State Corporation "Rostechnologies" formed in accordance with Federal Law of November 23, 2007 No. 270-FZ. The purpose of its activities is to promote the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products by supporting Russian organizations - developers and manufacturers of high-tech industrial products in the domestic and foreign markets, as well as by attracting investment in various industries.

"So here n ie joint venture, where priority is given to production and promotion here Dov s telecommunications products, became a reflection of the policy on our corporation, supported by the country's leadership and aimed at creating high-tech industries and developing science to their industries. We value cooperation with a reliable and respected desk in the market. ner, Alcatel-Lucent, for its ability to offer innovative solutions, source for whom I serve at Bell Laboratories, the company's world-renowned research and development center. Investing in the future With the highest class technologies, we will be able to help strengthen the telecommunications industry in Russia.”

Alcatel-Lucent Company creates solutions that enable carriers, enterprises and governments around the world to deliver voice, video and data services to end users. Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband access, IP technologies for operators and enterprises, services and applications.

"Partnership with State corporation Russian Technologies is in line with our transformation strategy, one of the provisions of which is to develop an ecosystem of partners in order to make the best use of the experience and knowledge of local companies. This expands Alcatel-Lucent's ability to market solutions to the fast-growing telecom and enterprise communications service provider segments in the region. It should be noted that Alcatel-Lucent became the first foreign company among suppliers of equipment for communication networks to reach such a large-scale level of investment and such a deep level of technological cooperation in Russia, which further expanded the local component of the company’s business here. It is also important that we created our joint venture focusing on truly innovative IP-based technologies.

The main strategy for entering the market was the unification strengths each of the partners. Alcatel-Lucent contributed its innovations, experience and knowledge in the field of modern telecommunications technologies to the joint venture. State Corporation Russian Technologies provided production facilities, as well as knowledge of the features Russian market, the required level of reliability and safety determined by Russian government organizations.

Alcatel SA is a former French company and one of the leaders in the global telecommunications equipment market. The headquarters were in Paris.

Founded in 1898 in Alsace as Compagnie Generale d'Electricite (CGE). In April 2006, Alcatel announced an upcoming merger with its major competitor - American company Lucent Technologies.

Pre-merger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Serge Tchuruk.

May 31, 1898
French engineer Pierre Azaria founded the company CGE (Compagnie Generale d'Electricite), aiming to compete with competitors such as AEG, Siemens and General Electric.

1925
CGE takes over the cable manufacturing business Compagnie Generale des Cables de Lyon.

1928
Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Mecaniques and Compagnie Francaise Thomson-Houston create Alsthom.

1966
CGE takes over Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Atomiques, de Telecommunications et d'Electronique (Alcatel).

1970
Ambroise Roux becomes chairman of CGE. After the expiration of his term of office, he became honorary chairman and remained so until his death in 1999.

1982
Jean-Pierre Brunet becomes the Chairman of CGE.

1984
Georges Pebereau becomes the Chairman of CGE.

Thomson CSF's public telephone systems and enterprise communications systems divisions are being merged into the Thomson Telecommunications holding company, which is being taken over by the CGE Group.

Under an agreement with CGE and Thomson, Cables de Lyon acquires Thomson Jeumont Cables and Kabeltel.

1985
Alsthom Atlantique changes its name to Alsthom.

The merger of CIT-Alcatel and Thomson Telecommunications takes place. The new company is named Alcatel.

1986
Under an agreement with ITT Corporation, which sold its telecommunications businesses in Europe to CGE, Alcatel NV is created.

Pierre Suard becomes chairman of CGE.

CGE acquires a stake in Framatome (40%).

Cables de Lyon becomes a subsidiary of Alcatel NV.

1987
CGE is being privatized.

Alsthom receives an order to supply equipment for the construction of the TGV Atlantique network and leads a consortium of French, Belgian and British companies taking part in the construction of the northern section of the TGV network.

1988
Alsthom and General Electric (UK) are merging.

Alsthom and General Electric's Energy Systems Division are merging into a single company.

1989
CGE and General Electric sign an agreement and create GEC Alsthom.

CGEE-Alsthom changes its name to Cegelec.

1990
An agreement is signed between CGE and Fiat. Alcatel acquires Telettra and Fiat becomes the majority owner of CEAC.

Cables de Lyon acquires Cableries de Dour (Belgium) and the American cable manufacturing operations of Ericsson.

An agreement on the capital structure of Framatome is signed, according to which CGE becomes the holder of 44.12% of the shares of this enterprise.

1991
Compagnie Generale d'Electricite changes its name to Alcatel Alsthom.

The acquisition of the communications systems division of the American group Rockwell Technologies is underway.

Cables de Lyon changes its name to Alcatel Cable and acquires AEG Kabel.

1992
Alcatel Alsthom acquires AEG Kabel (which will subsequently be renamed Kabel Rheydt), a leading cable manufacturer in Germany, thereby strengthening its position in the country's market.

1993
There is a takeover of STC Submarine Systems, which is one of the divisions of Northern Telecom Europe (currently Nortel Networks).

1995
Serge Tchuruk becomes Chairman and CEO of Alcatel Alsthom. He is restructuring the company and shifting the main focus to telecommunications.

1998
Alcatel Alsthom changes its name to Alcatel.

The American company DSC, which has a strong position in the US access systems market, is being acquired.

The public sale of shares of GEC ALSTHOM begins, which transforms into Alstom. Alcatel Corporation retains a 24% stake in the newly formed company.

Alcatel sells Cegelec to Alstom.

1999
A deal is underway to acquire the American companies Xylan, Packet Engines, Assured Access and Internet Device, specializing in network solutions and products for Internet access.

Alcatel increases its holding in Thomson CSF (currently Thales) to 25.3% and reduces its holding in Framatome to 8.6%.

2000
A deal is underway to acquire the Canadian company Newbridge, a world leader in network solutions based on ATM technology.

A deal is underway to acquire the American company Genesys, a world leader in call center solutions.

A deal is underway to acquire Innovative Fibers, a world leader in the creation of DWDM optical filters.

Divisions engaged in the production of cable products become branches and are named Nexans.

2001
Sale of a 24% stake in Alstom.

Transformation of the cables and components department into an independent company (Nexans). Alcatel owns a 20% stake in Nexans.

Acquisition of 48.83% of Alcatel Space shares owned by Thales and bringing Alcatel's share in Alcatel Space to 100%. After this transaction, Alcatel's stake in Thales decreased from 25.29% to 20.03%.

Sale of 4.2% shares to Thales.

Sale of 2.2% shares of Areva.

Sale of DSL modem production to Thomson Multimedia.

2002
Acquisition of the American company Astral Point Communications Inc., a leader in the field of optical metropolitan SONET systems of the new generation.

Sale of microelectronics production to STMicroelectronics.

Sale of all remaining shares of Alcatel to Thomson.

Alcatel acquires control of Alcatel Shanghai Bell.

Alcatel completes its acquisition of Telera Corporation.

Sale of 10.3 million shares of Thales (Alcatel's share in this company decreased from 15.83% to 9.7%).

Sale of 1.5 million shares of Nexans (Alcatel's share in this company was reduced from 20% to 15%).

2003
Sale of a 50% stake in home phone maker Atlinks to Thomson, Alcatel's joint venture partner.

Acquired iMagicTV, a Canadian provider of software and services that enable service providers to create, deliver and manage digital television and other media services delivered over broadband networks.

Acquisition of TiMetra Inc., a private company producing routers from the American “Silicon Valley” (routers are devices that connect computer networks and ensure the transfer of information between them).

Sale of Alcatel's optical components business to Avanex.

Sale of the SAFT Batteries business, related to the production of batteries and accumulators, to Doughty Hanson.

Alcatel and Draka create a new global manufacturing leader optical fiber and communication cables.

2004
Sale of SAFT (Alcatel's battery and accumulator subsidiary) to Doughty Hanson.

Alcatel and TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited have formed a joint venture to produce mobile phones. In this venture, 55% of the shares are owned by TCL and 45% of the shares are owned by Alcatel.

Alcatel and Draka Holding N.V. (“Draka”) are combining their global optical fiber and communications cable businesses. In the new enterprise - Draka Comteq B.V. — Draka owns 50.1% of the shares. The remaining 49.9% of shares belong to Alcatel.

Alcatel acquires privately held US company eDial Inc., a leading provider of conferencing and group collaboration systems. eDial solutions are actively used by large corporations and telecom operators.

Alcatel sold 7.1 million shares of Avanex and reduced its stake in the company to less than 20%.

Alcatel has completed the acquisition of privately held US company Spatial Communications (also known as Spatial Wireless), a leading provider of multi-standard software solutions for distributed mobile switching.

2005
2005 was a record year for Alcatel in terms of performance results, number of contracts, events and agreements of various types.

Gadget manufacturers

Domestic consumers know Alcatel well for the cell phones produced under this brand. However, the production of mobile devices is not the only business of the French company, since it is one of the recognized leaders in the world market in the field of telecommunications.

The entire history of Alcatel's development is a complex and confusing series of mergers and acquisitions of various companies and enterprises.

This process clearly characterizes what is happening in the European world of IT technologies and the corresponding business sector. Fortunately, this did not at all prevent the company from constantly developing actively, increasing production volumes and increasing its own income.

The brand's pedigree dates back to 1869, when a small manufacturing company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio. Three years later it was renamed the Western Electric Company.

Well, a few years later, a controlling stake in the newly formed company was acquired by American Bell, which made it the exclusive developer and manufacturer of equipment for Bell phones themselves. This is how the “telephone” history of the future brand began.

In 1898, French engineer Pierre Azaria founded the CGE company, trying to follow the example of “giants” like. This happened in the northeast of France in the picturesque Alsace region, well known to history buffs.

Little is known about Pierre Hazard, and he is remembered primarily as the founder of the company, which in the future will be called Alcatel. The beginning was quite modest.

The company produced various electrical equipment and was practically unknown to anyone outside its country. This went on for almost twenty years.

In 1925, simultaneously with the takeover of the cable production plant, entry into the international market began. Then comes a long and unpleasant break. The war stops the development of industry and negatively affects the entire French society.

The 40s of the 20th century are associated with the genius of Claude Shannon. His work on the mathematical theory of communications was initially strictly classified, and the world only learned about it in the late 40s.

It was this that became the basis for numerous studies, the result of which were modern techniques for processing and transmitting information. Thanks to Shannon, engineers gained maximum insight into the throughput of any communications system.

In the 50s, the laboratory of the already familiar Western Electric company also released its new invention - a battery, through which sunlight could now be converted into electricity. What did all this have to do with CGE and telephone communications? Humanity stood on the threshold of great inventions.

A few years later, the first transatlantic telephone cable was put into operation, which could simultaneously handle over thirty calls, and Western Electric began working for the government, mass producing the corresponding equipment.

It was small, but this event becomes a rapid impetus for rapid development. CGE is actively involved in France's largest space projects.

In 1969, the UNIX operating system was invented - simple software for computers of any size. Its appearance meant that creating an open system was also possible. It is UNIX that will become the basis for the Internet in the future.

Both this operating system and the C programming language are created at Bell Laboratories, that is, at Western Electric. The C language provided an unprecedented combination of expressiveness and programming efficiency.

In addition, computing is becoming more portable. Today, the largest servers operate on UNIX, and the C language is widely used throughout the world.

In the 1970s, Bell Laboratories maintained cellular communications systems in Chicago. At the same time, in the mid-70s, the future Alcatel company began its work in Russia, building a satellite ground station in order to organize a “hot” line between the Kremlin and the White House.

She also helps in other projects - for example, in preparation for the 1980 Olympics, in the construction of a gas pipeline from Urengoy to Uzhgorod and the laying of the Baku-Shevchenko undersea cable.

In 1980, a digital signal processor was developed and introduced at Bell Laboratories.

Two years later, Jean-Pierre Brunet becomes chairman of CGE. This time is associated with an antitrust lawsuit, as a result of which Western Electric gets the AT&T Technologies division.

This division had its own, separate market, focused on the production and sale of consumer goods, as well as technological, information and network systems.

In 1984, Georges Peberot became chairman of CGE, and he immediately set about changing the structure of the company. The telecommunications divisions become part of Thomson Telecommunications, after which they become the property of CGE.

The name Alcatel was assigned to the company in 1985, when Alsthom Atlantique was renamed. Thomson Telecommunications merges with CIT-Alcatel, and the whole thing takes on the Alcatel name.

However, the long series of mergers and acquisitions does not end there, but is only beginning to gain momentum.

A year later, Alcatel NV was created, and this happened under an agreement with the ITT corporation, which cooperates with CGE. A new chairman of the board is also elected.

In 1987, such an important event took place: the privatization of CGE. In addition, Alsthom begins to supply equipment for the needs of the TGV Atlantique.

Next year was marked by another historical process of unification - the British General Electric (which the French founder of Alcatel also once looked up to) with Alsthom.

Later, CGE signed an agreement with General Electric, according to which the company GEC Alsthom was created (later renamed). At the end of the 80s, new agreements followed, the acquisition of enterprises and a controlling stake in CEAC.

In 1990, Alcatel again showed itself in Russia. Definitely, it is aimed at long-term cooperation and development of the telecommunications sector.

In 1993, a center was even created, now called the Alcatel-Lucent Training Center, a joint Russian-Belgian venture to train customers in new technologies.

And today this is the only center in the Russian Federation that provides certified training on special equipment (in Russian and in English languages). Over ten thousand specialists have already been trained there.

Let's go back to 1991. After CGE became Alcatel Alsthom, the communications division of Rockwell Technologies was acquired. Following this, Cebles de Lyon receives the name Alcatel Cable. Another important enterprise is being purchased.

The following years will also be marked by mergers and acquisitions. In 1995, Serge Churuk became chairman; he also receives the position of chief executive officer.

Like his predecessor, Georges Peberot, he is actively pursuing restructuring. At the same time, Churuk focuses his attention specifically on telecommunications.

In 1998, another event occurs: Alcatel Alsthom, now simply Alcatel, absorbs DSC, which has gained a foothold in the American market. Next year, three more network solutions companies will be acquired.

Alcatel's strategy at the beginning of the 21st century is not too different from everything that happened in the 90s. The year 2000 brought a lucrative agreement to acquire a company from Canada that was engaged in ATM technologies and was a recognized leader in the field of network solutions.

This is followed by the acquisition of other successful and large companies, one of which is engaged in call processing, and the other in the creation of optical filters. Needless to say, Alcatel had a more than productive year. The years 2001, 2002 and 2003 are no less fruitful.

By 2004, the company's sales volumes exceeded 17 billion euros. Alcatel's main competition at this moment comes from such “monsters” as Siemens.

Yes, it was Siemens, which once inspired a French engineer named Pierre Azaria to create his own small company. In the future, this company will be called the Alcatel company.

In the same year, a major event occurs: TCL and Alcatel create a joint venture to develop and produce mobile devices. TCL has slightly more shares than Alcatel, but overall they receive equal rights.

Next comes the purchase of another large company, the solutions of which are actively used by cellular operators. And by the way, at the same time Lucent reported rapid revenue growth (after the success of 2000).

In 2005, Concert finally completed the purchase of a large American company that provided software mobile solutions.

Next year becomes even more important: Alcatel announces that it intends to merge with US-based rival Lucent Technologies.

This significant event takes place in November 2006. The new company is called Alcatel-Lucent. In the 21st century, it has secured its position as the largest French manufacturer of telecommunications equipment.

All subsequent years have been working to strengthen the brand’s position in the international market. Alcatel currently designs, develops and markets mobile devices and telecommunications equipment.

It constantly increases its income through sales of mobile equipment. Alcatel is today the third company in Europe in the production of GSM-standard devices (over 20% of the total). Of course, its performance is very far from the leading “giants” in the mobile technology market.

Nevertheless, Alcatel products are widely known among Europeans. It is of quite high quality. And this despite the fact that a company with 100% European capital is now a rarity.

Obviously, by the end of 2014, the concern no longer resembles much the “team” of various IT firms that was created during the 80s and 90s of the last century.

It is also noteworthy that Alcatel’s presence is observed in all telecommunications areas, and not every IT company can boast of this. Alcatel is a leader in the field of network technologies and a leading provider of mobile communications services.

However, the “turbulent past” could not pass without a trace. Thus, the company also includes a variety of divisions that are responsible for laying cables at great depths, producing control systems for the railway industry, etc.

There is even a branch of Alcatel Space, a manufacturer of satellites for the planet Earth. By the way, the “mobile” part of the business can only compete with the “space” component.

It is easy to find Alcatel brand phones (Alcatel OneTouch) on domestic shelves and in online stores. Initially, it also belonged to the French, but everything changed in 2004 after the creation of a joint venture (together with the TLC company from China).

The headquarters of the telephone brand is also located in Hong Kong, and all production is concentrated in China. In addition to phones and smartphones, tablet computers and accessories are produced under this brand.

The range of devices looks quite interesting.

Take, for example, the OneTouch Hero tablet phone. This is an excellent alternative to Samsung's Galaxy Note series devices, and is also a great solution with a large screen and a stylus included. It is proposed to purchase another unusual accessory: a headset in the form of... a telephone.

The Alcatel brand is formally considered European and is perceived as such by most consumers, although back in 2004 it was acquired by the Chinese corporation TCL for its subsidiary TCL Mobile. The Alcatel trademark is used under an agreement with Alcatel-Lucent, the term of this agreement is not specified, and TCL Mobile will not abandon it in the near future. In almost a decade of existence as a Chinese company, Alcatel's mobile phone brand has gone through several stages of transformation to arrive in 2013 as a contender to become a serious player in both the handset and smartphone markets. During the announcement of the results of the second quarter of 2013 in Hong Kong, I was able to communicate with the top managers of the company, discuss in detail the manufacturer’s plans and market vision, and form my understanding of the steps that TCL Mobile is planning in the near future. This manufacturer does not yet occupy the top lines of sales ratings, but the strategy that the company proposes for development outside of China looks balanced and interesting, and many Chinese manufacturers will try to follow this path. Therefore, this material should be perceived not only and not so much as a description of one company. Based on it, you can study the entire market and understand where Chinese manufacturers will move.

The low-cost phone market is no place for old people

Today everyone is discussing the success of certain manufacturers in the production of smartphones and their quality, the presence of certain characteristics. Ordinary dialers are mentioned extremely rarely or not at all; it is believed that they do not bring much income to manufacturers. Nokia's sales in this segment are steadily declining; Samsung is refusing to release inexpensive, budget models with buttons, keeping only a small number of such devices. The main trend is that the whole world rushed to produce smartphones and abandoned inexpensive phones with buttons. They are out of fashion.

But the example of TCL Mobile proves that operators all over the world need such devices and are ready to buy them. For example, everyone has heard the fact that Nokia has been trying to storm the American market for a long time, but without success. The company opened an additional office to work with AT&T, increased marketing costs, specially created models for the USA, in a word, tried all the possibilities to gain a foothold there. But this did not produce any results, and if you count the funds spent on storming the market, it turns out that every phone sold in the end became, if not platinum, then definitely gold.

TCL Mobile was able to crack the American market in a matter of months, ensuring that Alcatel-branded products were presented in all operator stores. A small Chinese company has been able to penetrate where Nokia has failed, and has done so with ultra-cheap phones that hit the shelves for $20-$40. In addition to AT&T, the company works closely with T-Mobile, as well as a number of retailers.

Perhaps this demonstrates the typical approach of “smart” Chinese companies: when purchasing European brands, they buy not so much brands, but people who know how to properly enter retail chains, in our case these are also operators. And they take on products that other manufacturers refuse, considering them low-margin. Indeed, earning one or two percent on a phone does not look like a successful strategy, since it is a sweatshop and always a struggle for the lowest cost. For large manufacturers, such as Nokia or Samsung, the release of budget models, as a rule, is due to the struggle for market share, and at different periods of their existence they could even sell such devices at a loss, not only not making money on them, but also losing money. In the past, this created many problems for small manufacturers who could not achieve economies of scale, but with the onset of the Nokia crisis, when the company stopped fighting for market share, and Samsung de facto left this segment, everything changed. A vacuum arose, which second-tier manufacturers began to fill - Alcatel was one of the well-known companies in this market. Phones under this brand are perceived as European and sell well in the USA and Latin America, where there is a shortage of cheap dialers.

For TCL Mobile, this made it possible to open offices in a large number of countries, begin to actively work with local operators and, in fact, build the entire logistics chain. Adding any product other than inexpensive dialers to this chain instantly increases the company's profit and makes it higher by significant amounts. You can laugh long and hard at the fact that TCL Mobile is known in many markets as a manufacturer of inexpensive phones, but this market segment makes it possible to most optimally debug logistics and build the structure of both offices and production. Having learned to work with a minimum margin, the company can enter other, fatter segments without incurring large additional costs.

Smartphone market - a late start from TCL Mobile

Unlike other manufacturers, TCL Mobile started working on smartphones quite late; the first models appeared at the end of 2010, but they can be considered a first step. The company approached this market seriously only in the second half of 2011, and from that moment the first sales successes can be counted. Let me give you the following statistics: in the second quarter of 2011, the share of smartphones in the company’s total sales was 1.3%, a year later - 13.5 percent, and in the 2nd quarter of 2013 - 26.7 percent.

From a profit perspective, the emergence of smartphones and the growth of their share has a positive impact on both the company’s revenue and the average price of a device sold.

At the same time, we can de facto say that based on the results of 2013, TCL Mobile is targeting a maximum device cost of $300 (wholesale cost), this is the upper limit for the company’s products. That is, TCL Mobile have consciously outlined the segment in which they play - these are inexpensive devices that attract with a good price/quality ratio, but are by no means the cheapest offerings on the market. In fact, models from TCL Mobile face competition from all Chinese manufacturers and will certainly lose it in markets where the cost of the phone comes to the fore, and not its other characteristics (service, capabilities, programs or performance, design, body materials). A striking example of such a market is China, TCL’s native market, where the company feels great household appliances, in particular, televisions (the number three manufacturer in the world after Samsung and LG based on the results of the first part of 2013). But TCL Mobile phones are sold under its own brand in China, and they are also unpopular. It is possible that the choice of Hong Kong for reporting is not at all accidental, as well as for the global announcement of the start of sales of Idol X. TCL Mobile is focused on foreign markets, believing that the Chinese market is not yet ready to pay for quality, but is focused on the lowest cost. This is a problem that should not be underestimated, as Lenovo, which gets more than half of its revenue (Q2 2013) from the sale of smartphones and tablets, and not at all from the PC and laptop market, where it is number one in the world, sells 96 percent of its phones on native market. Attempts to enter other markets result in very moderate sales, since smartphones that are profitable in terms of cost turn out to be not very interesting in terms of characteristics or quality. In fact, Lenovo is faced with the task of creating a new business segment, developing models for markets other than Chinese, which are the majority in the world. Doubling development is a necessity at this stage, since improving the quality of current products will automatically raise the cost of them in China, which will result in a loss for other manufacturers.

TCL Mobile is taking a wait-and-see approach; in the foreseeable future, the Chinese market will evolve and demand better products; price will not become the main driver of sales. At this point, the winner will be the one who can provide interesting products, and this will only be possible with a strong brand, which TCL is trying to create outside of China.

Alcatel OneTouch brand and Scribe, Idol product lines

In September 2013, TCL Mobile plans to refresh the Alcatel brand and launch advertising campaign in most countries where there is potential for growth. Most consumers perceive the brand as Alcatel, that is, confusion arises with the original company, as well as Alcatel-Lucent, which remained from it. To highlight the difference, TCL Mobile will focus on the Alcatel OneTouch brand - this is how this brand will be described in a nutshell. The visual appearance of the logo will change slightly and the brand will be updated.

From a product point of view, TCL Mobile's business can be roughly divided into four large areas:

• Phone dialers at a minimal price (from 7 dollars in wholesale prices at the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2013);
• Smartphones – the upper limit is $300 in wholesale prices;
• Accessories – cases, batteries, Wi-Fi routers;
• USB modems

The first two areas are the main ones from a sales point of view; they remain a priority. Everything is quite difficult with accessories, since in the absence of strong and independent retail chains In most countries of the world, these products do not find their customers, which leads to meager sales. From a technical point of view, some solutions are very interesting, but the low production volume makes their cost high, as a result, the circle closes. TCL Mobile felt that in order to maintain this direction, it is necessary to actively create delivery kits that initially include one or another accessory. This creates additional attractiveness for the device in the eyes of the consumer, provides big sales and gain compared to competitors.

For example, for the Scribe Pro phablet, which has a 6-inch screen, the company created a Magic Flip cover; it is magnetically attached to the body (similar to branded iPad covers), but it also has an LED time indicator and a number of other functions. I haven’t seen how the cover works in real life, so I’m not sure how it all functions.

In some deliveries, Scribe Pro will come with such a cover included, and the cost will differ slightly. I am sure that many buyers will be happy with such a kit, since it will allow, on the one hand, to save money, and on the other hand, to get a cool accessory without additional legwork. I hope this example explains TCL Mobile's approach to accessories, which looks promising, especially since other Chinese companies are in no hurry to adopt it. The reason for this is simple - few manufacturers focus on brand development; most look at current sales.

The company has two product lines in smartphones – Idol (regular smartphones with the usual screen diagonals) and Scribe (phablets with a screen diagonal of 4.5 to 6 inches and stylus support). It’s interesting how the company decided to differentiate itself from other manufacturers - for example, a proprietary shell was created for all smartphones, which distinguishes models under the Alcatel brand. The first device with such a shell is Idol X.

The trend is when manufacturers different ways trying to customize the standard Android UI is not new, most companies are doing this with varying degrees of success. TCL simply joined this club, which makes the company's products similar to those from major manufacturers. This is certainly a difference, but whether it will be perceived as positive by users is unknown. Many people find the Android interface quite pleasant and sufficient.

In addition to developing its own shell for the Scribe line, the company plans to develop the direction of software for working with the stylus, that is, directly copy Samsung’s approach to the Note line. All manufacturers creating phablets today are losing to competition from Samsung for one reason - they prioritize the screen diagonal and do not invest money in developing software for working with the stylus. The highlight of the Note lies largely in the fact that you can write or draw on this device by hand. TCL plans to do something similar for the Scribe line. And this approach can only be welcomed.

IN this moment Scribe's line is niche, targeting Asian markets where phablets are more popular. It should be noted that it will be actively promoted outside Asia, for example, in Russia. The company's goal is to increase the percentage of the Scribe line from all smartphones sold to 15 percent; this is an ambitious goal.

Look for Scribe Pro as the flagship of this line (official announcement will take place at IFA on September 6, 2013). By and large, its characteristics are comparable to those of the Idol X - quad-core MediaTek processor (6589T), frequency up to 1.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 3400 mAh battery, 13.1 megapixel camera, as well as a 6-inch screen (1920x1080 pixels) . Sales start in September, the price in Hong Kong is about 300 dollars, which in Russia means approximately 15-16 thousand rubles. The price promises to be very tasty and this will be one of the competitive advantages this device.

TCL Mobile is actively looking for new niches, so Android is the undoubted choice for the production of most smartphone models, but the company also does not want to miss the emergence of new platforms. This is due to the fact that the first smartphone on FireFox OS was released under the Alcatel brand; this model is commercially successful, it is not subsidized.

Perhaps, the company’s philosophy is manifested in the approach to this product - to release a model focusing on business indicators, that is, not to work at a loss, but also to explore opportunities to expand the business in the future. Perhaps one of the obsessions of the day at TCL Mobile is how the company can differentiate itself from other manufacturers.

How TCL plans to differentiate itself from Chinese manufacturers

The set of actions that are necessary to distinguish your brand on the market is always approximately the same, and there is no secret here - every company knows these tools, another thing is that not everyone uses them skillfully. For example, during the launch of Idol X, female models skillfully posed with the company's phones, increasing the value of the phones themselves in the eyes of consumers. The technique is tried and tested, but it is used extremely rarely.

At the product level, the company invests heavily in development as well as design. Thus, the company’s phones already use materials familiar from the flagships of other manufacturers, for example, in the Idol X the screen is covered with DragonTail glass, similar to what we see in the Sony Xperia Z. Experiments in the field of plastic and color solutions do not stop for a minute.

In terms of components, TCL takes another measure that is unpopular among manufacturers - they buy expensive components that can make the devices stand out in the eyes of consumers. For example, a number of new models are equipped with 13-megapixel EXMOR cameras from Sony, which for most Chinese companies looks unnecessary and wasteful. The shooting quality of these cameras directly depends on the software, which so far in Alcatel phones is much inferior to both Sony and, especially, Samsung. But the direction of development is correct, the company is investing in its future.

Another example is the use of high-quality IPS displays from Japan Displays, which make it possible to create smartphones with a minimal frame on the body around the screen. This function is emphasized in all materials as 0 Bezel, is one of the features of Alcatel devices.

In fact, we see an atypical approach for Chinese companies - a lack of profit maximization through the use of top-end components, a focus on strictly fixed profits and the implementation of tasks to increase profits and market share. De facto, TCL Mobile is a long-distance player who is targeting the marathon distance and preparing itself for a great future. It may not take place, but all the company’s actions are aimed at working in the market for a long time; the planning horizon is not measured in months or even individual years. For a Chinese manufacturer, this is an extremely unusual approach, which is frankly surprising.

Investments in the Alcatel brand are also accompanied by the fact that the company's designers are trying to create devices that do not look like Chinese phones. Design costs tend to account for the lion's share of a modern phone's design, and here TCL also employs a well-proven technique of introducing families of products that share a similar look and feel.

In some rather interesting news, it is worth adding that in the third quarter, TCL Mobile plans to move production to a new factory that will be able to provide a larger volume of product output.

TCL Short Term Goals - 2014 Products

Currently, TCL Mobile is number 7 in the global phone market, ahead of companies like Sony. In my opinion, as in any table of ranks, details are important here, which not only indicate that this manufacturer is higher in sales volume, but also take into account the specifics. TCL's success is largely due to inexpensive phones, and comparison in terms of profit and turnover will not be in this company's favor. On the other hand, given the cost of production and development, TCL has only one way left - to increase sales, since production efficiency is one of the highest in the industry, and this is not an exaggeration.

If the product line has already been formed for 2013, then in 2014 the company plans to introduce its update and add smartphones with IP67 protection level to it; one of the products will be an almost complete copy of the Sony Xperia Z in terms of characteristics, but with an extremely attractive price. Total we get further development lines in new directions, which makes the manufacturer even more interesting. While maintaining the price/quality ratio, products from TCL under the Alcatel OneTouch brand are becoming in demand, and this shows an increase in their sales. If the company refreshes the brand in September, it will give a boost to sales and we will see the company grow. The strategy adopted by TCL will be adapted in one form or another by other Chinese manufacturers. In fact, we see three development paths for second-tier manufacturers - price-based (struggle for the minimum cost, the brand does not play a big role here), balanced (investment in product quality at reasonable prices), brand-oriented (building a brand that justifies the high added value - OPPO, Meizu and so on). When executed by TCL Mobile, the strategy appears to be “balanced”. And this is one of the most interesting development paths that any company can choose, even if it does not give immediate results. Long distance running.

Related links

Eldar Murtazin ()

About the Alcatel brand

Alcatel was founded in France in 1898 under the name Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE). In December 2006, Alcatel merged with the American company Lucent Technologies. The combined company was named Alcatel-Lucent. Alcatel supplied equipment and software products for telecommunications, but it is better known to the general consumer as a manufacturer of mobile and radiotelephones. Interestingly, until 2010, Alcatel-Lucent had all the legal rights to the MP3 audio format.

Since 2007, Alcatel-Lucent has suffered multibillion-dollar losses and its turnover has been declining. In 2011 market price the company is steadily declining.

Alcatel's first mobile phone was released in 1995. In 2011, the company introduced 15 cell phone models.

Vania

there's no point in passing by
The Alcatel OT-C701 phone is an ordinary, clear phone without any show-offs. But people are scared off by its cheapness and stupid appearance, but in vain, since it has everything, but at the same time for pennies.....

Yuka

I bought it a long time ago and have been using it for a long time :)))
When I was deciding on buying a phone, my choice fell on the Alcatel OneTouch 802, all because I wanted a functional phone with a qwerty keyboard, white, for little money. And so it happened! ;)))

When writing a review, try to describe