Cellatel: Alcatel-Lucent Does 'Alcatel' Handsets ...
... and Alcatel is a new (renewed) brand on the mobile-phone block with models targeted at the US market. They evidently showed some 20 models at CTIA Wireless 2007 in Orlando.
Fresh off its $13.4 billion acquisition of Lucent last year, the newly expanded company is making a deeper push this side of the Atlantic. It's doing that through a joint venture controlled by China-based TCL, the maker of RCA-branded televisions and of cell phones, which already sells wireless handsets to more than 80 carriers in Asia, Europe, and South America. That venture, in turn, is part of a separate company called Cellatel, which will sell handsets under the Alcatel brand.
Cellatel has earmarked more than $60 million for the U.S. marketing launch. "The U.S. market is really our next plateau to hit," says Dan Gannon, president of Cellatel, who hopes to grab 3% of the U.S. handset market in three years. Cellatel will sell not only phones but also cases, Bluetooth headsets, external memory cards, chargers, and batteries. To woo female cell-phone users, Cellatel has struck a co-branding agreement with Elle magazine. The company's lineup includes a vintage-style phone with brown leather-like finish. Other models boast painted-on designs, chrome, and fashionable colors, such as pearl white. "It's all about the fashion," says Gannon. "We are trying to bring in the Chinese manufacturing costs with French designs." The company plans more co-branding deals, with partners that resonate with youth, in May and June, says Gannon. Demand for the phones appears so strong that Cellatel expects to reach profitability by yearend. Cellatel will open its first service center in Orlando, this month. It already has about 60 employees in offices in California, Texas, and Florida, and plans to expand its sales and service operations and to open a West Coast repair facility. In the third quarter, TLC will also open a U.S.-based engineering testing lab "so we can come to market faster," says Gannon. ... The not-so-fashionably-named OT-C820A is a slider handset geared toward music and video, featuring dedicated playback buttons and an external slot for extra memory. No pricing or target date for availability was announced. ... Based in Orlando Florida, Quality1 Wireless will become Cellatel's authorized distribution partner for tier 2 and tier 3 carriers in the U.S.
There is a slide show of other Alcatel branded Cellatel models here ...
images.businessweek.com
Cellatel's new website is here ...
cellatel.com
Cellatel was scheduled to begin lab testing in August with Cingular for certification on models: E205, E259 & E801:
cellatel.com
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The following article also discusses other new Asian US market entrants ZTE, and HTC, and the 2nd mentions Haier.
>> North America's Cell-Phone Land Grab
Taking advantage of Motorola's and Nokia's weakness, new brands, including Alcatel and ZTE, are jumping into the handset market
Olga Kharif
BusinessWeek
March 26, 2007
tinyurl.com
At this year's flagship wireless industry trade show, getting under way in Orlando in a matter of days, newfangled phones will be promoted by all the usual suspects — Nokia, Motorola, LG. There will also be some 20 models from an unlikely new brand on the mobile-phone block: Alcatel.
Come again?
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), the French equipment maker better known for high-end telecom gear including switches and communications servers, wants to make a splash — albeit indirectly — in the market for mobile phones in North America, where 163 million handsets are likely to be sold this year. Fresh off its $13.4 billion acquisition of Lucent last year, the newly expanded company is making a deeper push this side of the Atlantic. It's doing that through a joint venture controlled by China-based TCL, the maker of RCA-branded televisions and of cell phones, which already sells wireless handsets to more than 80 carriers in Asia, Europe, and South America.
That venture, in turn, is part of a separate company called Cellatel, which will sell handsets under the Alcatel brand. It's the latest in a growing number of new cell-phone players, all eager to cash in on North American demand for handsets that offer the full range of services, from calling to playing music to recording videos. Other new entrants include Apple (AAPL), due to introduce its iPhone in June, and Asian electronics makers ZTE and Haier. Google (GOOG) is said to be working on a wireless phone, although the company won't confirm the speculation. However large the raft of rivals, it's sure to make waves for the country's biggest manufacturers, Motorola (MOT) and Nokia (NOK).
Eager Newcomers
Cellatel's timing is no coincidence. The number of North American wireless service providers jumped after the U.S. government last year held its largest-ever single auction of wireless airwaves — see BusinessWeek.com, 8/10/06, "Get Your Fix at Auction 66"...
tinyurl.com
The newbie carriers and existing providers alike are eager to find alternatives to incumbent mobile-phone giants like Motorola, which has a 38% share—and upstart cell-phone makers offer concessions bigger players are reluctant to make. For instance, many newcomers are willing to feature a carrier's brands prominently on a phone or create handsets exclusive to a particular provider. "I've been in discussions with almost all the [service providers] in the market," says Lance Cornish, head of marketing and business development at ZTE USA. "We have operators asking for us to come in. Even the larger carriers want certain customization or more technology combinations, and we are more willing to provide them [than established manufacturers]," he says.
Sidelined Standbys
The new rivalry couldn't come at a worse time for Motorola, which has failed to follow its Razr with equally popular handsets. Prices on Motorola's Razr and Krzr phones are plummeting, crimping earnings, and the company is contending with an attempt by Carl Icahn to gain a seat on its board .
Nokia isn't faring well in North America either. In the fourth quarter, Nokia's unit sales in North America fell by nearly 40% "driven primarily by the continued lack of broad acceptance of certain products in our portfolio," per the company's earnings release. And neither Nokia nor Motorola is offering compelling devices for niche groups such as women and teens, analysts say. They also don't crank out enough best-selling, high-end mobile devices.
Formidable Fillers
Another recent entrant angling to fill the void is Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC). The company, which had long sold its personal digital assistants in North America through distributors, finally opened its HTC America office in June, 2005. The following year, HTC quadrupled sales in the Americas, which now account for 30% of the total, says Todd Achilles, vice-president for sales and marketing at HTC America. Today, the outfit is among the top three smartphone makers in the U.S., and its devices are sold through all the major carriers, Cingular/AT&T (T), Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel (S), T-Mobile, and Alltel (AT). "We've had a great first year, and 2007 is shaping up to be a strong year as well," Achilles says.
ZTE, China's largest publicly traded telecom equipment supplier, has recently begun selling wireless data cards, which enable computers to access high-speed cellular networks, in the U.S. "The point of this product is to learn the ropes of North America," says Cornish, of ZTE USA. Next up, ZTE plans to start selling handsets in the U.S. and Canada in the second half of 2007. "We are not just trying to bring cheap handsets here," he says. The company will emphasize capabilities and features at an affordable price.
The biggest push of all may come from Cellatel, which has earmarked more than $60 million for the U.S. marketing launch. "The U.S. market is really our next plateau to hit," says Dan Gannon, president of Cellatel, who hopes to grab 3% of the U.S. handset market in three years. Cellatel will sell not only phones but also cases, Bluetooth headsets, external memory cards, chargers, and batteries. To woo female cell-phone users, Cellatel has struck a co-branding agreement with Elle magazine. The company's lineup includes a vintage-style phone with brown leather-like finish. Other models boast painted-on designs, chrome, and fashionable colors, such as pearl white. "It's all about the fashion," says Gannon. "We are trying to bring in the Chinese manufacturing costs with French designs."
The company plans more co-branding deals, with partners that resonate with youth, in May and June, says Gannon. Arrangements with carriers are due to be announced at CTIA, the wireless trade show, he says.
Great Forecast
Demand for the phones appears so strong that Cellatel expects to reach profitability by yearend. Cellatel will open its first service center in Orlando, this month. It already has about 60 employees in offices in California, Texas, and Florida, and plans to expand its sales and service operations and to open a West Coast repair facility. In the third quarter, TLC will also open a U.S.-based engineering testing lab "so we can come to market faster," says Gannon.
As grandiose as the plans may be, the market is littered with the remains of manufacturers such as NEC (NIPNY) that failed to break in. "The American market is a lot harder than it looks," says Neil Strother, an analyst with Jupiter Research (JUPM). "It's not just about the price. Nokia is one of the masters of keeping their prices low. The top players go through ups and downs, but they are formidable."
Formidable Fillers
Another recent entrant angling to fill the void is Taiwan-based High Tech Computer (HTC). The company, which had long sold its personal digital assistants in North America through distributors, finally opened its HTC America office in June, 2005. The following year, HTC quadrupled sales in the Americas, which now account for 30% of the total, says Todd Achilles, vice-president for sales and marketing at HTC America. Today, the outfit is among the top three smartphone makers in the U.S., and its devices are sold through all the major carriers, Cingular/AT&T (T), Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel (S), T-Mobile, and Alltel (AT). "We've had a great first year, and 2007 is shaping up to be a strong year as well," Achilles says.
ZTE, China's largest publicly traded telecom equipment supplier, has recently begun selling wireless data cards, which enable computers to access high-speed cellular networks, in the U.S. "The point of this product is to learn the ropes of North America," says Cornish, of ZTE USA. Next up, ZTE plans to start selling handsets in the U.S. and Canada in the second half of 2007. "We are not just trying to bring cheap handsets here," he says. The company will emphasize capabilities and features at an affordable price.
The biggest push of all may come from Cellatel, which has earmarked more than $60 million for the U.S. marketing launch. "The U.S. market is really our next plateau to hit," says Dan Gannon, president of Cellatel, who hopes to grab 3% of the U.S. handset market in three years. Cellatel will sell not only phones but also cases, Bluetooth headsets, external memory cards, chargers, and batteries. To woo female cell-phone users, Cellatel has struck a co-branding agreement with Elle magazine. The company's lineup includes a vintage-style phone with brown leather-like finish. Other models boast painted-on designs, chrome, and fashionable colors, such as pearl white. "It's all about the fashion," says Gannon. "We are trying to bring in the Chinese manufacturing costs with French designs."
The company plans more co-branding deals, with partners that resonate with youth, in May and June, says Gannon. Arrangements with carriers are due to be announced at CTIA, the wireless trade show, he says.
Great Forecast
Demand for the phones appears so strong that Cellatel expects to reach profitability by yearend. Cellatel will open its first service center in Orlando, this month. It already has about 60 employees in offices in California, Texas, and Florida, and plans to expand its sales and service operations and to open a West Coast repair facility. In the third quarter, TLC will also open a U.S.-based engineering testing lab "so we can come to market faster," says Gannon.
As grandiose as the plans may be, the market is littered with the remains of manufacturers such as NEC (NIPNY) that failed to break in. "The American market is a lot harder than it looks," says Neil Strother, an analyst with Jupiter Research (JUPM). "It's not just about the price. Nokia is one of the masters of keeping their prices low. The top players go through ups and downs, but they are formidable." ###
>> Foreign Cell Phone Makers Haier and Alcatel make U.S. Market Debut
Bruce Meyerson
Associated Press
Orlando, FL
March 29, 2007
tinyurl.com
Two Chinese cell phone makers are looking to crack the U.S. market, both stressing fashion to make their statement but pursuing divergent strategies to make their mark.
Alcatel Mobile Phone and Haier Group, well-established wireless brands abroad, showed off their wares here for the first time at this week's cellular industry gathering, CTIA Wireless 2007.
Haier, better known to U.S. consumers for home appliances like air conditioners, is introducing two distinctively designed handsets through an unusual sales channel for the United States.
The two handsets, named Elegance and Sterling, are compatible with the cellular networks operated by AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA but won't be sold by any service providers. Instead, they will be sold “unlocked” through retailers, meaning that customers of those companies will be able to remove the small “SIM” cards from the battery compartments of their current phones and then slip them into the Haier handsets.
Unlocked phones are common in Europe and other markets – and they cost more up front to buy as a result. By contrast, U.S. cell carriers typically offer substantial discounts off the list price of a new phone, but then require subscribers to commit to one or two years of service.
The Elegance handset, 1.25 inches wide and 3.5 inches long with rounded edges, went on sale through certain retailers last week, priced at about $250. The Sterling, priced at about $280, is slated to arrive in June.
“The carriers have been so committed to the leading brands” that it's hard to get their attention, said Haier's Charles Green. So the company is taking the unlocked approach “to get the Haier name out there and get some panache and cache into the brand.”
Alcatel Mobile Phone, which licenses the Alcatel brand from Alcatel Lucent SA of France, is taking the more traditional approach for its U.S. launch, working with wireless service providers to bring its handsets to consumers.
The company, a unit of TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. of China, hopes to export many of its fashion-focused phones already available in other markets.
But it is also launching a new model for the new market: The not-so-fashionably-named OT-C820A is a slider handset geared toward music and video, featuring dedicated playback buttons and an external slot for extra memory. No pricing or target date for availability was announced.
Also gunning for fashion points at this week's show was Kyocera, which unveiled a slim flip phone with a novel S-shaped steel hinge connecting the screen half and the keypad half. The E5000 is expected to reach the market in August or September.
The company didn't disclose pricing or which carrier might offer the device. The underlying technology is compatible with the networks operated by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., as well as smaller carriers such as Virgin Mobile USA. ###
- Eric - |
