Samsung Galaxy Alpha is official

Following a tide of rumors concerning the device, today Samsung has officially taken the wraps off the phone. The device should be a direct contender at the iPhone 6, it's interesting to see how Samsung played out on this. Here is Samsung's official unveiling video, with the full specs below:

Dimensions: 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm, 115g

Display: 4.7” HD SAMOLED (1280 x 720)

Processor: Exynos 5430 Octa Core (Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz)

RAM: 2GB

Storage: 32GB, non-expandable

Camera: 12MP (rear) + 2.1MP (front), 4K recording

Battery: 1860 mAh

LTE: LTE Cat.6 (300/50Mbps), nano-SIM card

Fingerprint sensor: yes

Hear rate sensor: yes

Waterproofing: no

Android 4.4.4

While most of these specs offer us nothing new, we now have an official confirmation of the existence of a metal body on the device, a first by Samsung (the back is still dimpled, however it should be improved). The phone looks beautiful, is very compact, and should fit right into the iPhone's category.

What do you think of the device, do you plan on getting it? So far it's available only in Russia, but it should be available in 150 markets starting September, so this will not be a limited edition device. The retail price should be 599 euros, or $699. Through the carriers it will probably set you down $100-200.

What do you think of this device, will it really move Apple customers?

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Yota to manufacture devices in Canada

Yota is the company who brought us the YotaPhone, the world's first dual-screen smartphone. With Yota seriously thinking about a relocation from its current Russian base in Moscow, it seems the choice will end up being Canada. To understand some of the reason, let's have a quick look at the Canadian-based Blackberry.

Blackberry is experiencing some tough years. Market share is dropping, and the company has had a tough time dealing with the competition. This tough situation has caused Blackberry to lay-off a lot of high-quality workers, and it seems Yota is going to jump on the spoils.

Since Blackberry is based in Canada, that means there are now a lot of high-quality engineers and other kinds of workers, who are left in Canada without a job. That makes Canada the perfect place for Yota to base its HQ, and is definitely great news for North-American dual-screen-lovers.

Yota is apparently considering either Waterloo or Toronto, both of which are in the Ontario region of Canada. While Yota considered many locations in North America, unemployed BB workers seemed to turn the decision to Ontario.

While the first YotaPhone might have been a somewhat-immature device, the YotaPhone 2 is definitely out there; With a 5' AMOLED 1080p front display, paired with Snapdragon 800, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB Storage and KitKat 4.4, it can be a great standard device. The twist comes with the secondary back display, at 4.7', the always-on e-ink display could keep you always updated without having to turn on your regular screen at all, and is a very cool feature.

YotaPhone 2 is expected to roll-out in Africa, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East end-2014, and will get to North America at 2015. By that time the device might be somewhat-outdated, but with the North American move the YotaPhone 3 might get here much sooner.  

What do you think about the YotaPhone 2, do you like the secondary screen? Do you find it as simply a gimmick? Let us know below!

Source: Financial Post

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