Samsung Galaxy Mega 2 Goes on Sale in Malaysia Ahead of Official Launch

While Samsung is yet to officially announce the Galaxy Mega 2 smartphone, a Malaysian retailer has already started advertising the smartphone and has listed it as available to buy in the region at MYR 1,299 (roughly Rs. 24,700).

A Malaysian news website - Soyacincau - on Sunday first spotted a retailer named SenHeng advertising the Galaxy Mega 2 online as a part of its Maybank credit card promotional scheme, along with some specifications. The smartphone is listed for purchase separately.

According to the listing (which is still live at the time of writing), the Galaxy Mega 2 handset runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box, and features a 6-inch TFT HD (720x1280 pixels) display. It is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor (unspecified) paired with 1.5GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Mega 2 is listed to feature inbuilt storage of 8GB, with microSD card support (maximum capacity unspecified). The Galaxy Mega 2 also houses an 8-megapixel rear camera. No further specifications are listed by the Malaysian retailer.

While most of the above specifications are in-line our previous reports, nothing can be confirmed until Samsung officially announces the successor to theGalaxy Mega 5.8 (Review | Pictures) and Galaxy Mega 6.3 (Review).

Some of the other rumoured specifications for the Galaxy Mega 2 include a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera; a 2800mAh battery; 163.6x84.9x8.6mm dimensions; LTE Cat.4 connectivity with VoLTE support; and FM radio connectivity.

Previously, the unannounced Galaxy Mega 2 smartphone was spotted along withimages and specifications in the database of China's Telecommunications Equipment Certification Center (Tenaa). The certified smartphone, bearing model number SM-G7508Q for China, is expected to be released as the Galaxy Mega 2 for China Mobile with TDD-LTE support (1900/ 2300/ 2600MHz).

The SM-G7508Q, thought to be a China-variant of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 2, was listed with a 5.98-inch (720x1280 pixels) display on Tenaa, instead of the 5.9-inch previously rumoured by an alleged Galaxy Mega 2 GFXBench listing. The back of the alleged Galaxy Mega 2 seems to feature the same faux-leather back texture first introduced with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in September last year.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha I've been banging on about poor plastic build quality in Samsung reviews for years now and the firm has finally launched a device which, in its own words, has "real metal". That device is the Galaxy Alpha and while it's great to see Samsung taking action, the new smartphone is something of an odd ball which doesn't make sense. The smartphone market is generally split into three categories: budget, mid-range and high-end. They are possibly known as other things particularly at the expensive end like premium or top-end. It's normally pretty easy to place a new smartphone into one of those pigeon holes but the Galaxy Alpha fits two in different ways. Watch: 9 Apple-bashing Samsung ads that'll either make you angry or make you smug. The easiest way to do it is by price and going by this measure, the Galaxy Alpha is a high-end smartphone at around £500. Yes, it has that metal design which we've all been waiting for but at this price, it's more than the Galaxy S5 which, as you probably know, is Samsung's flagship smartphone. We're used to Samsung pumping out devices in all shapes, sizes, colours, prices and specs but with this handset it is really competing against itself. It really only makes sense for vendors to have one top-end device, hence the term 'flagship'. See also: Why Samsung should be more like Apple: Samsung launches way too many Galaxy products. The higher price is partly because the Galaxy S5 cost has dropped since it's been on the market for a few months, but Samsung needs to take this into account when launching a new smartphone. You get what you pay for? No? You might think that paying more money means you'll get everything which the Galaxy S5 offers but with a more premium design and build quality. This would have made sense – a Galaxy S5 Prime type branding - but it simply (and strangely) isn't the case. For whatever reasons, the Galaxy Alpha is both better and worse than its sibling. Of course, the metal on offer is a nice lure (I like shiny things as much as the next man) - although it's worth pointing out that it's limited to the edge like the Lumia 930 so the rear cover is still plastic. But there are a couple of advantages of the Alpha over the GS5. Is has a better processor in the form of a Exynos 5 octa-core chip and double the amount of standard storage at 32GB. Unfortunately, that's where Samsung stopped and decided to downgrade everything else. Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy Alpha review The Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7in screen with a 720p resolution - now a resolution common on smartphones as cheap as £100 like the Moto G. It retains the Galaxy S5's fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor but so does the Galaxy S5 mini so that's no big deal. What's strange, is the choice to drop the microSD card slot (something which Samsung usual offers without fail) and the IR blaster. Furthermore, it's not IP67 dust and waterproof rated like the Galaxy S5 so that's another downgrade. Last but not least are a lower capacity battery (not so bad considering the lower screen res) and a downgraded camera from 16Mp to 12Mp with the loss of features like phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see Samsung using some 'real' metal on a smartphone but with its higher price tag and largely downgraded specifications, the Galaxy Alpha really makes no sense and competes against the firm's existing flagship handset.

I've been banging on about poor plastic build quality in Samsung reviews for years now and the firm has finally launched a device which, in its own words, has "real metal". That device is the Galaxy Alpha and while it's great to see Samsung taking action, the new smartphone is something of an odd ball which doesn't make sense.

The smartphone market is generally split into three categories: budget, mid-range and high-end. They are possibly known as other things particularly at the expensive end like premium or top-end. It's normally pretty easy to place a new smartphone into one of those pigeon holes but the Galaxy Alpha fits two in different ways. Watch: 9 Apple-bashing Samsung ads that'll either make you angry or make you smug.

The easiest way to do it is by price and going by this measure, the Galaxy Alpha is a high-end smartphone at around £500. Yes, it has that metal design which we've all been waiting for but at this price, it's more than the Galaxy S5 which, as you probably know, is Samsung's flagship smartphone.

We're used to Samsung pumping out devices in all shapes, sizes, colours, prices and specs but with this handset it is really competing against itself. It really only makes sense for vendors to have one top-end device, hence the term 'flagship'.

The higher price is partly because the Galaxy S5 cost has dropped since it's been on the market for a few months, but Samsung needs to take this into account when launching a new smartphone.

You get what you pay for? No?

You might think that paying more money means you'll get everything which the Galaxy S5 offers but with a more premium design and build quality. This would have made sense – a Galaxy S5 Prime type branding - but it simply (and strangely) isn't the case. For whatever reasons, the Galaxy Alpha is both better and worse than its sibling.

Of course, the metal on offer is a nice lure (I like shiny things as much as the next man) - although it's worth pointing out that it's limited to the edge like the Lumia 930 so the rear cover is still plastic. But there are a couple of advantages of the Alpha over the GS5. Is has a better processor in the form of a Exynos 5 octa-core chip and double the amount of standard storage at 32GB.

Unfortunately, that's where Samsung stopped and decided to downgrade everything else.

The Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7in screen with a 720p resolution - now a resolution common on smartphones as cheap as £100 like the Moto G. It retains the Galaxy S5's fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor but so does the Galaxy S5 mini so that's no big deal.

What's strange, is the choice to drop the microSD card slot (something which Samsung usual offers without fail) and the IR blaster. Furthermore, it's not IP67 dust and waterproof rated like the Galaxy S5 so that's another downgrade.

Last but not least are a lower capacity battery (not so bad considering the lower screen res) and a downgraded camera from 16Mp to 12Mp with the loss of features like phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to see Samsung using some 'real' metal on a smartphone but with its higher price tag and largely downgraded specifications, the Galaxy Alpha really makes no sense and competes against the firm's existing flagship handset.

Samsung working on two phones with big display and metal build

Samsung’s VP Kim Hyun-joon has revealed that the company is working on a smartphone with big display and another with different build materials. The big display hints at Galaxy Note 4 while a phone with different build material point at Samsung Galaxy Alpha that has been leaking lately over the internet. These are just guesses and the final output may be completely different.

Going by the current Galaxy Note series trend, we have seen Samsung making Note 1 with 5.3-inch display, Note 2 with 5.5 and Note 3 with 5.7-inch display size. If the company follows the same trend we may see the Note 4 with a 5.9-inch display. There are rumors that Samsung will have Quad HD resolution on the Note 4 smartphone along with fingerprint sensor and Retina scanner on board. Recently Samsung teased the usage of eye scanner on its upcoming phone but did not reveal the exact details.

Samsung VP also revealed that the company is working on revamping the low-to-mid range segment of smartphones with upgraded specs. This may be well implemented in India and could be a response to Xiaomi’s Mi3 launch. There are not many details available for the Note 4 smartphone but we surely know something about the metal clad Galaxy Alpha. The device is said to come with a 4.7-inch display with fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button. It is likely to offer 32GB of built-in storage and would come with the latest Android KitKat OS on board along with updated Samsung TouchWiz. Lets wait for the official announcement on this subject to know more about these devices.