NEC Mobile Communications

NEC Mobile Communications was a Japanese mobile-device company within the NEC Group. It was established on 1 May 2010 as a joint venture involving NEC Corporation, Casio Computer, and Hitachi. The company combined NEC's mobile-handset business with the operations of Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, a handset joint venture created in 2004 by Casio and Hitachi. At formation, NEC held a controlling 70.74 percent interest, while Casio and Hitachi held 20 percent and 9.26 percent respectively. The business focused on mobile terminals rather than network infrastructure, producing phones and tablets for Japanese operators and, in some cases, international markets. Its portfolio included the MEDIAS smartphone family, the rugged G'zOne line associated with Casio, EXILIM feature phones, CanU devices for South Korea, and Medias Tab tablets. The company was at one point described as Japan's second-largest mobile-terminal maker. The business faced a deteriorating domestic handset market and increasing competition in smartphones. In July 2013, NEC Casio announced that it would withdraw from smartphone manufacturing. Later that year, Casio and Hitachi transferred their interests to NEC, making the company a wholly owned NEC subsidiary. The company adopted the name NEC Mobile Communications in October 2014, reflecting the end of the original three-company ownership structure and the narrower NEC-centered operating model. In December 2015, NEC announced plans to take the mobile-phone business back into NEC Corporation. The transfer was scheduled for March 2016, after which NEC Mobile Communications was dissolved. The company therefore represents a distinct but short-lived corporate phase in NEC's handset history: it consolidated NEC, Casio, and Hitachi mobile-phone activities, operated several recognizable device families, and was ultimately wound down as NEC exited handset manufacturing.

NEC Mobile Communications was created on 1 May 2010 to consolidate mobile-handset activities associated with NEC, Casio, and Hitachi. Its direct predecessor structure dated to Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, which Casio and Hitachi had established on 1 April 2004. NEC subsequently combined its own mobile-handset division with that joint venture, creating NEC Casio Mobile Communications. The ownership arrangement reflected the roles of the three Japanese electronics groups. NEC was the controlling shareholder with a 70.74 percent stake, Casio held 20 percent, and Hitachi held 9.26 percent. The company was headquartered in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, and concentrated on mobile terminals for Japan's carrier-led market. It developed both conventional feature phones and smartphones, while also extending some product families into overseas markets. The company built a portfolio that included MEDIAS smartphones, the G'zOne range of rugged feature phones and smartphones, EXILIM feature phones connected with Casio's camera brand, CanU feature phones sold in South Korea, and Medias Tab tablets. The business was once regarded as Japan's second-largest maker of mobile terminals. However, the Japanese handset market became increasingly difficult as competition intensified and consumer demand shifted toward smartphones supplied by larger global and domestic competitors. In July 2013, NEC Casio announced its withdrawal from smartphone manufacturing. The decision marked a major retrenchment from the company's earlier product strategy and reflected declining domestic market share. In December 2013, Casio and Hitachi sold their stakes to NEC. NEC consequently became the sole owner, ending the original three-party joint-venture structure. The company was renamed NEC Mobile Communications in October 2014. The new name emphasized its integration into NEC rather than its former Casio-Hitachi ownership and branding. The remaining business continued to be associated with NEC's mobile-device activities, but the company's long-term independent role was limited. In December 2015, NEC announced that it would acquire all of the mobile-phone business from NEC Mobile Communications in March 2016. The transaction represented the final internal reorganization of the handset operation. NEC Mobile Communications was dissolved shortly afterward. Its history is therefore best understood as a consolidation and wind-down phase within NEC's mobile-phone business, rather than as a continuing consumer-electronics brand.

• 2016

  Dissolution

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  NEC Mobile Communications was dissolved after its mobile-phone business was transferred to NEC Corporation.

• 2015

  NEC announces internal transfer of mobile-phone business

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  NEC announced in December that it would acquire the company's mobile-phone business in March 2016.

• 2014

  Renamed NEC Mobile Communications

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted its NEC Mobile Communications name in October.

• 2013

  Smartphone manufacturing withdrawal announced

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  NEC Casio announced in July that it would withdraw from smartphone manufacturing amid declining domestic market share.

• 2013

  NEC becomes sole owner

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  Casio and Hitachi sold their stakes to NEC in December, making NEC the company's sole shareholder.

• 2010

  NEC Casio Mobile Communications established

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  The company was formed on 1 May 2010 through the combination of NEC's mobile-handset division and the former Casio-Hitachi mobile venture.

• 2004

  Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications established

  [1]NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org

  Casio and Hitachi established the predecessor joint venture that was later combined with NEC's handset division.

A Japanese mobile-terminal manufacturer serving the domestic market, with selected device lines distributed internationally. Its portfolio combined mainstream smartphones, operator-oriented feature phones, rugged devices, camera-branded phones, and tablets.

• Smartphones

  MEDIAS

  MEDIAS was NEC Mobile Communications' principal smartphone family for the Japanese domestic market. The line represented the company's effort to compete in the rapidly expanding smartphone segment before NEC Casio announced its withdrawal from smartphone manufacturing in 2013.

• Rugged feature phones and smartphones

  G'zOne

  G'zOne was a rugged mobile-device family associated with Casio and offered through the NEC Casio business. It included both feature phones and smartphones and was sold in Japan as well as selected international markets. The line was differentiated by its durable, outdoor-oriented positioning.

• Camera-oriented feature phones

  EXILIM

  EXILIM feature phones connected NEC Mobile Communications' handset portfolio with Casio's EXILIM camera brand. These devices emphasized imaging-related capabilities and were part of the company's feature-phone offering during the period before its withdrawal from handset manufacturing.

• Feature phones

  CanU

  CanU was a feature-phone line associated with the South Korean market. It illustrates the company's activity outside Japan, although the available reference material does not specify individual models, launch dates, or distribution arrangements.

• Tablets

  Medias Tab

  Medias Tab was a tablet line that extended the MEDIAS device family beyond mobile phones. It formed part of NEC Mobile Communications' broader mobile-terminal portfolio, alongside smartphones and feature phones.

• 2015

  Transfer mobile-phone business back to NECStrategy

  Background

  Following the smartphone withdrawal and ownership consolidation, NEC decided to absorb the remaining mobile-phone operation.

  Action taken

  NEC announced in December that it would acquire all mobile-phone business from NEC Mobile Communications in March 2016.

  Aftermath

  NEC Mobile Communications was dissolved shortly after the transfer.

  Source

• 2013

  Withdraw from smartphone manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  The company faced declining share in Japan's mobile-terminal market and increasing pressure in smartphones.

  Action taken

  NEC Casio announced in July that it would withdraw from smartphone manufacturing.

  Aftermath

  The decision reduced the company's role in the smartphone market and preceded the later consolidation of the business under NEC.

  Source

• 2013

  NEC acquires Casio and Hitachi interestsM&A

  Background

  The original joint-venture ownership structure no longer matched the company's reduced handset strategy.

  Action taken

  Casio and Hitachi sold their stakes to NEC in December, making NEC the sole owner.

  Aftermath

  The transaction ended the three-company ownership structure and led to the company's later renaming as NEC Mobile Communications.

  Source

1. 1NEC Mobile Communicationsen.wikipedia.org