BQ (former name: Mundo Reader) was a Spanish company brand of user electronics devices, such as smartphones, tablets, e-readers and 3D printers among other products.
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.
In 2014, the company entered the Portuguese market.[10]
In 2015, the company produced a smartphone (BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition) that runs the Ubuntu operating system.[11]
In 2016, the company released the BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet.[12]
In August 2016 BQ filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court against the Russian smartphone manufacturer Antares LLC for the use of the BQ trademark. The Spanish company demanded three million rubles, but the Russian company claimed that it was using the brand legally. The court sided with the Russian company.[13]
After the sale to Vingroup in 2018, BQ remained active in the Vietnamese market under the name VinSmart, producing Vsmart-branded phones. In 2021, Vingroup withdrew from the smartphone market, and BQ filed for bankruptcy.[14]
Revenue, by year:
Mobile phones and tablets
AndroidOne:
Android high-end:
Android mid-range:
Android Cyanogen:
Ubuntu Phone:
Other:
- BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
- BQ Aquaris X2
- BQ Aquaris A4.5
- BQ Aquaris M5[21]
- BQ Aquaris E4.5
- BQ Aquaris E5
- BQ Aquaris M10
- BQ Aquaris E4.5
- BQ Aquaris E5
- BQ Aquaris E6
- BQ Aquaris E4
See also
- VinSmart
- List of mobile phone brands by country
- Comparison of tablets
References
- Android One Enters Europe With BQ Aquaris A4.5 GadgetsNDTV, retrieved 18 Sep 2015^
- Google is launching Android One in Spain and it's going to be way more expensive than expected BusinessInsider, retrieved 21 Sep 2015^
- Android One-Powered BQ Aquaris A4.5 Gets Two Years Of Google Support TomsHardware, retrieved 18 Sep 2015^
- First Ubuntu Phone with 'Convergence' Is Being Made by Bq OmgUbuntu, June 2015, retrieved 1 Jun 2015^
- First Ubuntu smartphone, Aquaris E4.5, launches into cluttered mobile market ZdNet, retrieved 6 Feb 2015^
- Canonical Launches First Ubuntu Phone With Spain's BQ GadgetsNDTV, retrieved 9 Feb 2015^
- BQ And Canonical Launch The Second Ubuntu Phone TechCrunch, retrieved 2 Jun 2015^
- 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^
- E. Arrieta. El fabricante de tabletas BQ contratará a 400 personas, Empresas y Finanzas. Expansion.com, December 12, 2013, retrieved November 27, 2014^
- Spain's bq expects to sell 100,000 smartphones in Portugal - Telecompaper Telecompaper.com, May 23, 2014, retrieved November 27, 2014^
- Ubuntu smartphone offers alternative to apps BBC News, 6 February 2015, retrieved 11 February 2015^
- Canonical fulfills its Linux convergence vision betanews, 5 February 2016, retrieved 5 February 2016^
- ispanskii-rossiiskii-proizvoditeli-smartfonov-sporyat-brenda-bq vedomosti, 29 July 2016, retrieved 17 August 2016^
- Joey Sneddon. Bq, Makers of the First Ubuntu Phone, Have Gone Bust OMG! Ubuntu, 2021-08-26, retrieved 2025-12-03^
- Ramón Muñóz. BQ: Móviles con la marca España El Pais, 25 May 2015, retrieved 2 August 2015^
- Marimar Jimenez. La española BQ presume de sus ventas millonarias de 'smartphones' Cincodias.com, November 27, 2014, retrieved November 27, 2014^
- BQ Aquaris X Pro - Full Spec - GsmArena GsmArena^
- BQ Aquaris X - Full Spec - GsmArena GsmArena^
- BQ Aquaris X5 Plus - Full Spec - GsmArena GsmArena^
- BQ Aquaris X5 - Full Spec - GsmArena GsmArena^
- BQ Aquaris M5 - Full Spec - GsmArena GsmArena^