Packard Bell
| Packard Bell logo | |
| Company type | Subsidiary of Acer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware |
| Founded | (Original 1926)1986 |
| Founder | Beny Alagem |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Desktops Laptops Netbooks Monitors |
| Parent | Acer Inc. |
| Website | Packardbell.com |
Packard Bell is a subsidiary of Acer. The name has been used by two different consumer electronics companies. The first was an American radio manufacturer founded in 1926,[1][2] that later became a defense contractor and manufacturer of other consumer electronics, such as television sets. Teledyne acquired the business in 1978. In 1986, investors bought the name for a newly formed personal computer manufacturer. Originally the company produced discount computers in the US and Canada, it later became a leader in the European market. NEC took it over in the late 1990s. Taiwanese Acer acquired it in 2008.[3]
In spite of the similarity of their names, there has never been any corporate connection between the original or later Packard Bell and Hewlett Packard, or Bell System.
Electronics manufacturer
The original Packard Bell was founded in 1926 in Los Angeles by Leon S. Packard and Herbert A. Bell as a maker of consumer radios. It later found success in the military electronics industry and the television market.[4] It also manufactured some of the earliest computers, the most famous of which, the PB 250 released in 1961, was one of the last users of magnetostrictive delay lines as part of its memory. It was also the last machine to be partially based on the original designs of Alan Turing’s NPL Pilot ACE computer.
A Packard Bell radio was used as a prop in the 1960s American television series, Gilligan's Island. The Japanese-made, eight-transistor AR-851 was an important plot device over the course of the three year run of the show. A handle and external antenna were added to the AM-only radio, presumably to make it appear more "radio-like."
From 1926 through 1950, the marketing area for Packard Bell radios consisted of the states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Many Packard Bell models made during this period have stationized dials with the call letters of the major stations from these states marked in their proper places on the dial. These "stationized" dials also include KSL 1160 in Salt Lake City and KOA 850 in Denver. After 1950, Packard Bell discontinued its "stationized" dials when it began selling radios and televisions throughout North America.
Computer manufacturer
Packard Bell BV
In 1986, Beny Alagem and a group of Israeli investors bought the Packard Bell name from Teledyne[5] and resurrected it as a manufacturer of low-cost personal computers. Their computers were among the first IBM PC compatibles sold in retail chains such as Sears.[6]
Packard Bell sometimes benefited from misplaced name recognition, with consumers (especially first-time computer buyers) and even some salespeople erroneously associating the company with others of similar name, such as Hewlett-Packard, Packard, Pacific Bell, and Bell Laboratories. Packard Bell's old slogan, "America grew up listening to us. It still does", may have facilitated the confusion.[7] The company also sold nearly identical systems under different names, making comparison difficult.
Aside from price and brand misnomers, Packard Bell's success in number of units sold may have come from two areas of innovation: 1) branding and industrial design, provided by the San Francisco offices of frog design; and 2) its boot-up shell Packard Bell Navigator, created by The Pixel Company in Seattle. They targeted a huge section of consumers who were inexperienced using computers. Frog design gave the look of quality and invented innovations such as color coding cable connectors, while Navigator provided the ability for users to launch installed programs by clicking on-screen buttons, and then later a house metaphor.[8] During this phase returns dropped from 19% to 10% and sales grew exponentially. Navigator was also the basis for the much more feature-rich Microsoft Bob. In late 1995 to early 1996 Microsoft forced boot-up shells off of OEM computers by updating its Microsoft Windows distribution agreement (OPK 2) and Packard Bell, without a clear on-shelf differentiator, saw sales begin to tumble.[citation needed]
In 1995 Compaq sued Packard Bell for not disclosing that Packard Bell computers incorporated previously owned parts. This practice was, in fact, widespread in the computer industry including Compaq itself. However, unlike its rival companies, Packard Bell was judged not to have advertised the practice sufficiently in its warranties (Compaq, for instance, disclosed it in the warranty statement).[9] The company was the subject of several lawsuits and paid millions of dollars in settlements. In 2005 PC World Magazine ranked the Packard Bell computers of 1986–1996 as the worst PCs manufactured of all time, a ranking which reflected the considerable brand damage caused by the lawsuit.[10] In addition, one out of six Packard Bell PCs sold at retail was returned, a rate double the industry average.[10]
In 1995, Packard Bell acquired Zenith Data Systems from Groupe Bull in a deal which saw Groupe Bull and NEC taking a larger stake in Packard Bell[11] to create a $4.5 billion company. The company now became integrated with NEC Computers. Its 15% market share made it the largest PC manufacturer, in terms of units shipped, in the United States. However, Compaq overtook it in retail sales in mid-1996 and cemented its lead the next year with the release of a $999 PC in March 1997.
Packard Bell posted losses totaling more than $1 billion in 1997 and 1998. In the U.S., price pressure from Compaq and, later, eMachines, along with continued poor showings in consumer satisfaction surveys made it difficult for the company to remain profitable and led to Alagem's departure in 1998. In 1999, NEC began withdrawing the Packard Bell name from the U.S. market, while keeping it in Europe, where the brand was untainted by allegations of sub-standard quality.[12]
Packard Bell Europe
In 2000, Packard Bell was withdrawn from the U.S. market, selling their Utah based call centers, all US inventory in Sacramento and all US product liability to Alorica Inc who was responsible for providing support to all remaining US customers. However, Packard Bell continued to be popular overseas as Packard Bell Europe (PBE).[13] Indeed, Packard Bell Europe still enjoys a relatively good reputation; its products, for example, are stocked by John Lewis, the retailer of high-end consumer goods. Packard Bell also entered the MP3 business and produced an MP3/WMA player named "AudioDream". In 2004, the company changed its logo and began manufacturing media products for television and wireless networking.
Packard Bell also sells accessories and has started operating in other continents. In September 2006, Packard Bell was bought by John Hui, the former owner of eMachines who sold eMachines to Gateway on January 30, 2004. Now known as Packard Bell BV, the company relocated to Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
In August 2007 Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo confirmed its interest in acquiring Packard Bell in a move to expand its market into Europe by tendering an offer for Packard Bell.[14] In January 2008, Acer announced that it had acquired a controlling interest of 75% in the parent company of Packard Bell due to rights that it had acquired when it purchased Gateway, enabling Acer to counter offer any third party bid on Packard Bell.[15] Packard Bell is now in the same corporate family as Gateway, a former competitor.
Currently, Packard Bell also manufactures the wide range of EasyNote laptop computer models.[16]
Sponsorship
From 1996 until 2000, when Strongbow took over the contract, Packard Bell sponsored English football club Leeds United.
From 2009 to 2010, the name Packard Bell has been seen on the FIAT Yamaha MotoGP racebike of World Champion Valentino Rossi of Italy.[17] Packard Bell also dropped their sponsorship from the Professional Electronic Sports Team, 4Kings, but picked up team Enron from North America.
Notes
- ^ Source: Computerhope
- ^ Source: Computer History Museum, [1] in Los Angeles
- ^ Europe Commission stamps Acer's Packard Bell acquisition 'approved' | News Blog - CNET News
- ^ 1950-1959 Packard Bell - USAF, Television History - The First 75 Years, January 16, 2005
- ^ BetaNews | NEC Sells Packard Bell to Calif. Investor
- ^ PACKARD BELL SELLS MORE PCS IN THE U.S. THAN ANYONE. SO JUST WHO ARE THESE GUYS?, Fortune, June 12, 1995
- ^ Sprout, Alison L. with Coxeter, Ruth M., Packard Bell sells more PCs in the U.S. than anyone. So just who are these guys?, Fortune Magazine, June 12, 1995, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/06/12/203837/index.htm
- ^ Linebach, Nath
- ^ Broken Link[dead link]
- ^ a b Tynan, Dan. 10 Worst PCs of All Time, PC World, March 19, 2007
- ^ Berley, Max. Groupe Bull Quits PCs in 3-Way Deal , International Herald Tribune, February 8, 1996 [dead link]
- ^ NEC disables Packard Bell NEC, ZDNet, November 3, 1999
- ^ http://www.packardbell.com/company/profile.htm [dead link]
- ^ Lenovo close to acquiring Packard Bell
- ^ Acer Buys 75 Percent of Packard Bell - Washington Post
- ^ Press Release Packard Bell, January 12, 2011
- ^ 02.02.2009 Packard Bell sponsor of Yamaha Factory Racing Team : Changeover of sponsorship from Acer [dead link]