've spent on this phone after its purchase price.
22. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:11 · Score: 0
  
  HTC have claimed the M7 and M8 will both get Lollipop in "early 2015".
23. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:11 · Score: 0
  
  What alternative is there, besides iPhone?
  There are two Google Play phones that are pure Android, including one model each from HTC and Motorola. There is also Nexus. Sony doesn't horribly mangle Android.
24. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:31 · Score: 0
  
  I had a T-Mobile Galaxy SII, and recently got a 2013 Moto X to replace it. I like it - not too big, decent battery life, $200 unlocked brand new. Should get Lollipop soon. There are a few Motorola things on there, but nothing obnoxious. Does everything I need it to, and it can fit in my pocket. In two years or so there'll doubtless be another discontinued but still good model for me to get.
25. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by ClickOnThis · 2014-12-29 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  I'm waiting for the jeans market to catch up and make pockets big enough to carry the Nexus 6, then I'll look at the phone.
  There is prior art (sort of) per the Sony TR-63 transistor radio.
  
  --
  If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
26. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 10:03 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Your waist size hasn't cought up yet. Let me prescribe you some super-sized meals.
27. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by the_B0fh · 2014-12-29 10:39 · Score: 1
  
  Go half an inch bigger, or smaller? Being a bit snarky here, but I thought Android was all about choice? It seems hard to believe that there's only one phone in the iPhone 6 size...
28. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 10:56 · Score: 0
  
  Updates are my biggest problem with Android. With the way Apple handles things, you can be reasonably sure you'll get updates for a couple years.
  Apple keeps updating the software on your phone until your phone can barely do anything, so you go buy another Apple phone. Wife's stupid iPhone takes about 30 seconds to take a picture now. POS.
29. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Jumperalex · 2014-12-29 12:01 · Score: 1
  
  I was sadly limited to samsung only phones at my new employer (apparently they are the only phones to pass security mandates ... well other than iPown). Personally I have a 2013 Moto X and love it for its 99% stock android UI. all my previous phones were either nexus or immediately flashed to AOSP. Anyway chocked on the idea of Touchwiz and even the idea of a work phone bigger than my personal phone ... so I got the Alpha.
  It was a great choice. For a work phone. The phone is amazing to behold, very slick, amazing battery life. But sadly it does suffer from the fatal flaw: Touchwiz. It is stupidly laggy; opening the recent apps list literally is a press, wait wait wait, wait wait wait, affair; the stupid physical button can't decide if it wants to take me back to the home screen or GoogleNow. It looks like a giant cartoon for children. Honestly it is a bit insulting.
  If I had made the mistake of getting it as a personal phone I would have tried to reflash AOSP and failing that returned it.
  But again this is all the fault of TouchWiz and not the physical phone. It is truly amazing. When the UI isn't getting in the way it is very snappy. The screen looks great. Battery life is amazing (3 days no charge and still 30% left). And it is sweet to look at. Catch a clue Samsung; touchwiz sucks. You aren't special, just like everyone else. Make great hardware and leave the software to others.
  
  --
  If you can't be good, be good at it!
30. Re:Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by diebels · 2014-12-29 14:54 · Score: 1
  
  Buy the phone for the hardware and replace the launcher. Replacing TouchWiz with Apex works fine.
31. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Bing+Tsher+E · 2014-12-29 17:00 · Score: 1
  
  With Apple, and their evangelists pushing App developers to always use the bleeding edge features of the iOS API, you are guaranteed that your 'updated' iDevice will get updates for several years and then quickly be abandoned in the App store. With Android, the smart app developers reach back as far as practical in OS compatability. So your older Android phone lasts longer. Plus you can always get a Nexus device with no SD card slot if you don't mind storing everything 'in the cloud' so Google can sift through it.
32. Re: Galaxy Alpha - We Hardly Knew Ye by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 20:00 · Score: 0
  
  > Get a Sony [...]
  You lost me there. Never. Buy. Sony.
Whatever... by rodrigoandrade · 2014-12-29 06:21 · Score: 2

I'll take a plastic phone over a metalic one any day. Plastic is lighter, doesn't bend permanently (hello, iPhone 6 Plus), doesn't scratch as easily as metal, a damaged back cover is cheap to replace, etc.

Having said that, it's nice to see Samsung dropping one of its 943329658 SKUs for a change. Choice is great, sure, but too many choices is bad and confusing for most.
1. Re: Whatever... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 08:46 · Score: 0
  
  Metal that bends permanently? Uh, this is aluminum. It bends back brother.
2. Re: Whatever... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:05 · Score: 0
  
  And yet it will never be straight again. Try not to be so obtuse in the future...
3. Re: Whatever... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 09:18 · Score: 0
  
  Lack of a quality metal case is the reason I didn't buy Samsung.
4. Re:Whatever... by hey! · 2014-12-29 13:18 · Score: 1
  
  Well, if an object is stressed sufficiently, *something* has to break or deform permanently. And then there are plastic chassis which develop cracks at stress points, which I find really annoying.
  It seems to me that at well designed chassis should last a couple of years of normal, daily use with only cosmetic damage, whether that chassis is primarily metal or plastic. But if you are going to make a really cheap POS, plastic is the only way to go. I've worked plenty of devices whose plastic chassis I've cursed; it doesn't mean plastic is *bad*, it means plastic is *versatile* with respect to the quality designers are shooting for. A lousy metal chassis is of course quite possible, however it won't be *cheap*.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
5. Re:Whatever... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-30 02:52 · Score: 0
  
  Did you wipe the cheetohs off the fingers before that?
meanwhile by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 07:16 · Score: 0

apple continues to copy samsung's interface to a T
1. Re:meanwhile by the_B0fh · 2014-12-29 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  The Internet really needs a sarcasm font, or one of those dry dripping irony fonts or something similar.
2. Re:meanwhile by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 08:24 · Score: 0
  
  Comic Sans
3. Re:meanwhile by Anonymous Coward · 2014-12-29 08:38 · Score: 0
  
  I use Comic Sans when I want to say something retarded.
One less brand to buy by Anonymous Coward · 2015-01-04 01:33 · Score: 0

I'm super pissed off as I just bought one last month! Had the same thing happen with an HTC, another brand I would never buy again. It's still a good phone, but what is it with the mobile industry? Image if car manufacturers did this so regularly