Alcatel One Touch to “Touch” U.S. Smartphone Market with Iron Man Tie-in

Alcatel One Touch joins other China-based phone manufacturers, Huawei and ZTE, in making moves to court consumers in the United States. To deliver a boost to its U.S. brand, Alcatel One Touch promotes its new One Touch Idol smartphone with a product placement in Marvel’s Iron Man. 

Touted by Alcatel as the “lightest smartphone in its category,” the 110-gram smartphone will be featured in the forthcoming Iron Man 3 film. The film is scheduled for general release on May 3. Alcatel is also running numerous promotions around the film’s theme, including one with RadioShack from April 14 to May 11.

“The partnership with Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” allows the Alcatel One Touch brand to connect with a broader audience, many of which may be introduced to our brand for the first time,” remarked Nicolas Zibell, Alcatel’s president for the Americas and Pacific.

Although no pricing and carrier information have been released yet, Alcatel’s two other higher-end devices are also recently unveiled in the U.S. One of the two devices is the One Touch Idol Ultra, a 6.45mm-thick Android mobile phone publicized as the “world’s slimmest smartphone.” The other is Scribe HD, a smartphone sporting a five-inch screen.

Android Community’s Robert Nelson described Alcatel’s smartphone product placement as “nothing new, however at the same time we don’t always see press release announcements, contests and promotional offers built up around it.”

Alcatel’s marketing chief, Dan Dery, spoke during the Mobile World Congress in February. He said that the company is in the process of building its presence in the United States.

“We are extremely serious with the U.S. market,” Dery said to AllThingsD. “It is a big investment.” Alcatel’s Dery also explained that the first step is to build a reputation for bringing out quality products on time then to become a “credible player” in the United States. “It’s not just because you are an existing player somewhere else that you are credible,” he said.

Alcatel attempts to claim a share of the smartphone market in the U.S. The company has developed products for GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. This used to mean Alcatel is willing to market products under those carriers’ brands, as well as sell to the low end of the consumer market. But now, Alcatel wants to offer a more expansive range of smartphones than before, possibly even tablets. The company is also working to secure a niche for a brand aimed at the mass market segment, offering not high-end models but lots of technology sold at an affordable price. 

Alcatel One Touch is owned by TCL Communication, a Chinese firm that develops and sells a range of consumer electronics. (KOM) Link. Link. Link. Link.