Asus

History[edit]
Asus was founded in Taipei in 1989[10] by T.H. Tung, Ted Hsu, Wayne Hsieh and M.T. Liao,[11] all four
having previously worked atAcer as hardware engineers. At this time, Taiwan had yet to establish a
leading position in the computer-hardware business. Intel Corporation would supply any new
processors to more established companies like IBM first, and Taiwanese companies would have to
wait for approximately six months after IBM received their engineering prototypes. According to the
legend, the company created a prototype for a motherboard using an Intel 486, but it had to do so
without access to the actual processor. When Asus approached Intel to request a processor to test it,
Intel itself had a problem with their motherboard. Asus solved Intel's problem and it turned out that
Asus' own motherboard worked correctly without the need for further modification. Since then, Asus
was receiving Intel engineering samples ahead of its competitors.[12][13]
In September 2005 Asus released the first PhysX accelerator card.[14] In December 2005 ASUS
entered the LCD TV market with the TLW32001 model.[15] In January 2006 ASUS announced that it
would cooperate with Lamborghini to develop the VX series.[16]
On 9 March 2006 Asus was confirmed as one of the manufacturers of the first Microsoft
Origami models, together with Samsung andFounder Technology.[17] On 8 August 2006 Asus
announced a joint venture with Gigabyte Technology.[18] On 5 June 2007 Asus announced the launch
of the Eee PC atCOMPUTEX Taipei. On 9 September 2007 Asus indicated support for Blu-ray,
announcing the release of a BD-ROM/DVD writer PC drive, BC-1205PT.[19] ASUS subsequently
released several Blu-ray based notebooks.
In January 2008, ASUS began a major restructuring of its operations, splitting into three independent
companies: ASUS (focused on applied first-party branded computers and
electronics); Pegatron (focused on OEM manufacturing of motherboards and components);
and Unihan Corporation (focused on non-PC manufacturing such as cases and molding). [20][21] In the
process of the restructuring, a highly criticized pension-plan restructuring effectively zeroed out the
existing pension balances. The company paid out all contributions previously made by employees. [22]
On 9 December 2008, the Open Handset Alliance announced that Asus had become one of 14 new
members of the organization. These "new members will either deploy compatible Android devices,
contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through
products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices." [23]
On 1 June 2010, Asus spun off Pegatron Corp.[24] In October 2010, Asus and Garmin announced that
they would be ending their smartphone partnership as a result of Garmin deciding to exit the product
category.[25] The two companies had produced six Garmin-ASUS branded smartphones over the prior
two years.[25]
In December 2010, Asus launched the world's thinnest notebook, the Asus U36, with Intel processor
voltage standard (not low voltage) Intel core i3 or i5 with a thickness of only 19 mm.[26]
In January 2013, Asus officially ended production of its Eee PC series due to declining sales caused
by consumers increasingly switching to tablets and Ultrabooks.[27][28]

Operations[edit]
Asus has its headquarters in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan.[29]

As of 2009 Asus had manufacturing facilities in Taiwan (Taipei, Luzhu, Nangan, Guishan), mainland
China (Suzhou, Chongqing), Mexico (Ciudad Jurez) and the Czech Republic (Ostrava). The Asus
Hi-Tech Park, located in Suzhou, covers 540,000 m2(5,800,000 sq ft).[citation needed]
Asus operates around 50 service sites across 32 countries and has over 400 service partners
worldwide.

Products[edit]
Asus' products include 2-in-1s, laptops, tablet computers, desktop computers, mobile
phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers,computer monitors, motherboards, graphics
cards, sound cards, optical disc drives, computer networking devices, computer cases,computer
components and computer cooling systems.

Smartphones[edit]
Main article: Asus ZenFone
Asus also launched many Android-based smartphones, predominantly with Intel rather than ARM
processors and often with two sim slots. Asus is currently very influential in big mobile markets
like India, China and other Asian countries. It is known as the ZenFone series. Prior to the ZenFone
line, Asus has released feature phones such as the Asus v70and smartphones running on Windows
Mobile during the mid-2000s.

Zenfone 4 (available in either 4-inch or 4.5-inch variant)

ZenFone 5

ZenFone 6

ZenFone C

ZenFone 2

ZenFone 2 laser

ZenFone 3

ZenFone Max

Zenfone Selfie

ZenFone Go[30]

ZenFone 2E - made specifically for AT&T and released in 2015[31]

Additionally, Asus also produced some hybrid devices with smartphones that can be docked in a
tablet screen, known as Padfone series. The product lineup are:

Padfone S

Padfone X

Padfone Infinity

Padfone Mini

Padfone X Mini

Most of Asus' smartphones are powered by Intel Atom processors, with the exceptions of few
Padfone series and some ZenFone 2 models that use Qualcomm Snapdragon.

2-in-1s[edit]

Transformer Book

ZenBook

Republic Of Gaming

N Series

K/A Series

X Series

E Series

Chromebooks

F Series

Laptops[edit]

Tablets[edit]
Asus MeMO Pad road show

Two generations of the Nexus 7, manufactured for and branded as Google, was announced on 27
June 2012 for release in July 2012.[32]On July 24, 2013, Asus announced a successor to the Google
Nexus 7. Two days later, it was released.[33] Asus has also been working with Microsoft in
developing Windows 8 convertible tablets.[34] In 2013, Asus revealed an Android-based tablet
computer that, when attached to a keyboard, becomes a Windows 8 device, which it called the
Transformer Book Trio.[35] The keyboard can be attached to a third party monitor, creating a desktoplike experience. Asus is also known for the following tablet computer lines:
Asus N55 S Package

Essentio is a line of desktop PCs. As of December 2011 the line consisted of the CG Series
(designed for gaming), the CM series (for entertainment and home use) and the CS and CP slimline
series.[41]

Digital media receivers[edit]

Asus sells digital media receivers under the name ASUS O!Play.[42]

GPS devices[edit]
Asus produces the R700T GPS device, which incorporates Traffic Message Channel.[43]

Republic of Gamers (ROG)[edit]

Republic of Gamers is a brand used by Asus since 2006, encompassing a range of computer
hardware, personal computers, peripherals, and accessories oriented primarily toward PC gaming.
The line includes both desktops and high-spec laptops such as the Asus ROG Crosshair V FormulaZ Motherboard or the Asus ROG G751JY-DH71 Laptop.

Sound cards[edit]
Asus released its first sound card, the Xonar DX, in February 2008. The Xonar DX was able to
emulate the EAX 5.0 effects through the ASUS GX software while also supporting Open AL and
DTS-connect.[44] In July 2008 ASUS launched the Xonar D1, which offered largely similar features to
the Xonar DX but connected to the motherboard through the PCI interface instead of the PCI-E x1
connection of the Xonar DX.[45] ASUS then released the Xonar HDAV 1.3, which was the first solution
enabling loss-less HD audio bit streaming to AV receivers.[46]
In May 2009, Asus launched the Essence ST sound card, targeted at high-end audiophiles, and
featuring 124db SNR rating and precision audio clock tuning.[47] In the same month, Asus refreshed
the HDAV family by releasing the HDAV 1.3 slim, a card targeted for HTPC users offering similar
functionality to HDAV 1.3 but in a smaller form.[48] During Computex 2010, ASUS introduced its Xonar
Xense, an audio bundle composed of the Xense sound card and a special edition of the Sennheiser
PC350 headset.[49][50] In August 2010, ASUS released the Xonar DG sound card targeted at budget
buyers and offering 5.1 surround sound support, 105db SNR rating, support for Dolby headphone
and GX 2.5 support for emulating EAX 5.0 technology.[51][52]

ASUS VivoPC line[edit]

Asus entered the box-PC market with the Vivo PC line in November 2013. [53] ASUS VivoPCs come
without a pre-installed Windows operating system.
On 23 Oct 2013 ASUS launched two models of VivoPCs in India.[54] VivoPC was initially announced
with Intel Celeron processor equipped VM40B model. But in India, the company released VivoPC
along with a new model called VC60 which is equipped by Intel Core series processors. [citation needed]

Portable monitors[edit]
In 2013, Asus released the MB168B, a USB 3.0-powered, portable external monitor. The base model
shipped with a resolution of 1366x768, while the MB168B+ had a resolution of 1920x1080. [55] At the
time of its release, the MB168B+ was the only 1080p portable monitor. According to Asus, it is the
"worlds slimmest and lightest USB monitor".[55]

Environmental record[edit]
Green ASUS[edit]
In 2000, Asus launched Green ASUS,[56] a company-wide sustainable computing initiative overseen
by a steering committee led by Jonney Shih, the Chairman of Asus. According to the company, Asus
pursues green policies in "Design, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Marketing." [57]

Recognition[edit]
In 2006, Asus obtained IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components) HSPM
(Hazardous Substance Process Management) certification for its headquarters and for all of its
manufacturing sites.[58]

In 2007, Oekom Research, an independent research institute specialising in corporate responsibility

assessment, recognized Asus as a "highly environmental friendly company" in the "Computers,
Peripherals and Office Electronics Industry".[59]
In October 2008, Asus received 11 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
Gold Awards for its products,[60] including four of its N-Series notebooks, namely the N10, N20, N50
and N80. In the following month, it received EU Flower certification for the same N-Series notebooks
at an award ceremony held in Prague.[59] In December 2008, Det Norske Veritas conferred the
worlds first EuP (Energy-using Product) certification for portable notebooks on these machines. [59]

Recycling campaign[edit]
In April 2008, Asus launched its "PC Recycling for a Brighter Future" [61][62] program in collaboration
with Intel and with Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co. The program collected more than 1,200 desktop
computers, notebooks and CRT/LCD monitors, refurbished them and donated them to 122
elementary and junior high schools, five aboriginal communities and the Tzu Chi Stem Cell Center.

Unlicensed software and dissemination of confidential data [edit]

In September 2008, PC Pro discovered through a reader that Asus had accidentally shipped laptops
that contained cracked and unlicensed software.[63] Both physical machines and recovery CDs
contained confidential documents from Microsoft and other organizations, internal Asus documents,
and sensitive personal information including CVs.
At the time, an Asus spokesperson promised an investigation at "quite a high level", but declined to
comment on how the files got on the machines and recovery media.[64] It was demonstrated that an
unattended installation of Windows Vista could accidentally copy material from a flash drive with a
parameter in the "unattend.xml" file on the personal flash drive being used to script the installation.

History[edit]
Further information: Timeline of Xiaomi

Xiaomi was co-founded by eight partners on 6 April 2010. In the first round of funding, institutional
investors included Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean government-owned investment company, the
Chinese venture capital funds IDG Capital and Qiming Venture Partners,[30] and mobile processor
developer Qualcomm.[31] On August 16, 2010, Xiaomi officially launched its first Android-based
firmware MIUI.[32] The Xiaomi Mi1 smartphone was announced in August 2011. It was shipped with
Xiaomi's MIUI firmware which is based on Android and resembles Samsung's TouchWiz and Apple's
iOS. The device could also be equipped with stock Android. [33]
In August 2012 Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi Mi2 smartphone. The phone was powered
by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064, a 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait chip featuring with 2 GB
of RAM and the Adreno 320 GPU.[34] The company said on September 24, 2013 that the company
had sold over 10 million Mi2 devices over the preceding 11 months.[35] Mi-2 smartphones were sold
by wireless phone vendor Mobicity in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the UK and the US. [36] On
September 5, 2013, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced plans to launch an Android-based 47-inch 3Dcapable Smart TV,[37] which will be assembled by Sony TV manufacturer Wistron Corporation of
Taiwan.[38] The company explained the choice as to take advantage of Wistron's skill as a supplier of
Sony.[39] In September 2013, Xiaomi announced its Mi3 phone, with a version powered by the
Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974AB) and another by NVIDIA's Tegra 4 chipset.,[40] a 2.3 GHz quad-core
Krait chip featuring with 2 GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU.[41] On September 25, 2013, Xiaomi
announced plans to open its first service center in Beijing.[42] By October 2013 Xiaomi was reported
as the fifth-most-used smartphone brand in China.[43] In 2013 it sold 18.7 million smartphones,[44] and
26.1 million in the first half of 2014.[45]

Xiaomi Mi 4i was the first Xiaomi phone to see its initial release outside of China

In 2014 Xiaomi announced its expansion outside China, with their first stop in Singapore. The
international headquarters, which will coordinate all activities including future product launches in the
region, will also be set up there.[46] Xiaomi's Redmi and Mi3 phone were released in Singapore on
February 21 and March 7, 2014.[47][48] On March 7, Xiaomi Mi3 batches sold out within 2 minutes of

the opening day sale in Singapore.[49] Following Singapore, the company opened in Malaysia,
Philippines and India,[50] and had plans to enter Indonesia, Thailand, Russia, Turkey, Brazil and
Mexico in the following months.[51] On March 17, 2014, RedMi Note phablet (known as HongMi Note
in some Asian markets) was announced by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. The RedMi Note has a 5.5-inch HD
display with OGS technology and an octa-core processor from MediaTek.[52] There are two variants of
the RedMi Note, one with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage; and the other with 2 GB of
RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. It was made available for pre-order on March 19 exclusively
through a mobile application from Tencent.[53] In April 2014 Xiaomi purchased the Internet domain
mi.com for a record US$3.6 million, the most expensive domain name ever bought in China,
replacing xiaomi.com as the official Xiaomi domain.[54] In Q2 2014, Xiaomi shipped 15 million devices,
14 percent of China's market, while Samsung shipped slightly more than 13 million. [55] By July 2014,
it had sold 57.36 million phones.[56] In November 2014 Xiaomi said it would invest US$1 billion in
television content building.[57]
In December 2014 Xiaomi completed a round of equity financing led by Hong Kong-based
technology fund All-Stars Investment Limited, a fund run by former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard
Ji[58][59] raising over US$1 billion, with a valuation of more than US$45 billion making it one of the most
valuable private technology companies in the world. [60]
In April 2015 Xiaomi announced it would make its Mi devices available through two of India's major
e-commerce sites, and through offline retailers for the first time.[61]
On 23 April 2015, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun and VP Hugo Barra came together to announce a new
telephone named Mi 4i in India, the first phone to be launched in India before any other country. Mi
Band was launched in the same event.
On 30 June 2015, Xiaomi announced it expansion into Brazil with the launch of locally
manufactured Redmi 2, the first time the company sells a smartphone outside Asia or assembles
one outside China.[62]
On 24 February 2016, Xiaomi launched the Mi5, with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. It has a powerefficient 5.15 inch HD 1080p display with a 16-LED backlight technology giving a picture of
brightness 600 nits. There are models in black, white and gold cases, and available storage of
32GB, 64GB, and 128GB.
On 10 May 2016, Xiaomi launched the Mi Max, with Qualcomm Snapdragon 650/652 processor. It
has a power-efficient 6.4 inch FullHD 1080p display with 342ppi. With the ultimate 4850 mAh battery,
4GB of RAM, 16MP back-facing camera, a 5MP front-facing unit, and includes a fingerprint sensor.[63]
[64]

Xiaomi later on launched the Mi Max in India on 30 June 2016.[65]

In July 2016, Chinese artists - Liu Shishi, Wu Xiubo and Liu Haoran became the first ambassadors of
Xiaomis Redmi series in China.[66]

Business model[edit]
In selling the Xiaomi smartphone, Xiaomi employs a strategy very unlike other smartphone
makers such as Samsung and Apple. Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO, said that the company prices the phone
almost at bill-of-material prices,[67][68] without compromising the component quality and performance
compared to other premium smartphones.[69] It also profits by selling phone-related peripheral
devices, smart home products, apps, online videos and themes.[70][71] According to Xiaomi's Hugo
Barra in late 2014, the company sees hardware sales as a means of delivering software and
services in the long term, "We are an Internet and a software company much more than a
hardware company."[72] However, financial data available at the time indicated that this is either
wishful thinking or plans for the far future: 94% of the company's revenue came from mobile phone
sales, a higher proportion than even Apple.[69]
To further reduce overhead costs, Xiaomi does not own any physical stores, selling exclusively from
its online store. It also did away with traditional advertising and relies on social networking services
and word-of-mouth to publicise its products.[73]
Furthermore, by keeping a tight control over its stock, Xiaomi is able to place cheaper batch orders
as demand dictates. Limited availability flash sales ensure that supply never outstrips demand and
helps create promote its products. In contrast traditional OEMs incur large upfront productions costs,
which must be recouped by selling prices, in order to ship phones, some of which may not sell, out
to retailers all around the world.[74]
Xiaomi say that they listen closely to customer feedback, having them test out upcoming features
themselves, and building an extensive online community.[75] Lei Jun described it this way, "When I
was with Kingsoft, I had the opportunity to work with Nokia and Motorola, two mobile phone giants of
their time. One day, I pointed out to their R&D boss, some inadequacies. After that, they merely
acknowledged my input, but never acted upon what I had said. So I thought to myself, if I make a
phone, you can tell me anything you wish for it or what's wrong. If it is justifiable, we will work on it
immediately. I'll give you an update every week and you may even see your wishes come true within
a week."[69][76] In practice, Xiaomi's product managers spend a lot of time browsing through the
company's user forums. Once a suggestion is picked up, it is quickly transferred to the engineers.
Therefore, features can turn from mere concept to shipping products within a week. The company
then ships a new batch of phones out every week on Tuesday at noon Beijing time, containing the
new software builds and possible minor hardware tweaks. Xiaomi calls this process "design as you
build."[77]

Finally, by making its operating system MIUI open for download on other Android phones, it has
made Xiaomis apps and content more easily accessible, widening the potential to provide services
to more users.[78]
Xiaomi's products are manufactured by Foxconn and Inventec.[79][80][81] According to the report released
by patent litigation consulting firmLexInnova in May, 2015, Xiaomi has 101 U.S. patents with only 2
granted patents.[82]

Products[edit]
Xiaomi makes many products, but considers its core products for a very long time into the future to
be the mobile phone, TV and router, according to its CEO.[87]

Laptop[edit]
Mi Notebook Air[edit]
Xiaomi forayed into PC space with the launch of its first-ever ultrabook Mi Notebook Air in China. It
features a 13.3-inch display, powered by Intel i5 processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD storage
and runs on Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system. Xiaomi has priced this 13.3-inch laptop at
RNB 4,999. A more affordable variant of Mi Notebook Air with 12.5-inch HD display, Intel i3
processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB SDD is priced at RNB 3499. [88]Mi Notebook Air includes only
Chinese version Windows 10 without possibility to download English language pack.

Mobile phones[edit]
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or
newly available information. (August 2015)
Mi series[edit]

Xiaomi Mi 4

Until January 2015 Xiaomi's flagship mobile handset line was the Xiaomi Mi series. The Xiaomi Mi
4 succeeded the Xiaomi Mi 3. It was initially launched in mainland China, followed by Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand and India on March, May and July 2014 respectively. The Mi 3 uses a
modified Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and was found on test to be the world's fastest Android
smartphone according tobenchmark testing apps Antutu, Quadrant and Geekbench.[89]
Announced at Xiaomi's annual product launch at Beijing on 22 July 2014, the Mi 4 has a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 801, 3GB RAM and an 8 megapixel front camera.
It was reported in 2014 that Xiaomi had ordered 50,000 sapphire covers from South Korean
manufacturers, for a new premium smartphone.[90]
Xiaomi showcased its ceramic Mi 5 on 24 February at MWC 2016. It was one of the first
smartphones with Qualcomm's latest processor, the Snapdragon 820.[91] It will retail for a price of
RMB 2699 in China. It has an IMX298 camera sensor with 4-axis OIS and a sapphire lens. It's also
equipped with NFC and a mobile payment function Mi Pay launched in April 2016. [92]
Mi Note[edit]

Xiaomi Mi Note Pro

In January 2015 in Beijing, China, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro at about half the
price of the comparable iPhone 6.[93]Both devices have a 5.7-inch display and use a dual-glass
design with a 2.5D front and 3D rear glass.[94][95][96][97]
The Mi Note is powered by hardware more than a year old at launch, [98] the Mi Note Pro has the
newer octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, Adreno 430 GPU, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and
LTE Cat 9, giving it a higher performance than the Mi Note, with approximately the same battery life.
[99]

Redmi Series[edit]

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, showing the dual SIM card tray and the fingerprint scanner

The Xiaomi Redmi series are lower-cost range than the Mi; the Redmi Note is the second phone in
the series. In India the Redmi Note comes in three variants, one with 4G, another with 3G and the
other with LTE.[100] It was available only on Flipkart until Xiaomi announced its partnership with
Amazon.com and Snapdeal on 7 April 2015. Xiaomi Redmi Pro is the latest addition to Redmi Series
which was unwrapped in China on 27 July 2016. It is Xiaomi's first ever smartphone which features
dual Primary cameras and Mediatek Helio X25 chipset.[101] The 16GB Redmi Note 2 And 32GB
Redmi Note 2 Prime were announced on 13 August 2015. The Redmi Note 2 has a better 64bit Mediatek Helios X10 Chipset, 2 GB RAM, and a fast-focusing 13 Mpx camera. It is thinner and
lighter than the original Redmi Note. The Redmi Note 2 Prime has 4G LTE And a slightly
faster CPU Than the Redmi Note 2. It will run MIUI 7.
The Redmi Note 3 (unlike its predecessor it does not have a user-changeable battery, and does not
support removable Micro SD storage) was launched on 24 November 2015. It is powered by an
octacore Helio X10 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz.
However, the Redmi Note 3 pro has a microSD slot available in the form of a Hybrid SIM slot. The
pro version has a slightly bumped up specs than the normal version. It uses a Snapdragon 650 (a
hexacore chipset - max. clock freq. 1.8 GHz) with Adreno 510 GPU.
On 27 July 2016, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Pro, company's first 4G smartphone featuring dual rear
camera setup.[102] There are two cameras at the back of the device, 13 MP and 5 MP. Also, Xiaomi
unveiled three variants of Redmi Pro. One variant features Helio X20 SoC along with 3 GB RAM and
32 GB internal storage, whereas, the other two sport Helio X25 SoC along with 3 GB RAM + 64 GB
internal storage and 4 GB RAM + 128 GB internal storage. It features a 5 Megapixel front camera as
well and also supports 4G VoLTE.[103]

On 3 August 2016, Xiaomi launched the Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime in India. [104] The device is
powered by Snapdragon 430 SoC and features a 5-inch HD IPS display. The difference between
Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime is that the former sports 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage
whereas the latter features 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. Both the devices run on MIUI 7
based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and boast off 4100 mAh battery. Other features include
Fingerprint Scanner, Infrared Sensor, Hybrid Dual SIM and support for 4G VoLTE.

MiPad[edit]
The Xiaomi MiPad is the first tablet to be announced by Xiaomi. First announced in the Xiaomi New
Product Launch Event 2014,[105] the device is the first device to use the NVIDIA Tegra K1 quad-core
2.3 GHz processor with 2GB RAM[106] and it is on sale in mainland China at the price of CN 1,499.[107]

MIUI (operating system)[edit]

Main article: MIUI
MIUI is a stock and aftermarket Android firmware for smartphones and tablet computers based on
the open-source Android operating system. It is Xiaomi's earliest known product. The global beta of
MIUI 8, which is the latest iteration of this operating system, started rolling out on 11 July 2016. [108]

MiWiFi (network router)[edit]

The Xiaomi MiWiFi is a series network routers initially launched on 23 April 2014. The latest in the
series is a corporate-class router with built-in storage of up to 6TB. It is said to have a PCB dualantenna array supporting 802.11ac WiFi standard, a Broadcom 4709C dual-core 1.4 GHz processor
and 512MB of flash memory. The router can be used as a wireless hard drive for movies and photos,
in tandem with Xiaomis apps that feature remote downloads, automatic backups, remote access to
files and other features.[109]

Mi TV (Smart TV line)[edit]
The Mi TV is a line of Smart TVs designed and marketed by Xiaomi. It runs Android and was initially
announced in 2013. The latest in the series are Mi TV 3s 43 inch and the Mi TV 3s 65 inch curved.
The Mi TV 3s 43 inch has a 43-inch 1920p x 1080p from either LG or AUO. It has the 1.45 GHz
quad-core MStar 6A908 Cortex-A9 processor with Mali-450 MP4 GPU, and 1GB DDR3 RAM and
8GB internal memory (eMMC 4.5).[110] At 10.9mm, it is pretty thin for a TV. The Mi TV 65 inch curved
has a 4K Samsung display. It has a 1.4 GHz quad-core MStar 6A928 Cortex-A17 processor with

Mali-760 MP4 GPU. For the memory, it has 2GB DDR3 RAM and 8GB internal memory (eMMC 50).
[110]

It is extremely thin at 5.9mm thick, but it has to have a sound bar for audio. [111]

MiBox (set-top box)[edit]

Xiaomi MiBox

The Xiaomi MiBox is a smart set-top box for televisions.[112] From deals struck with content providers,
the set-top box offers films and TV shows with no user account nor subscription required. The box
can also access content via its USB port, such as through an external hard disk. Due to content
licensing restrictions, it is currently only available in mainland China.

MiCloud (cloud storage service)[edit]

MiCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service created by Xiaomi. The service allows users
to store data such as contacts, messages, photos and notes on remote computer servers for
download to multiple devices running MIUI. The service also includes a feature that allows users to
track the location of their MIUI device as well as alarm, lock or reset it.

MiTalk (messaging service)[edit]

MiTalk is an internet-based cross-platform instant messenger mobile app available
for Android and iOS launched in 2011.[113]

MiPower Bank (external battery)[edit]

A 10400mAh MiPower Bank

MiPower Bank is a battery charger with a built-in internal battery. The charger is built with an
aluminium case, and includes batteries rated at 5000/5200/10000/10400/16000/20000mAh. Through
the use of a USB cable, it can be used to charge any device that supports USB charging. [114] The
16000 & 20000mAh have two USB ports. Silicone sleeves are available for all except the 20000mAh
version.

Mi Band (fitness monitor & sleep tracker)[edit]

The Mi Band was announced in August 2014. The Mi Band will be sold for US$13, has a reported
30-day battery life, can act as an alarm clock and tracks your fitness and sleep. The band also has
the ability to unlock your phone based on proximity.[115] Initially available in China, it can now be
purchased in Xiaomis seven markets in Asia and courtesy of a recent extension of its Mi.com
store the France, Germany, UK & US.[116][117] With 2.8 million Mi Band shipments in the first quarter
of 2015, Xiaomi became the world's second-largest wearables maker, accounting for 24.6% of the
global market share.[118]
Xiaomi announced the Mi Band 2 in June 2016.[119] Xiaomi has have employed
Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor for accurate heart rate tracking. It has apparently also used an
upgraded pedometer algorithm for gathering better fitness and sleep data. The band, which has a
new design, has IP67 ratings for water resistance. The tracker is priced at 149 Yuan or US$15.

Jio, also known as Reliance Jio and officially as Reliance Jio Infocomm
Limited (RJIL), is an upcoming provider of mobile telephony, broadband services, and digital
[2]

services in India. Formerly known as Infotel Broadband Services Limited, Jio will provide 4G
services on a pan-India level using LTE technology.[3][4] The telecom leg of Reliance Industries
Limited, it was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Mumbai, India.

History[edit]
In June 2010, Reliance Industries (RIL) bought a 96% stake in Infotel Broadband Services Limited
(IBSL) for Rs 4,800cr. Although unlisted, IBBL was the only firm to win broadband spectrum in all 22
zones in India in the 4G auction that took place earlier that year. Later continuing as RIL's telecom

subsidiary, Infotel Broadband Services Limited was renamed as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
(RJIL) in January 2013.

Operations[edit]
In June 2015, Jio announced that it will start its operations all over the country by the end of 2015.
[10]

However, four months later in October 2015, the company's spokesmen sent out a press release

stating that the launch was postponed to the first quarter of the financial year 2016-2017. [11]
Later in July, a PIL filed in the Supreme Court by an NGO called the Centre for Public Interest
Litigation, through Prashant Bhushan, challenged the grant of pan-India licence to Jio by the
Government of India. The PIL also alleged that Jio was allowed to provide voice telephony along
with its 4G data service, by paying an additional fees of just 165.8 crore (US$25 million) which was
arbitrary and unreasonable, and contributed to a loss of 2,284.2 crore (US$340 million) to the
exchequer.[12][13]
The Indian Department of Telecom (DoT), however, refuted all of CAG's claims. In its statement, DoT
explained that the rules for 3G and BWA spectrum didn't restrict BWA winners from providing voice
telephony. As a result, the PIL was revoked, and the accusations were dismissed. [14]

Beta Launch[edit]
The 4G services were launched internally to Jio's partners, its staff and their families on 27
December 2015. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who is also the brand ambassador of Jio,
kickstarted the launch event which took place in Reliance Corporate Park inNavi Mumbai, along with
celebrities like musician A R Rahman, actors Ranbir Kapoor and Javed Jaffrey, and
filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.[15] The closed event was witnessed by more than 35000 RIL employees
some of whom were virtually connected from around 1000 locations including Dallas in the US.[16][17][18]
The company will commercially launch its services in the second half of 2016.

Products and Services[edit]

Reliance Jio 4G Broadband[edit]

The company will launch its 4G broadband services throughout India in the first quarter of 20162017 financial year.[19] It was slated to release in December 2015 after some reports said that the
company was waiting to receive final permits from the government.[20] Mukesh Ambani, owner of
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) whose Reliance Jio is the telecom subsidiary, had unveiled details

of Jio's fourth-generation (4G) services on 12 June 2015 at RIL's 41st annual general meeting. It will
offer data and voice services with peripheral services like instant messaging, live TV, movies on
demand, news, streaming music, and a digital payments platform. [21]
The company has a network of more than 250,000 km of fiber optic cables in the country, over which
it will be partnering with local cable operators to get broader connectivity for its broadband services.
[22]

With its multi-service operator (MSO) licence, Jio will also serve as a TV channel distributor and

will offer television-on-demand on its network.

Pan-India Spectrum[edit]
Jio owns spectrum in 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands in 10 and 6 circles, respectively, of the total 22
circles in the country, and also owns pan-India licensed 2,300 MHz spectrum. The spectrum is valid
till 2035.[23] Ahead of its digital services launch, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio entered into a
spectrum sharing deal with younger brother Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Communications. The
sharing deal is for 800 MHz band across seven circles other than the 10 circles for which Jio already
owns.[24]

LYF Smartphones[edit]
Main article: LYF
In June 2015, Jio tied up with domestic handset maker Intex to supply 4G handsets enabled with
voice over LTE (VoLTE) feature. Through this, it plans to offer 4G voice calling besides rolling out
high-speed Internet services using a fiber network,[25] in addition to the 4G wireless network.
[26]

However, in October 2015, Jio announced that it would be launching its own mobile handset brand

named LYF.[27][28][29]
On 25 January 2016, the company launched its LYF smartphone series starting with Water 1,
through its chain of electronic retail outlets, Reliance Retail.[30] Three more handset models have
been released so far, namely Water 2,[31] Earth 1,[32] and Flame 1.[33][34]

Jionet WiFi[edit]
Prior to its pan-India launch of 4G data and telephony services, Jio has started providing free WiFi hotspot services in cities throughout India including Ahmedabad and Surat inGujarat,
[35]

Indore, Jabalpur and Ujjain[36] in Madhya Pradesh, select locations of Mumbai in Maharashtra,

[37]

Kolkata in West Bengal,[38] Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh,[39]Bhubaneswar in Odisha,

[40]

Mussoorie in Uttarakhand,[41] Collectorate's Office in Meerut,[42] and at MG Road

in Vijayawada[43] among others.title=Reliance Jio rolls out wi-fi service at IP sigra Mall in Varanasi
among others.
In March 2016, Jio started providing free Wi-Fi internet to spectators at six cricket stadiums hosting
the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 matches. Jionet was made available inWankhede
Stadium (Mumbai), Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium (Mohali), Himachal Pradesh
Cricket Association Stadium (Dharamshala), Chinnaswamy Stadium(Bengaluru), Feroz Shah
Kotla (Delhi), and Eden Gardens (Kolkata) in India.

Branding and Marketing[edit]

On December 24, 2015, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was appointed as Jio's brand
ambassador.

Leshi Internet Information & Technology, also known as LeEco (formerly Letv), is a Chinese
technology company, and one of the largest online video companies in China. It is headquartered
in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
Founded in November 2004 by Jia Yueting, LeEco Group is building a "Le Ecosystem", an online
platform with content, devices and applications. LeEco is engaged in myriad businesses, spanning
from Internet TV, video production and distribution, smart gadgetsand large-screen applications to ecommerce, eco-agriculture and Internet-linked electric cars, which were announced in late 2014.
It has launched six smartphones under its Le brand - the Le 1, Le 1 Pro, Le Max,Le 1s,Le 2 and Le
Max 2. The four dual-SIMsmartphones are claimed to be the first in the world to come with USB
Type-C ports. LeEco Group also consists of the film production company called Le Vision Pictures.
On 26 July 2016, LeEco announced acquisition of US-based consumer electronics
manufacturer Vizio, Inc. for US$2 billion.[2][3] As part of the definitive agreement, LeEco will acquire all
of the Vizio hardware and software operations, technology and intellectual property. Vizio will
operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of LeEco, while the Vizio data business, Inscape, will spin out
and operate as a separate, privately owned company. The transaction is expected to close during
the fourth quarter of 2016.[4][5][6]
The company has 5,000 employees, and is expanding to other countries such as the United States [7]
[8]

and India.[9] India became the first market LeEco entered outside of China. [10]

History[edit]
Jia Yueting founded Shanxi Xi Bei Er Communication Technology Co., Ltd. In 2003, he
founded[11] Xbell Union Communication Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. which was listed on the main
board of the Singapore Exchange in 2007. In 2004 he founded Letv.com, which was listed on Start
up Board in China.
The Group comprises a number of subsidiaries, including Letv.com, Leshi Zhi Xin, Le Vision
Pictures, Wangjiu.com, Letv Holding, Letv Investment Management and Le Mobile. In 2014, the
aggregate sales of the Group amounted to approximately RMB 10 billion. [citation needed]

In 12 August 2010 the company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, making it the world's
first IPO company in the sector. It was also listed on China's A-share market. As of 24 March 2015,
the market value of Letv[12] amounted to RMB 84 billion. Letv.com currently offers more than 100,000
episodes of TV dramas and over 5,000 movie titles. In addition, the site draws an estimated 250
million page views per day, 350 million users per month, 100 million daily content viewers on mobile
devices, and 10 million daily content viewers on large-screen TVs.
In August 2015, the brand also surpassed sales of Apple's iPhone. Since the company launched its
flagship phone Le Max in July, sales increased for two consecutive months, according to a latest
report from Sino Market Research, a subsidiary of GfK. The report notes, for online high-end phone
(over US$472 per unit) market in China, Le Max has become the top seller ahead of Apple and
Samsung. In August 2015, LeTV ranked No.5 for taking 4.5% online smartphone market by selling
approximately 427,000 units, including Le 1, Le 1Pro and the flagship Le Max. [citation needed]
The company has around 5,000 employees, and a market capitalization of around $12 billion on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It has also started making its own smart TV to stream its content. [citation
needed]

It is China's first company to head the concept of 'ecosystem' products [citation needed]. The large content
libraries of films, TV dramas, entertainment shows, concerts and sports games, which could be
viewed on Letv's terminals including phones, TVs and electric vehicles, and these terminals could be
interacted through Letv's eco-network.

Products[edit]

Letv Music[edit]
Letv.com announced in Hong Kong that they have established a music company.[13] Yn Ling (),
core creator of Letv's music business, was appointed chief executive officer of the new Letv music
company, while Lei Zhenjian was appointed chairman. Letv music is one of the many music video
content creation and 4K content in China. It is the only music video provider that covers PC, phone,
tablet, and TV terminals.
The company is looking to become an Internet music technology company that united the value
chain of the music industry. The company is planning to create a music industrial ecosystem with IP,
Internet, hardware, and value-added services.

Letv has been integrating the upstream IP sector and may implement more capital investment. The
company will also tap the concert O2O business model. Moreover, it is expected to launch music
hardware before the end of 2015.

Letv Sports[edit]
Letv Sports, the sports arm of China's Letv Holdings Co Ltd, Letv Sports [14] completed its first round
of financing. As a young start-up established in 2014, Letv Sports Culture Develop Ltd has raised
800 mn RMB (US$128.8 million) in Series A funding, valuing the video-streaming business at 2.8
billion yuan (around US$451.1 million), setting a couple of new records in funding capital and
expected market value.[15]
Letv Sports gathers the most powerful team members including Lei Zhenjian, Sina and Letv's former
editor-in-chief, Liu Jianhong and Huang Jianxiang. Having evolved from a page on the Leshi movie
and TV site letv.com in 2012 into a paraentity streaming live sports events,
including NBA and NCAA basketball games from the United States, Letv Sports now shifting toward
an all-round sports media business

Smart TV[edit]
Letvs online video streaming service has been receiving positive response in China and Letv
Holdings Co Ltd introduced six new smart TV[16] products in Hong Kong. Based on the Le Ecosystem,
the newly launched third generation of super TV sets, in two major series and three flagship models,
are all priced lower than the hardware costs, said Liang Jun,president of Le Shi Zhi Xin, the TV
business arm of Letv. Design features a nice simple border design and basic alloy stand. Pricing of
these TVs is for the Chinese mainland.
SuperTV Series 3 was announced in September, 2015 with 5 models currently available thru the
LeMall.com. The flagship model Max65 of a 4K 65" Smart TV prices at a low price of HK$10999 with
6 months of free English Premier League subscription.[1]
One of the LeTV popular video streaming shows has been the Go Princess Go series.[17]

Le Mobiles[edit]
Chinese online video content service Letv has unveiled three high-end smartphones in its home
market Le 1, Le 1 Pro and Le Max. The company has teased the arrival of their Snapdragon 820
smartphone.[18] Some Le Max 2 & X Pro details surfaced, and the companys mid-range Le 1S
smartphone surfaced on AnTuTu. April 2016 LeECO launched 3 New Models Le 2,[19] Le 2 Pro and

Le Max2.[20] As per the needs of Indian market, LeEco tweaked the hardware of Le 2

[21]

to launch it in

India alongside Le Max2.[22]

Letv Cloud Computing[edit]

Letv Cloud invented the VaaS (Video-as-a-Service) model in 2014 and this concept was in relation
to IaaS, PaaS, SaaS in Cloud Computing.[23] VaaS model is based on cloud computing, big data, and
video technologies. It is founded on Internet-wide content aggregation, combining aggregation,
distribution and derivative capabilities. Letv Cloud provides the best of public cloud service with a
global multi-device and multi-layer distribution system. It aims to provide extraordinary video service
to users anytime, anywhere and without any barriers.
Letv cloud,[24] the cloud computing-based video open platform of Letv.com, and Microsoft jointly held
a press conference in Beijing and announced that the two parties have inked a deal for solution
compatibility.
With this cooperation, Letv cloud video-related solutions will be compatible with Microsoft's public
cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure in the future. Letv cloud video solution will be like online
software and Microsoft Azure will be like a hardware platform which allows Letv cloud solutions to
run on Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform.
Letv cloud video open platform has cloud video-on-demand, cloud live, and content delivery network
solutions and those solutions cover various sectors, including broadcastingand TV, e-commerce,
education, media, animation, and smart home.

Driverless Car[edit]
Letv set up their electric vehicle branch in January 2015 and launched a concept model
with Faraday Future at CES 2016. It also tried to lure in more talents in the field to develop their own
products such as hiring Ni Kai (Chinese: ), who was the former director of Baidu's driverless car
project.[25] In April 2016, LeEco presented its very first model of its self-driving car named LeSEE
Super EV during a press conference in Beijing.[26]

Hyams Bros[edit]

The Hyams' father was a Russian immigrant baker, who in association with architect George Coles,
financed the building of the Popular Cinema in 1912, located in Stepney, London.[1] Oldest brother
Philip (born London 26 March 1894; died London 8 January 1997) began working at the theatre in
1912 and was joined in 1919 by his younger brother Sydney. The two started a chain of cinemas that
they then sold to Gaumont British in 1928; they began anew creating another theatre chain. They
linked again with Gaumont in 1935 to form Gaumont Super Cinemas, adding their brother Michael.
During the years of the Great Depression, the brothers attracted crowds by booking double bills, live
variety acts, and talent shows.[2]selling out again to Gaumont in 1944, due to reduced patronage
during the London Blitz.

History[edit]
In 1947 the brothers formed Eros Films, located at 111 Wardour Street, London, which was possibly
named after the statue at Picadilly Circus. Eros distributed American films but also financed and
distributed British films made by independents; several British producers recalled that major British
production units did not wish to distribute the films of minor British studios. [3] Robert S.
Baker of Tempean Films recalled that Eros distributed 20 to 30 of their films, usually shown
as second features with popular American films, which Eros had acquired for UK distribution. [4]
In the 1950s Michael Hyams emigrated to the United States, where he became vice president of
American British TV Movies Inc.[5] The company distributed Eros' British TV series to the U. S.
market like Colonel March of Scotland Yard, Scotland Yard and a number of Eros-produced feature
films.

Co-Production and Production[edit]

Eros co-produced British films such as The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1954), The Sea Shall
Not Have Them (1955),[6] and the American giant monster film Behemoth, the Sea Monster (1959),
insisting the film have the same type of monster as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.[7]
The company produced one film by themselves, the British World War II film Battle of the V-1 (1958).

The end of Eros[edit]

Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli's Warwick Films had previously had a successful financing and
distribution arrangement with Columbia Pictures, but there was occasionally friction between the two
organisations. Allen thought they would increase their profits by creating their own distribution
company to release films of a more highbrow nature than their successful action films. The two
acquired Eros[8] from the Hyams brothers in 1959, though the brothers remained on the board. [9] Eros

distributed Allen and Broccoli's The Trials of Oscar Wilde and Johnny Nobody, but both films failed at
the box office.
The number of creditors and amounts owed by Eros led to the firm's bankruptcy in June 1961. [10]

History[edit]

Gerard Philips

The Philips Company was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik. Frederik, a
banker based in Zaltbommel, financed the purchase and setup of a modest, empty factory building in
Eindhoven, where the company started the production of carbon-filament lamps and other electrotechnical products in 1892. This first factory has been adapted and is used as a museum. [7]
In 1895, after a difficult first few years and near bankruptcy, the Philipses brought in Anton, Gerard's
younger brother by sixteen years. Though he had earned a degree in engineering, Anton started
work as a sales representative; soon, however, he began to contribute many important business
ideas. With Anton's arrival, the family business began to expand rapidly, resulting in the founding of
Philips Metaalgloeilampfabriek N.V. (Philips Metal Filament Lamp Factory Ltd.) in Eindhoven in
1908, followed in 1912 by the foundation of Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken N.V. (Philips Lightbulb
Factories Ltd.). After Gerard and Anton Philips changed their family business by founding the
Philips corporation, they laid the foundations for the later electronics multinational.
In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, such as vacuum tubes. In 1939
they introduced their electric razor, thePhilishave (marketed in the US using the Norelco brand
name). The "Chapel" is a radio with built-in loudspeaker, which was designed during the early 1930s.

Philips Radio[edit]

Philips chapel radio model 930A, 1931

On 11 March 1927 Philips went on the air with shortwave radio station PCJJ (later PCJ) which was
joined in 1929 by sister station PHOHI (Philips Omroep Holland-Indi). PHOHI broadcast in Dutch to
the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) while PCJJ broadcast in English, Spanish and German to the
rest of the world.
The international program on Sundays commenced in 1928, with host Eddie Startz hosting
the Happy Station show, which became the world's longest-running shortwave program. Broadcasts
from the Netherlands were interrupted by the German invasion in May 1940. The Germans
commandeered the transmitters in Huizen to use for pro-Nazi broadcasts, some originating from
Germany, others concerts from Dutch broadcasters under German control.
Philips Radio was absorbed shortly after liberation when its two shortwave stations were
nationalised in 1947 and renamed Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the Dutch International Service.
Some PCJ programs, such as Happy Station, continued on the new station.
In January 2011 Philips agreed to acquire the assets of Preethi, a leading India-based kitchen
appliances company.
On 27 June 2011 Philips acquired Sectra Mamea AB, the mammography division of Sectra AB,
together with the MicroDose brand.[28]
Because net profit slumped 85 percent in Q3 2011, Philips announced a cut of 4,500 jobs to match
part of an 800 million ($1.1 billion) cost-cutting scheme to boost profits and meet its financial target.
[29]

In March 2012 Philips announced its intention to sell, or demerge its television manufacturing
operations to TPV Technology.[30]

In 2011, the company posted a loss of 1.3 billion, but earned a net profit in Q1 and Q2 2012,
however the management wanted 1.1 billion cost-cutting which was an increase from 800 million
and may cut another 2,200 jobs until end of 2014. [31]
On 5 December 2012, the antitrust regulators of the European Union fined Philips and several other
major companies for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a decade.[32]
On 29 January 2013, it was announced that Philips had agreed to sell its audio and video operations
to the Japan-based Funai Electric for 150 million, with the audio business planned to transfer to
Funai in the latter half of 2013, and the video business in 2017. [33][34] As part of the transaction, Funai
was to pay a regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand. [33] The purchase
agreement was terminated by Philips in October because of breach of contract. [35]
In April 2013, Philips announced a collaboration with Paradox Engineering for the realization and
implementation of a pilot project on network-connected street-lighting management solutions. This
project was endorsed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).[36]
In 2013, Philips omitted the word "Electronics" from its name, which is now Royal Philips N.V.[37]
On 13 November 2013 Philips unveiled its new brand line Innovation and You and a new design of
its shield mark. The new brand positioning is cited by Philips to signify companys evolution and
emphasize that innovation is only meaningful if it is based on an understanding of peoples needs
and desires.[38]
On 28 April 2014 Philips agreed to sell their Woox Innovations subsidiary (consumer electronics) to
Gibson Brands for $US135 million.
On 23 September 2014, Philips announced a plan to split the company into two, separating the
lighting business from the healthcare and consumer lifestyle divisions.[39] it moved to complete this in
March 2015 to an investment group for $3.3 billion[40]
On February 2015, Philips acquired Volcano Corporation to strengthen its position in non-invasive
surgery and imaging.[41]
On June 2016, Philips spun off its lighting division to focus on the healthcare division.

The Bridgestone Corporation ( Kabushiki-gaisha

Burijisuton ) (TYO: 5108, OTC Pink: BRDCY) is a multinational auto and truck parts manufacturer
?

founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi ( Ishibashi Shjir ) in the city ofKurume, Fukuoka,
?

Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi,
meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese.
As of 2015, the company is the largest manufacturer of tires in the world, slightly ahead of Michelin.[1]
Bridgestone Group had 141 production facilities in 24 countries as of 2005.

Origins[edit]

Head office in Tokyo.

The very first Bridgestone tire was produced on 9 April 1930, by the Japanese "Tabi" Socks Tyre
Division (actually made jika-tabi). One year later on 1 March 1931, the founder, Shojiro Ishibashi,
made the "Tabi" Socks Tyre Division independent and established the Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd. in
the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. "Bridgestone" was named after the name of the founder,
Shojiro Ishibashi (Ishi = Stone, Bashi = Bridge).[2]
Foregoing dependence on European and North American technology, the Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd.
set its eyes on manufacturing tires based solely on Japanese technology. The foundling company

experienced many difficulties in the areas of technology, production and sales in the early days.
Eventually, improvements were achieved in quality and manufacturing processes which led to the
business rapidly expanding on both the domestic and overseas markets.

Challenges during and after World War II[edit]

Wartime regulations were in effect throughout the whole of Japan, and tires also came under the
jurisdiction of these regulations. This resulted in nearly all of the company's output being used to
satisfy military demand. 1945 saw the end of armed conflict, but the company was devastated by the
war. The Tokyo headquarters was destroyed during an aerial bombing raid, and all overseas assets
were lost. Fortunately, the plants in Kurume and Yokohama escaped unscathed, and production was
able to resume immediately after the war ended. Brushing aside the problems caused by a labour
union strike that lasted for forty-six days, the foundations of the company were further reinforced
after this.
After World War II Bridgestone started manufacturing motorcycles, but its main income was from
supplying tires to its rival motorcycle makers such as Honda, Suzuki andYamaha and it was later
decided to cease motorcycle manufacturing.

Technological innovation[edit]

Cross section of a tire

In 1951, Bridgestone was the first company in Japan to begin selling rayon cord tires, and a five-year
project to modernize production facilities was started. This year also saw another Bridgestone
building opened in Kybashi, Tokyo, which contained the Bridgestone Museum. Sales surpassed ten
billion yen in 1953, placing Bridgestone at the top of the tire industry in Japan, and celebrations were
held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the company's foundation in Kurume.
The sale of nylon tires was started in 1959, and work forged ahead with the construction of the new
Tokyo plant, which was opened in 1960, in order to cope with the fast-expanding market for
motorization.

Radial tires and overseas expansion[edit]

The company issued shares and was listed on the stock exchange in 1961, and moved across to a
new system of administration with Shojiro Ishibashi as the chairman, and Kanichiro Ishibashi as the
president. As part of the transition across to administrative reform, the Deming Plan in honour of W.
Edwards Deming, which involves overall quality control activities, was adopted, and the company
was awarded the prestigious Deming Prize in 1968.[3] Also, additions were built onto the Tokyo plant
in 1962 to house the new Technical Centre, and a progressive system of research and development
was established. On the product front, 1967 saw the sale of the company's first ever radial tire, the
RD10.
Bridgestone's first overseas plant since the end of the war was opened in Singapore in 1965, and
production was also commenced in Thailand in 1969. The 1960s for Bridgestone was an era of
overseas expansion that also included the establishment of Bridgestone America in the United
States in 1967 to act as Bridgestone's USA representative sales branch.
At the start of the period of Japan's economic stagnation, brought about by the first oil shock, the
company was placing even more emphasis on establishing its own technology for the manufacture
of radial tires, and it was also at this time that further domestic plants were constructed and fitted
out. Its Super Filler Radial was placed on the market in 1978, and in 1979 the company introduced
the high-performance POTENZA radial tire, from an Italian word for power.[citation needed]
The company was actively engaged in overseas expansion activities at this time. In addition to
starting up production in Indonesia and Iran in 1976, it also invested in a Taiwan tire manufacturer
and purchased a tire plant and a plant for diversified products in Australia in 1980. The founder,
Shojiro Ishibashi, died on 11 September 1976.
On 1 March 1981, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary. At the same time, the company
initiated activities to strengthen its home base that supported overseas expansion strategy with the
aim of being ranked as one of the world's top three manufacturers of rubber products. New
production facilities were also established in Thailand, India, Poland, China, the United States and
other countries. The company changed the name from Bridgestone Tyre Co., Ltd. to Bridgestone
Corporation in 1984.

Firestone purchase[edit]
In 1988, Bridgestone purchased the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio. Placing
considerable financial and personnel resources into rebuilding Firestone after the purchase,
Bridgestone achieved surplus annual profits for the year 1992 with BFE (Bridgestone Firestone

Europe) and again in 1993 with BFS (Bridgestone Firestone USA). The Firestone Tire and Rubber
Company and Bridgestone Tire Company Ltd USA were amalgamated in 1990 and
became "Bridgestone Firestone North American Holdings Ltd". The North American subsidiary to
Bridgestone Corporation is now named Bridgestone Americas, Inc. The tire division is Bridgestone
Americas Tire Operations, LLC. Bridgestone Americas opened a $100 million technical center in
Akron in 2012.

Formula racing[edit]
See also: Formula One tyres
Bridgestone started to invest in motorsport in the 1980s by developing race tires for feeder series
like Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula Ford, Formula Opel Lotus and karting.
In order to increase the Firestone subsidiary's brand awareness, Bridgestone Firestone NAH Ltd, reentered the Firestone brand into CART IndyCar open-wheel racing in 1995 to challenge Goodyear.
The tires proved better and Goodyear retired for 2000. Since then, Firestone has been the single tire
provider for the renamed and disappeared Champ Car, the IndyCar Series and its feeder
series Firestone Indy Lights.

Schumacher in practice at the 2005 United States Grand Prix. Note the Bridgestone branding on the rear wing
endplate, the Bridgestone's 'B' logo on the front wing, just under the nosecone and on the side winglet just
before the rear wheel.

Bridgestone has supplied tires in Formula One since 1997, although the company one-off produced
Formula One tires at the1976 and 1977 Japanese Grand Prix for Japanese entrants such
as Kazuyoshi Hoshino's Heros Racing and Kojima.

Bridgestone used a Ligier JS41 as test bed during 1996.

The Japanese company decided to supply tires for Formula One in 1995, backed-up by the CEO
Yoichiro Kaizaki, aiming to improve Bridgestone's name value in the European market which was
greatly inferior compared with their archrivals, Michelin. Though it was scheduled to enter the
championship in the 1998 season at first, this was brought forward to 1997 because the engineering
section led by Hirohide Hamashima had quickly advanced development. Thus, Hiroshi Yasukawa,
the general manager of Motorsport Department, also made the best use of the experience and
networks in Europe since the Bridgestone's European F2 era (19811984) and constructed logistics
for Formula One at once.
The first title was acquired right away in the second year, 1998 by Mika Hkkinen and McLarenMercedes. And Bridgestone users took five Drivers' championship titles and five Constructors'
championship titles (1998, 20012004) for the period that competed with Goodyear (19971998)
and Michelin (20012006). Especially, cooperation with Scuderia Ferrari and Michael
Schumacher functioned well in this period.
From 2008 to 2010 Bridgestone was due to be the sole tire supplier to the FIA Formula One World
Championship.[10] However, because Michelin chose to conclude its Formula One tire programme at
the end of the 2006 season, all teams used Bridgestone tires from the 2007 season to the 2010
Formula One season.
On 2 November 2009 Bridgestone announced that they will not be renewing their contract to supply
tires to Formula One teams after 2010. The company said it was "addressing the impact of the
continuing evolution of the business environment".[11] Pirelli announced in June 2010 that it would
serve as sole supplier for tires in the 2011 season.

Industrial products[edit]
Bridgestone's industrial products span a vast range of items. They include polyurethane foam for
automotive seats and interiors, for bedding and furniture and for insulation and sealing in appliances
and buildings; water hoses; marine hoses for loading and unloading oil tankers; specialty precision

hose products, such as wire-blade hose for construction equipment and machine tools; conveyor
belts; and rubber tracks for crawler tractors. Additionally, they make retreaded tires for aircraft. Their
corporate headquarters for the Bridgestone Aircraft tire division is located in Miami in the United
States.
The Bridgestone product line in construction and civil engineering materials is similarly broad.
Bridgestone supply Multi-Rubber Bearings for installing in foundations to protect buildings from
earthquakes, inflatable rubber dams for managing waterways (no longer manufactured 2008),
marine fenders for protecting wharves, additives for pavement, waterproofing sheet, rubberized
ceiling and roofing materials, panel tanks for storing water, bath fixtures and residential flooring, air
and water systems.
Bridgestone's line of products for electronic equipment includes precision rollers for office machines
and functional films for solar cells and plasma displays. In sporting goods, Bridgestone market golf
balls and clubs and tennis balls and rackets. Bridgestone's line of bicycles is Japan's most extensive
see above information re. Anchor Cycles.