Samsung Galaxy Alpha release date for AT&T Friday, Sept. 26

Samsung Galaxy AlphaSamsung Mobile US

Samsung Mobile U.S. yesterday announced that the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha will start selling exclusively through AT&T's online and retail stores on Friday, Sept. 26.

According to the official Samsung Mobile website, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha will be available in three colors – Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, and Frosted Gold.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha is not like the other Samsung smartphone releases, since it will come in a sleek, metallic frame that surrounds the edges. This gives the phone an appearance similar to the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s lines from Apple Inc.

AT&T will offer various plans and packages for the new Samsung smartphone, starting at $25.55 per month on AT&T Next18, $30.65 per month on AT&T Next12, a one-time payment of $199.99 with a two-year agreement, as well as a no annual commitment plan for only $612.99.

Jeff Bradley, AT&T senior vice-president for devices, described the latest release from Samsung. He said, "The Samsung Galaxy Alpha marries sleek, premium design with all of the great features and Samsung technology that you have come to expect from a Galaxy product."

Quite smaller compared to Samsung flagship phone Galaxy S5 with only 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED display, the Alpha still packs a powerful 2.5 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB RAM and Cortex A7 CPU, Mali-T628 MP6 GPU and an Exynos 5430 chipset, and runs using the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS.

The Alpha also features a super camera function, with its 12-megapixel main camera with autofocus and LED flash and a 2.1-megapixel front camera. Since this is a Samsung smartphone, it also has Selective Focus, Shot & More, Panorama, and Beauty Face functions to capture clear photos.

In addition, Samsung Galaxy Alpha will offer the S Health app, which helps users keep track of a user's work-out routines. With this app, it would be easy for them to get useful nutrition tips and share their exercise routines with friends.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha will be released exactly a week after Apple's newest flagship phones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.