NEC

NEC Casio Mobile Communications was established on May 1, 2010, as a result of a merger between NEC’s mobile communications division and Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications—a former joint venture between Casio and Hitachi. NEC (Nippon Electric Company) has a long history in mobile and wireless communications, dating back to the 1980s with the development of early 3G pocket-sized devices. In 1980, the company launched its first analog mobile phones, such as the MP5B2D2. By the late 1990s, it had become a dominant mobile phone manufacturer in Japan, supplying devices to major international carriers including Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo, and SoftBank. In March 2016, facing intense global competition in the smartphone market, NEC effectively brought its operations in this sector to an end.