The history of MEIZU: from player to smartphone, from China to the whole world
Image: phandroid.com
MEIZU was founded in Zhuhai in 2003 by Jack Wong. Today, MEIZU is one of the top 10 Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
MEIZU was created to make a dream come true, as stated on the official website of the manufacturer. The full name of the enterprise is Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. (魅族科技有限公司, pinyin: Mèizú Kējì Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī). As for the translation of MEIZU (魅族), there are several different versions, but the most common one is: the first word mei means bewitching, bewitching, demonic,"zu" - generation, family, group of people. That is, MEIZU is the "enchanted generation."
Let's go back to the history of the company. Jack Wong (whose real name is Huang Zhang) did not pursue higher education, but focused on the art of cooking. I also worked as a docker. Before founding MEIZU, Wong gained experience in audio production at Soken, a Singapore-based company. It was a great pleasure for him to buy new gadgets and share his impressions on the Internet under the pseudonym Jack Wong, which became the businessman's media name. There is not much information about Wong, he does not like to appear in public and communicate with the media.
Music has tied us
Like many electronics companies, MEIZU did not start with smartphones as its flagship product. In 2003, the company released its first device, the Meizu MX music MP3 player. The player sold well in the local market, but in fact copied the iAudio CW300 model from the Korean brand Cowon. Meizu is wisely changing its strategy. Now the company is betting on originality and strives to create something of its own.
The result of the new policy was the creation in 2006 of the MP4 player MEIZU MiniPlayer. The player has a beautiful design and well-designed interface. In addition to listening to music, it could be used to view photos and videos, read books, use the player as a voice recorder. The company released updates and fixed bugs in the software in a timely manner. It was thanks to this gadget that MEIZU was talked about.
But the fast-growing and promising smartphone market prompted the manufacturer to change its line of business. The management understood that the only chance to survive and succeed was to quickly respond to market changes, that is, start producing smartphones.
Steal like an artist
In April 2007, MEIZU introduced its first smartphone, the M8. It attracted the attention of buyers with its low price, large screen and good technical characteristics. 3.4" touch screen, 256 MB RAM, Mymobile OS (based on Microsoft Windows CE 6.0).
Appearance and part of the interface, to put it mildly, very reminiscent of the iPhone. Steve Jobs in one of his comments indignantly accused MEIZU of stealing intellectual property: "They stole our ideas and intellectual property." In the end, Apple even managed to stop sales of the M8. On October 9, 2010, MEIZU reportedly stopped production of these smartphones under pressure. By this time, the company has already managed to win the hearts of millions of fans.
Breakthrough
The release of the updated product was scheduled for November 2010, but was delayed for a number of reasons. One of them is the process of verification and approval of the smartphone by regulatory authorities that dragged on for 2 months. The delay was also caused by the release of the iPhone 4 in China. To compete with Apple, the company decided to keep up and use the Sharp AVS screen similar to Retina.
So, the new smartphone M9 enters the market in January 2011 (although the first 300 copies were sold in December). Now real success was persistently knocking at the door. Huge queues lined up at MEIZU stores.
The price for the M9 was 2,380 yuan ($350). The new smartphone ran Flyme's proprietary operating system, based on Android, and boasted a 1GHz S5PC110 (Samsung Hummingbird) processor and a 3.54-inch touchscreen.
The product has received the most flattering reviews in authoritative publications. With its appearance, the brand name became really widely known all over the world. But most importantly, not only experts, but also consumers were delighted. As the company's management has repeatedly stated, it is the focus on customer needs, and not the pursuit of outstanding performance, that is MEIZU's main priority.
Generation MX
The next model, MX2, was also accepted by the market with a bang. It was impossible not to note the good functionality and nice design. The popularity of these two phones provided the company with a three-fold increase in revenue for the year.
MEIZU has also achieved such impressive success thanks to the new marketing policy. The promotion was based on blogging, in which even before the start of sales, discussion of new smartphones began, and activity on the forums. Communication with users, quick response to comments and wishes of the audience allowed the company to win the hearts of consumers.
2013 was marked by the release of the MX3 model. The smartphone differed from its previous counterparts except for a higher cost. Compared with the previous model, the new smartphone has become larger, screen size has increased to 5.1 inches. Meizu MX3 received the same processor as the Samsung GALAXY S4.
In 2014, MEIZU, without changing its tradition and not slowing down, releases the fourth smartphone of the MX series, which eventually received the title of the most powerful on the market. 5.36-inch screen, 8-core processor, compatible with China Mobile and Unicom 4G standards, 20-megapixel camera. The device was priced at 1,799 yuan ($293) per unit, setting the MX4 apart from competitors such as Xiaomi, Samsung, and Apple.
The new Flyme OS 4.0 operating system has also received rave reviews. Another feature was the aluminum case, thanks to which the weight of the smartphone has noticeably decreased compared to previous models. At the same time, it was announced the launch of a line of more budget phones M1 and M2, which went on sale in 2015.
2014 was generally extremely successful for MEIZU. During the year, 4.4 million smartphones were sold. In the same year, the company launched sales in France, Italy and Eastern Europe.
What's next?
Such a major player as Alibaba Group became interested in the success of MEIZU. Interest was expressed in the form of investments in the amount of 590 million dollars. The main goal is to promote their own YunOS operating system. After receiving the investment, MEIZU announces its intention to start a more active global expansion.
In 2015, 20 million MEIZU smartphones were already sold, compared to 2014, the growth was 350%! In June, the company introduced the Meizu MX5, as well as its first power bank and VR glasses. And in the fall, it announced the release of a top product - PRO 5. The company does not forget about its roots and is actively working in the field of audio technology, offering interesting and relatively inexpensive speakers and headphones. The number of MEIZU stores in China exceeds 2,000, and the company employs more than 4,000 people.
In early 2016, Jack Wong announced that the company was preparing for an IPO in 2017. In addition, the manufacturer plans to increase sales of smartphones to 25 million.
MEIZU - compared to other smartphone companies - is still a very young company. The devices are distinguished by really high quality and nice design, and most importantly - an affordable price compared to other brands. Thanks to this, the company has every chance to take a leading position in the international market.