Alcatel unveiled a new line of smartphones at IFA today, none of which are coming to the US in their current forms. However, similar devices are destined to arrive stateside, and with what they've shown off thus far, this is something to get excited about. Lets start with the Alcatel One Touch Hero, a powerful offering that's more notable for what goes on the phone than what goes in it.

Lets get this out of the way from the beginning - the One Touch Hero is no slouch. It has a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, a 13MP camera, a 3400mAh battery, and a 6-inch display. That said, I don't care. What matters here are the cool accessories that will be available for the device. It comes with a stylus, making it an obvious competitor to the Galaxy Note but with a screen ready to take on the Galaxy Mega. More distinctive, though, is its e-ink cover. This comes with a second screen that enables users to read newspapers and magazines on a display that resembles physical paper. There's also the MagicFlip cover, which offers LED notifications of alerts.

Want more functionality? The One Touch Hero supports wireless charging, projecting the screen using a tiny projector, and pairing the massive handset with a smaller phone that may look less awkward held up against an ear. I'm not sure what it says about the evolution of smartphones that we now need a separate phone to use our phones, but that's neither here nor there.

The other devices announced include the Idol Alpha, the Idol X, the Idol S, and the Idol Mini. The Mini and the S were both prematurely revealed a few days ago, but Alcatel pulled them back once they apparently realized that they also wanted to save these handsets for IFA. The Idol series as a whole is aimed at users who want a more typical-sized phone than the Hero, and it includes devices that range from the high-end to midrange devices. The Alpha comes with a 4.7-inch 720p display and has a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. At the opposite end, we have the Mini with a 4.3-inch 480 by 854 display and a 1.2 dual-core processor.

These devices are rolling out this month, except for the Hero (due out in October), and the Alpha (marked for Q4 2013). Again, none of these are slated for the US in their current form, but Alcatel intends to announce similar devices that are by the end of the month.