BQ (company)

BQ (former name: Mundo Reader) is a Spanish company brand of user electronics devices, such as smartphones, tablets, e-readers and 3D printers among other products.

For other uses, see BQ.
Not to be confused with B&Q.
BQ
TypeSociedad Limitada
FoundedMadrid, Spain
Headquarters
Madrid
,
Spain
ProductsSmartphones, Tablets, e-readers and 3D printers
Number of employees
1,028 (2014)
Websitewww.bq.com

Among BQ's most notable products are the first AndroidOne mobile phone in Europe (the BQ Aquaris A4.5),[1][2][3] as well as both the world's first mobile phone and tablet running the Ubuntu Phone operating system, (the BQ Aquaris E4.5 and BQ Aquaris M10).[4][5][6][7] In 2018, the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup acquired 51% share of BQ and active in Vietnam under the name of VinSmart.[8]

History

The company started its business in 2009 importing e-readers from Asia.[9] In 2010 it started to produce its own tablets and e-readers.[9]

In 2013, the company had 600 employees and it produced 400,000 tablets and 100,000 e-readers.[10]

In 2014, the company entered the Portuguese market.[11]

In 2015, the company produced a smartphone (BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition) that runs the Ubuntu operating system.[12]

In 2016, the company released the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet.[13]

By 2020, bq appears no longer to be in the phone market, with all devices removed from the company's web-page. The English language home-page now presents Robotics, 3D-printing and product development consulting as the focus of the company, at least internationally.

In 2021 their web-page informed visitors that it had ceased business operations and only made available links to software downloads for the 3D-printer Witbox Go and to their educational offerings.

Revenue, by year:

  • 2014: 202.5 million euro.[14]
  • 2013: 115 million euro.[10]
  • 2012: 37.3 million euro.[9]
  • 2011: 25 million euro.[9]
  • 2010: 3.8 million euro.[9]

Mobile phones and tablets

AndroidOne:

Android high-end:

Android mid-range:

Android Cyanogen:

  • BQ Aquaris M5[19]
  • BQ Aquaris X5 Cyanogen Edition[18]

Ubuntu Phone:

Other:

  • BQ Aquaris E6
  • BQ Aquaris E4

See also

References
  1. "Android One Enters Europe With BQ Aquaris A4.5". GadgetsNDTV. Retrieved 18 Sep 2015.
  2. "Google is launching Android One in Spain and it's going to be way more expensive than expected". BusinessInsider. Retrieved 21 Sep 2015.
  3. "Android One-Powered BQ Aquaris A4.5 Gets Two Years Of Google Support". TomsHardware. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 18 Sep 2015.
  4. "First Ubuntu Phone with 'Convergence' Is Being Made by Bq". OmgUbuntu. June 2015. Retrieved 1 Jun 2015.
  5. "First Ubuntu smartphone, Aquaris E4.5, launches into cluttered mobile market". ZdNet. Retrieved 6 Feb 2015.
  6. "Canonical Launches First Ubuntu Phone With Spain's BQ". GadgetsNDTV. Retrieved 9 Feb 2015.
  7. "BQ And Canonical Launch The Second Ubuntu Phone". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 Jun 2015.
  8. "Vingroup bất ngờ công bố đã mua 51% công ty smartphone Tây Ban Nha, sẽ ra mắt 4 mẫu máy vào 14/12 tới". 3 December 2018.
  9. E. Arrieta (December 12, 2013). "El fabricante de tabletas BQ contratará a 400 personas,Empresas y Finanzas". Expansion.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  10. Marimar Jimenez (November 27, 2014). "La española BQ presume de sus ventas millonarias de 'smartphones'". Cincodias.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  11. "Spain's bq expects to sell 100,000 smartphones in Portugal - Telecompaper". Telecompaper.com. May 23, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  12. "Ubuntu smartphone offers alternative to apps". BBC News. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  13. "Canonical fulfills its Linux convergence vision". betanews. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  14. Ramón Muñóz (25 May 2015). "BQ: Móviles con la marca España". El Pais. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  15. "BQ Aquaris X Pro - Full Spec - GsmArena". GsmArena.
  16. "BQ Aquaris X - Full Spec - GsmArena". GsmArena.
  17. "BQ Aquaris X5 Plus - Full Spec - GsmArena". GsmArena.
  18. "BQ Aquaris X5 - Full Spec - GsmArena". GsmArena.
  19. "BQ Aquaris M5 - Full Spec - GsmArena". GsmArena.
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