TCL is going to become a household name

Worst in Show at CES 2021 TCL

Chinese multinational electronics company TCL wants to become the ‘Samsung of China’ covering a broad range of consumer electronics, TVs, home appliances and smartphones.

Few would know it began in 1981 and that TCL stands for Telephone Communication Limited. Only today that means ‘The Creative Life’.

TCL began global distribution about a decade ago. Although it was originally a state-owned company, its shareholding includes many western investors. It is listed on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.

TCL has five business divisions:

  • Multimedia: TV sets
  • Communications: cell phones (Alcatel, BlackBerry, Palm and TCL brands), white label phones and IoT
  • Home Appliances: AC, laundry, refrigerators, washing machines,
  • Home Electronics/Consumer Electronics: DVD, soundbar, audio, etc.
  • China Star Optoelectronics Technology: display panels for TV and mobile phones

The group has 75,000 employees, 28 Research and Development laboratories and 22 production sites.

TCL

TCL ranks:

  • Number two in the world in TV production
  • Number five for mobile phones
  • Number seven in the top ten Chinese brands
  • One of the top three Chinese companies to register patents each year – 54742 last year

GadgetGuy’s take – you are going to hear a lot more about TCL.

Thomas Bartlett has just reviewed the TCL 55X7 QLED TV and gives this $2199 ($1684 street price) 4.6-out-of-5 for style and performance using a solid Android TV operating system.

And we have been impressed with the quality and value of mass-market and prepaid Alcatel products and the huge value add in their 2019-series 1 and 3.

TCL

And soon we will see TCL branded phones as mid-market, BlackBerry as premium flagship and PALM as ‘leading-edge techno tech’.

TCL

TCL Australian TV website is here and its smartphones are here.

You can read about Alcatel’s 2019 product range here.