Dubai

Alcatel presented its important rebranding campaign by retiring the “OneTouch” name and opting for the simple Alcatel brand.

Wayne Lam, Principal Analyst, IHS Technology said that Alcatel’s decision to shift to a stronger brand, alongside more premium models, is a bold but “necessary move” needed to lift its brand above the multitude of value and mid-tier smartphone makers.

The brand, which was founded in France in 1872, was acquired by China-based and Hong Kong-listed TCL Corp in 2005.

The company launched two premium models — 5.2-inch Idol 4 and 5.5-inch 4S — with strong industrial design and chooses to switch to better chipsets.

The Idol 4 and 4S are both a continuation of Alcatel’s previous Idol 3 series product launched last year at MWC 2015 and a clear marketing push to position the Idol series in the upper echelons of global smartphone brands.

Featuring an AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) QHD (quad high definition with 1440 x 2560 pixels) display respectively framed by an all metal and glass enclosure, the Idol 4 and 4S are clearly designed to punch above their weight class.

Both the smartphones include JBL sound, a strong reversible design, and have respectively the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 and 652 chipsets. The models range in price from 279 euros (Dh1,134.4) to 449 euros.

Both smartphones feature Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 and 652 SoC’s with 3GB of SDRAM memory as well as 4G LTE capabilities of up to Cat 6.

The company also unveiled — PLUS 10 — a 2-in-1 mobile PC and tablet with a LTE 4G-enabled detachable keyboard.

“All of these features create a proposition which is very competitive to smartphones priced much higher than previous Idol models. Alcatel will hope consumers see no difference between these new Idol models, and the latest higher priced flagship models from Samsung, LG, HTC, Lenovo, or Huawei,” Lam said.

Ahmad Khalil, General Manager of Alcatel MEA, said that the new brand and Idol models will re-enforce Alcatel’s international position.

The company aims to attain 10 per cent market share in MEA this year and 15 per cent market share by 2017 and aims to rake in $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in sales revenue in 2017 and $2 billion in 2019.

Alcatel shipped 41.5 million smartphones globally in 2015, of which 88 per cent were outside its home market of China. The new brand and Idol models will re-enforce Alcatel’s international position.

Currently, TCL-Alcatel is ranked number 5 in terms of global mobile handset unit shipments and number 10 for smartphones. As the global smartphone market growth slows and competition becomes even fiercer, what stand out will be design, brand and value.

“Our aim is to reach number three in rankings in the next couple of years,” Khalil said.

IHS forecasts 95 per cent of TCL-Alcatel’s 2016 shipments will be international. Alcatel will maintain its unit volumes despite the headwinds affecting the smartphone market.

“Alcatel’s ‘affordable premium’ approach will continue to succeed. Importantly, unlike Huawei or Xiaomi, Alcatel does not have to re-purpose a Chinese brand for a global market, because it has a successful existing international brand which it acquired,” Lam said.