We attended the launch event for the Samsung Galaxy Alpha in City Hall in Dublin last night. In true Samsung fashion, they took the opportunity to show off products from across their range. There was even a fridge/ freezer on show!

On entrance to the event, we were greeted by Samsung’s extremely impressive Ultra HD 4K TVs.

Certainly an impressive way to start proceedings. It’s the first time I’ve looked at a TV and thought “wow” since I saw the first Plasma TV to hit these shores back in the late 90’s in Peats on Parnell Street. IMG_20140918_195830 The entertainment for the night!  

The mains room had some of Samsung’s Tablet, Smartphone and Wearable range on show.

This was my first opportunity to see Samsung’s latest Smart Watch “in the flesh” and while I’ve been quite dubious about the initial wave of smart watches, the Gear S impressed me. The screen is crisp and bright and while the first pictures I saw of the device made it seem very big, it fits well when you have it on. Smaller wrists might think differently though.

Another device that was on show and worth giving a mention to was the 8.4″ Galaxy Tab S. In the dimly lit main room, the super AMOLED screen on the tablet stood out and was a real eye catcher. Comparing screens side by side with my Nexus 5 and the iPad Mini Retina, there was no competition. 

One of the side rooms had the Galaxy Gear VR on show. I tried it out briefly and while the resolution of the video they were using wasn’t great, its potential was clear and overall it worked very well. If you intend to purchase a Note 4 when it arrives, the Gear VR will be an interesting accessory to consider.

So on to the reason we went to the event. The Galaxy Alpha, as we all know at this point, is Samsung’s first metal bodied smartphone. After picking it up, the first thing that came to mind was why has it taken Samsung so long to do this?

The phone is very light in the hand, The sides are well machined with a nice chamfer and at 6.7mm, it is very thin. While the screen is only 720p the colour pop of the AMOLED display draws your attention away from that.
The mains specs are as follows:
– 4.7” HD Super AMOLED (1280 x 720)
– Octa Core (Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz) or Quad Core 2.5GHz
– Android 4.4.4 (KitKat)
– Cameras: 12MP (rear) + 2.1MP (front)
– RAM : 2GB, Internal Memory : 32GB
– 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm, 114g
– Battery: 1,860 mAh

Finally, Samsung are embracing metal construction and with the Note 4 soon to accompany the Galaxy Alpha, plastic will hopefully be a thing of the past.

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