BenQ Corporation is a multinational company that manufactures technology products, consumer electronics, computing, and communications devices. Its headquarters are located in Taipei, Taiwan.
History[]
BenQ was founded in 1984 as a spin-off company from Acer. In 2006, Acer disposed of its remaining shares in BenQ, allowing it to become a full-fledged company alone.
BenQ released its first mobile phone, the M775C in early 2003. In early 2004, BenQ announced eight new types of mobile phones ranging between bars and clamshells. In 2005, seven more products of clamshell phones were announced.
In September 2006, BenQ acquired a company called Siemens AG, which was headquartered in Munich, Germany. Siemens served as a mobile devices division, and after the acquisition, it became the sixth-largest company in the mobile phone industry by accumulated market share. The acquisition foreshadowed a new division titled BenQ Mobile. The acquisition only lasted for two years, and declared bankruptcy in late 2007. After being placed under the supervision of a state-appointed bankruptcy administrator, the subsidiary finally disbanded as no suitable buyer wanted to pick it up. About 2,000 employees were laid off in the aftermath of the subsidiary's disbandment.
After its mobile subsidiary went defunct, BenQ continued to manufacture mobile phones exclusively in Asia.
Between 2009 and 2012, BenQ entered the competition when smartphones were stocking the global market. The first smartphone BenQ manufactured was partnered with Dell and operated a Windows Phone operating system. The model was released on November 18, 2010. Sales fared poorly due to the product experiencing a plethora of hardware issues, and the product was discontinued on March 8, 2012.
On December 10, 2015, BenQ acquired Zowie Gear, which served as the company's subdivision for gaming products that featured mice, mouse pads, sound cards, monitors, and other gaming accessories.
In early 2020, BenQ began releasing specialized gaming monitors that contained benefits, including the exclusive HDRi feature, an adaptive technology that optimizes the HDR effect based on light conditions and built-in treVolo speakers and proprietary Eye-Care technology. Other products included projectors, interactive displays, specialized lighting, stereo speakers, and wireless collaboration devices. Adding up to these products, BenQ finally rose to stardom after having been an elusive company for more than three decades.