Hot on the heels of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha announcement, it looks like Samsung is readying itself for the launch of another smartphone – the SM-A500.

The SM-A500, along with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and two other rumoured handsets (the SM-A300 and SM-A700) will be part of Samsung's new A series of smartphones.

Smartphones in Samsung's A series will share a number of features, such as premium all-metal bodies and much improved cameras, and will range from the high-end to the budget, with the SM-A500 being the mid-range offering.

Underneath the metal skin

Whilst the other handsets in the A series remain a mystery, a recent leak from SamMobile has given us a glance at the specs we can expect in the Samsung SM-A500.

Apparently it will have a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720. It will have a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 16GB of internal storage and a 2330mAh battery.

The all-metal body will include a hybrid slot for inserting both a microSD card and a nanoSIM, though you won't be able to remove the back to replace the battery.

Camera-wise the SM-A500 is expected to have an 8MP fear camera, and a 5MP front-facing one.

What we can take away from the specs of the SM-A500 is that Samsung looks keen to create a mid-range device with a premium feel to compete with the lower priced devices that are coming from Samsung's Chinese competitors.

Will a shiny new case and improved cameras be enough to entice customers looking for a low to mid-range smartphone? It looks like we'll be finding out soon.