Windows 10 finds a new smartphone ally: Alcatel OneTouch

The Chinese smartphone maker confirms it is
making a Windows 10 phone that will debut
before year's end.
The Chinese company known for its low-cost phones will
make a smartphone running Microsoft's Windows 10
software, which launched just over a month ago on PCs
and tablets . It plans to unveil a Windows 10 smartphone
before year's end, Steve Cistulli, Alcatel OneTouch's senior
vice president for North America, said in an interview here
Thursday at the CTIA wireless trade show.
"We are very supportive of the Windows ecosystem," Cistulli
said.
Cistulli's confirmation comes on the heels of a leak about a
purported Windows 10 smartphone from Alcatel OneTouch.
Details of the device, dubbed the Fierce XL, emerged from
tech leaker Evan Blass , who posts on Twitter under the
handle Evleaks. Cistulli declined to comment on the leak. Alcatel OneTouch's backing represents a rare bit of support
for Windows 10 on the smartphone side. While PC makers
have embraced the new software, smartphone vendors
have been lukewarm due to the dominance of Google's
Android and Apple's iOS software for mobile devices.
Microsoft plays up the unifying nature of Windows 10, with
its ability to run on smartphones, tablets, PCs and other
devices, but consumer interest has been moderate so far.
Less than 4 percent of the US market uses a Windows
Phone, according to Kantar WorldPanel .
Microsoft turned off some of its smartphone partners when
it acquired the hardware operations of phone maker Nokia
last year. That acquisition has since soured as Windows
Phone sales have continued to founder. Redmond,
Washington-based Microsoft took a $7.6 billion charge in
July related to the acquisition and said it would cut 7,800
jobs.
Regardless, Microsoft has said it will launch a high-end
Windows 10 smartphone by the end of 2015.
Although Windows Phones have struggled in the high end,
the software has done better in the market for budget
phones, such as the Lumia 532, which sells for $93, £69 or
AU$126.
Alcatel OneTouch, owned by Chinese television giant TCL,
started selling smartphones in the US just two years ago
but it's hoping to catch up quickly . Earlier this year it
promised to significantly boost the amount it spends on
marketing and to invest in tech talent in the San Francisco
Bay Area.
The company hopes to catch a measure of success with an
affordable smartphone running Windows 10, which it plans
to sell through at least one US carrier.
Microsoft declined to comment.