Should I be concerned that Samsung Discontinued the Alpha?

[Dharma Jairam]

I recently decided to come back to Android (long-time iOS user, and I even tried Windows Phone for a while). I've owned and sold a Galaxy S5 and a Note 3. If I came back to Android I wanted a pretty decent phone, but I didn't want to spend the money on a new S5 or Note series. Plus, after having those in the past, I thought they were both just a little too big.

I stumbled upon a $300 deal on a new Alpha. To be honest, I didn't even know anything about the alpha before. Specs and size seemed great. But, now I found out that they discontinued the Alpha in favor of the A5. That sucks a little since I just ordered the phone.

In addition, i've found that "tech expert's" opinions on the Alpha seem to be lower than opinions of actual users. Reviewers tend to be quite critical of the Alpha, whereas actual users tend to really like the phone.

Just wondering other's thoughts...does this bother anyone?

 

[sydneycooper1979]

It would have bothered me if I had paid the full $612 retail price when it first came out. For the price break it's a heck of a deal whether it has been discontinued or not. I love this little phone and I really don't care what tech reviewers say.

 

[regretgettingAndroid]

Ive got it at a very good price so no shouldnt be any regrets there...but, im a long time ios user and a previous owner of an iphone 6..switching to this phone cause want to try android wear or a gear fit (ive got these instead)- apple watch is too damn expensive...a total letdown, common apps like 9 gag or business insider have noticeable stutters where as in iphone 6 was butter smooth...samsung s health was a total crap...previously own a fitbit surge combine with fitness pal was awesome...ive used htc one, s5(crap phone this is), xiaomi mi3(awesome phone..which is why im coming back to android)...I guess u get what u paid for...sigh

 

[blindpuppie]

Just picked up an Alpha myself. And downloaded Lollipop 5.0.2 when I got home. iMO the Alpha, like a few other phones, are under rated by reviewers. four common shortcomings noted consistently. Camera, battery life, no SD slot and price. Camera may not be number one, but it is pretty dog gone good. 32 GB of memory isn't an issue for most users unless you have thousands of tunes, pics and movies. For a little over fifty bucks you can install an official Samsung 2500 amh extended battery kit which should resolve battery life woes. I have it on order. If you read the reviews the critics at their core all loved the device. But at $600 next to its competition it fell just a bit short of their expectations. I could be incorrect here, but at $330 I don't see anything that comes close to build quality and features. You got a great phone. Enjoy!

 

[robertkoa]

Agreed at the lower price- I got mine new on Ebay at $355 - hard to beat- an extremely durable Phone.

I wished it had the Camera from Note 4 but 850M Alpha has loud full speaker, ( more than AT&T version) and clear calls with good mic and earpiece..

Solid little Phone- they COULD have made it great like a Note 4 Compact( which does not exist) but it's very good.