Alex Tkachenko

First Things First (1994) is a self-help book written by Stephen Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill. It offers a time management approach that, if established as a habit, is intended to help readers achieve "effectiveness" by aligning themselves to "First Things". The approach is a further development of the approach popularized in Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and other titles.

Summary

The book asserts that there are three generations of time management: first-generation task lists, second-generation personal organizers with deadlines, and third-generation values clarification as incorporated in the Franklin Planner. Using the analogy of "the clock and the compass," the authors assert that identifying primary roles and principles provides a "true north" and reference when deciding what activities are most important, so that decisions are guided not merely by the "clock" of scheduling but by the "compass" of purpose and values. Asserting that people have a need "to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy" they propose moving beyond "urgency".

In the book, Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. He uses a time management formulation attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower (see: The Eisenhower Method), categorizing tasks into whether they are urgent and whether they are important, recognizing that important tasks may not be urgent, and urgent tasks are not necessarily important. This is his 2x2 matrix: classifying tasks as urgent and non-urgent on one axis, and important or non-important on the other axis. His quadrant 2 (not the same as the quadrant II in a Cartesian coordinate system) has the items that are non-urgent but important. These are the ones he believes people are likely to neglect, but should focus on to achieve effectiveness.

Important items are identified by focusing on a few key priorities and roles which will vary from person to person, then identifying small goals for each role each week, in order to maintain a holistic life balance. One tool for this is a worksheet that lists up to seven key roles, with three weekly goals per role, to be evaluated and scheduled into each week before other appointments occupy all available time with things that seem urgent but are not important. This concept is illustrated with a story that encourages people to "place the big rocks first."

Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed upon in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans.

The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems, published in 2011, is a self-help book by Stephen Covey, also the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In it, he takes a more detailed look at habit six from that book, "synergize". Co-author Breck England stated that The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People leads up to The 3rd Alternative. The book focuses on a process of conflict resolution that Covey said is distinct from compromise. It gives details and real-world examples and ends with two chapters explaining that the 3rd Alternative is "a way of life".

Summary

The 3rd Alternative thinking involves applying four paradigms: "I See Myself", "I See You", "I Seek You Out", and "I Synergize With You".

The first step or paradigm is about coming to know oneself. It is about stepping outside of normal associations and examining personal worth, feelings, and interests. When a person adopts this paradigm and wins the "private victory," he or she is ready to turn toward others, according to Covey's 7 Habits. The second paradigm instructs readers to see others with the same respectfulness as they now see themselves. The next step is to understand others and their views. In this paradigm, interests are not obstacles to each other, but principles required to be understood by both parties involved in order to generate a solution for both. Covey said that, of the seven habits of his book, the one that has had the greatest impact for him is "Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood". The 3rd Alternative, he said, explores this topic, primarily in the section covering this third paradigm, "I Seek You Out". The final and most lengthy section describes the process of arriving at synergy. It involves four steps: "Ask the 3rd Alternative Question", "Define Criteria of Success", "Create 3rd Alternatives", and "Arrive at Synergy".

Following the exposition of the process, the authors include several chapters showing how The 3rd Alternative principles have been or could be applied in situations including work, home, school, law, society, and the world. Covey finishes the book by explaining that beyond using 3rd Alternative processes, one might try to live a 3rd Alternative life. He gives his personal insights into how this is done. Covey has explained that, when engaged in a negotiation or confronted with a problem, most people aren't aware that a 3rd Alternative even exists.

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness is a book written by Stephen R. Covey, published in 2004. It is the sequel to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989. The book clarifies and reinforces Covey's earlier declaration that "Interdependence is a higher value than independence." This book helps its readers increase the dependence of themselves and others.

8 - Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs

The eighth habit is "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs." Voice is Covey's code for "unique personal significance." Those who inspire others to find theirs are the leaders needed now and for the future, according to Covey.

The central idea of the book is the need for steady recovery and application of the whole person paradigm, which holds that persons have four bits of intelligence - physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Denial of any of them reduces individuals to things, inviting many problems. The industrial age is assumed to have been a period dependent on such denial. Covey believed the information age and a foreseen "Age of Wisdom" require "whole" people (in whole jobs).

Some versions of the book come with a DVD, although all the short films on this DVD can be viewed via Covey's website. The book is divided into two sections, with the first few chapters focusing on finding your voice, while the later chapters are about inspiring others to find their voice. Most of the chapters in the book include a section discussing one of the 'stories' from the DVD, which are intended to illustrate the theme of the chapter (for example the story of Helen Keller and another about the Berlin Wall).

The book talks of "5 Cancerous Behaviors" (page 135) that inhibit people's greatness:

Criticism

Complaining

Comparing

Competing

Contending

People can discover their voice because of the three gifts everyone is born with:

The freedom to choose

The natural laws or principles – those that dictate the consequences of behavior. Positive consequences come from fairness, kindness, respect, honesty, integrity, service, and contribution

The four bits of intelligence – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Covey talks about great achievers expressing their voice through the use of their intelligences. Achievers for example

develop their mental energy into vision

develop their physical energy into discipline

develop their emotional energy into passion

develop their spiritual energy into conscience – their inward moral sense of what is right and wrong and their drive towards meaning and contribution.

Philosophical background

Covey was heavily influenced by Peter Drucker and Carl Rogers. Another key influence on his thinking was his study of American self-help books that he did for his doctoral dissertation. A further influence on Covey was his affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to Clayton Christensen, The Seven Habits was a secular distillation of Latter-day Saint values.

Books

Covey's book Spiritual Roots of Human Relations was published in 1970 by Deseret Book Company. Reading this book will identify how Covey's later works were a secular development of these earlier ideas.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Main article: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's best-known book, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one's values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey adamantly refuses to conflate principles and values; he sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people's behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.

The 8th Habit

Covey's 2004 book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness was published by Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It is the sequel to The 7 Habits. Covey posits that effectiveness does not suffice in what he calls "The Knowledge Worker Age". He says that "[t]he challenges and complexity we face today are of a different order of magnitude." The 8th habit essentially urges: "Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs."

The Leader in Me

Covey released The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time in November 2008. It tells how "some schools, parents and business leaders are preparing the next generation to meet the great challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. It shows how an elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina, decided to try incorporating The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and other basic leadership skills into the curriculum in unique and creative ways. Inspired by the success of Principal Muriel Summers and the teachers and staff of A.B. Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, other schools and parents around the world have adopted the approach and have seen remarkable results".

Other projects

Franklin Covey

In 1985 Covey established Stephen R. Covey and Associates which in 1987 became The "Covey Leadership Center" which, in 1997, merged with Franklin Quest to form FranklinCovey, a global professional-services firm and specialty retailer selling both training and productivity tools to individuals and to organizations. Their mission statement reads: "We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere".

In 2009 Covey launched a career development webinar series to help people struggling in the economic downturn. Its purpose was to offer timely and current topics on a regular basis.

Stephen Covey Online Community

In March 2008, Covey launched the Stephen Covey's Online Community. The site was a collection of online courses, goal management and social networking. Covey used it to teach his thoughts and ideas on current topics and self leadership.

The site was withdrawn some time after his death.

Academia

Covey was a professor at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University for several years, helping to establish the Master of Organizational Behavior program, which has since been merged into the MBA program (OBHR emphasis). Also while at BYU Covey served as an assistant to the university president.

During the late part of his life, Covey returned to academia as a professor at the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, holding the Huntsman Presidential Chair.

Education Initiatives

Covey developed his 2008 book The Leader in Me into several education-related projects. On April 20, 2010, he made his first post to an education blog entitled "Our Children and the Crisis in Education" which appears on the Huffington Post news and blog-aggregation website. FranklinCovey also established a Web site dedicated exclusively to The Leader in Me concept, and it holds periodic conferences and workshops to train elementary school administrators who want to integrate The Leader in Me process into their school's academic culture.

Personal

Family

Covey lived with his wife Sandra and their family in Provo, Utah, home to Brigham Young University, where Covey taught prior to the publication of his best-selling book. A father of nine and a grandfather of fifty-five, he received the Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2003.

Religion

Covey was a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission in England for the Church. Covey served as the first president of the Irish Mission of the church starting in July 1962. Later starting in 1973 Covey served for a time as a mission representative of the Quorum of the 12, where he oversaw training of missionaries in multiple missions in the eastern United States.

When Covey studied as an MBA student at Harvard, he would, on occasion, preach to crowds on Boston Common.

Covey authored several devotional works for Latter-day Saint readers, including:

Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970)

The Divine Center (1982)

6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems (2004).

Injuries and death

In April 2012, Covey was riding a bike in Rock Canyon Park in Provo, Utah, when he lost control and fell. He was wearing a helmet but according to his daughter, Catherine Sagers, the helmet slipped and his head hit the pavement. Catherine said Covey "went down a hill too fast and flipped forward on the bike. It was a pretty big goose egg on the top of his head." Covey also suffered cracked ribs and a partially collapsed lung.

Covey died from complications resulting from the bike accident at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on July 16, 2012, at the age of 79.

Honors and awards:

The Thomas More College Medallion for continuing service to humanity

The National Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership

The 1994 International Entrepreneur of the Year Award

One of Time Magazine's 25 most influential Americans of 1996

The Sikh's 1998 International Man of Peace Award

2003 Fatherhood Award from the National Fatherhood Initiative

2004 Golden Gavel award from Toastmasters International

Accepted the inaugural Corporate Core Values Award from the California University of Pennsylvania on behalf of the FranklinCovey Corporation[citation needed] at the "national Franklin Covey Conference" (December 2006).

Inducted into the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum Hall of Fame on November 14, 2009

Maharishi Award from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa

Aman2020 Award from Aman Wolde foundation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Works

Spiritual Roots of Human Relations (1970) (ISBN 0-87579-705-9)

How to Succeed withPeople"" (1971) ISBN 0875796818

The Divine Center (1982) (ISBN 1-59038-404-0)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989, 2004) (ISBN 0-671-70863-5)

Principle Centered Leadership (1989) (ISBN 0-671-79280-6)

First Things First (1994), co-authored with Roger and Rebecca Merrill (ISBN 0-684-80203-1)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families : building a beautiful family culture in a turbulent world (1997) (ISBN 0-307-44008-7)

Quest: The Spiritual Path to Success (Editor) (1997) with Thomas Moore, Mark Victor Hansen, David Whyte, Bernie Siegel, Gabrielle Roth and Marianne Williamson. Simon & Schuster AudioBook ISBN 978-0-671-57484-0

Living the 7 Habits (2000) (ISBN 0-684-85716-2)

6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems (2004) (ISBN 1-57345-187-8)

The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (2004) (ISBN 0-684-84665-9)

The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything (2006), Stephen M. R. Covey, co-authored with Rebecca Merrill; foreword by Stephen R. Covey

The Leader in Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child At a Time (2008) (ISBN 1-43910-326-7)

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Network Marketing Professionals (2009) (ISBN 978-1-933057-78-1)

The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems (2011) (ISBN 978-1451626261)

The Leader in Me: How Schools Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time (Second Edition) (2014) (ISBN 978-1476772189)

The 7 Habits

Covey introduces the concept of paradigm shift and helps the reader understand that different perspectives exist, i.e. that two people can see the same thing and yet differ from each other.

Covey also introduces the maturity continuum. These are three successive stages of increasing maturity: dependence, independence, and interdependence. At birth, everybody is dependent, and characteristics of dependence may linger; this is the first and lowest stage of maturity.

Dependence means you need others to get what you need. All of us began life as an infant, depending on others for nurturing and sustenance. I may be intellectually dependent on other people's thinking; I may be emotionally dependent on other people's affirmation and validation of me. Dependence is the attitude of "you": you take care of me... or you don't come through and I blame you for the result.

Independence means you are pretty much free from the external influence [and] support of others. ... Independence is the attitude of "I". ... It is the avowed goal of many individuals, and also many social movements, to enthrone independence as the highest level of achievement, but it is not the ultimate goal in effective living. There is a far more mature and more advanced level.

The third and highest level in the Maturity Continuum is interdependence. ... We live in an interdependent reality. Interdependence is essential for good leaders; good team players; a successful marriage or family life; in organizations. Interdependence is the attitude of "we": we can co-operate; we can be a team; we can combine our talents.

— Stephen Covey, The 7 habits of highly effective people (1998)

Each of the first three habits is intended to help achieve independence. The next three habits are intended to help achieve interdependence. The final, seventh habit is intended to help maintain these achievements. Each of the seven habits has a chapter of the book (or a section of the videotape or DVD) devoted to it:

Independence

The first three habits surround moving from dependence to independence:

Habit 1: "Be proactive"

Proactivity is about taking responsibility for one's reaction to one's own experiences, taking the initiative to respond positively and improve the situation. Covey discusses recognizing one's circle of influence and circle of concern. Covey discusses focusing one's responses and focusing on the center of one's influence.

Habit 2: "Begin with the end in mind"

Covey discusses envisioning what one wants in the future (a personal mission statement) so one can work and plan towards it, and understanding how people make important life decisions. To be effective one needs to act based on principles and constantly review one's mission statements, says Covey. Covey asks: Are you—right now—who you want to be? What do you have to say about yourself? How do you want to be remembered? If habit 1 advises changing one's life to act and be proactive, habit 2 advises that "you are the programmer". Grow and stay humble, Covey says.

Covey says that all things are created twice: Before one acts, one should act in one's mind first. Before creating something, measure twice. Do not just act; think first: Is this how I want it to go, and are these the correct consequences?

Habit 3: "Put first things first"

Covey talks about what is important versus what is urgent. Priority should be given in the following order (in brackets are the corresponding actions from the Eisenhower matrix, which Dwight D. Eisenhower attributed to a former college president):

Quadrant I. Urgent and important (Do) – important deadlines and crises

Quadrant II. Not urgent but important (Plan) – long-term development

Quadrant III. Urgent but not important (Delegate) – distractions with deadlines

Quadrant IV. Not urgent and not important (Eliminate) – frivolous distractions

The order is important, says Covey: after completing items in quadrant I, people should spend the majority of their time on II, but many people spend too much time in III and IV. The calls to delegate and eliminate are reminders of their relative priority.

If habit 2 advises that "you are the programmer", habit 3 advises: "write the program, become a leader". Keep personal integrity by minimizing the difference between what you say versus what you do, says Covey.

Interdependence

The next three habits talk about interdependence (e.g., working with others):

Habit 4: "Think win–win"

Seek mutually beneficial win–win solutions or agreements in your relationships, says Covey. Valuing and respecting people by seeking a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten their way. Thinking win–win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique; it is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration, says Covey.

Habit 5: "Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

Use empathetic listening to genuinely understand a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to be influenced. This creates an atmosphere of caring, and positive problem-solving.

Habit 5 is expressed in the ancient Greek philosophy of three modes of persuasion:

Ethos is one's personal credibility. It's the trust that one inspires, one's "emotional bank account".

Pathos is the empathetic side, the alignment with the emotional trust of another person's communication.

Logos is the logic, the reasoning part of the presentation.

The order of the concepts indicates their relative importance, says Covey.

Habit 6: "Synergize"

Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals that no one could have done alone, Covey exhorts.

Continual improvement

The final habit is that of continuous improvement in both the personal and interpersonal spheres of influence.

Habit 7: "Sharpen the saw"

Covey says that one should balance and renew one's resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle. He primarily emphasizes exercise for physical renewal, good prayer, and good reading for mental renewal. He also mentions service to society for spiritual renewal.

Covey explains the "upward spiral" model. Through conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, an upward spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and one will learn the principles with a deeper understanding. The upward spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power, says Covey.

Reception

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages worldwide, and the audio version has sold 1.5 million copies, and remains one of the best selling nonfiction business books in history. In August 2011 Time listed 7 Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".

U.S. President Bill Clinton invited Covey to Camp David to counsel him on how to integrate the book into his presidency.

Abundance mentality

Covey coined the term abundance mentality, or abundance mindset, a way of thinking in which a person believes there are enough resources and successes to share with others. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e., destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, it means "you lose", because you are not considering the possibility of all parties "winning" in some way or another in a given situation. Individuals having an abundance mentality reject the notion of zero-sum games and are able to celebrate the success of others, rather than feel threatened by them. The author contends that the abundance mentality arises from having a high self-worth and security (see habits 1, 2, and 3), and leads to the sharing of profits, recognition and responsibility. Similarly, organizations may also apply an abundance mentality when doing business.

After The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was published, the business press have discussed the idea.

Formats

In addition to the book and audiobook versions, a VHS version also exists.

Adaptations

Sean Covey, Stephen's son, has written a version of the book for teens, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers to make them easier to understand. In September 2006, Sean Covey published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make A Guide for Teens, which highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them. In September 2008, Covey published The 7 Habits of Happy Kids, a children's book illustrated by Stacy Curtis which further simplifies the 7 Habits for children and teaches them through stories with anthropomorphic animal characters.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.

Covey defines effectiveness as the balance of obtaining desirable results with caring for that which produces those results. He illustrates this by referring to the fable of the goose that laid the golden eggs. He further claims that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio, where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results.

Covey's best-known book has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide since its first publication. The audio version became the first non-fiction audio-book in U.S. publishing history to sell more than one million copies. Covey argues against what he calls the personality ethic, that he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He promotes what he labels the character ethic: aligning one's values with so-called universal and timeless principles. In doing this, Covey distinguishes principles and values. He sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Our values govern our behavior, while principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence through independence on to interdependence.

Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. In 1996, Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.

Early life and education

Covey was born to Stephen Glenn Covey and Irene Louise Richards Covey in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 24, 1932. Louise was the daughter of Stephen L Richards, an apostle and counselor in the first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under David O. McKay. Covey was the grandson of Stephen Mack Covey who founded the original Little America Wyoming near Granger, Wyoming. He was athletic as a youth but suffered from a slipped capital femoral epiphysis in junior high school, requiring him to change his focus to academics and a member of the debate team and graduated from high school early.

Covey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Utah, an MBA from Harvard Business School at Harvard University, and a Doctor of Religious Education (DRE) from Brigham Young University. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was awarded ten honorary doctorates.

In 1991, the World Wide Web was made available for public use. The combination of powerful personal computers with high-resolution graphics and sound, with the infrastructure provided by the Internet, and the standardization of access methods of the Web browsers, established the foundation for a significant fraction of modern life, from bus time tables through unlimited distribution of free videos through to online user-edited encyclopedias.

user-edited encyclopedias.

Types

Stationary

A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design, drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects.

Desktop computer

Before the widespread use of PCs, a computer that could fit on a desk was remarkably small, leading to the "desktop" nomenclature. More recently, the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case. Desktop computers come in a variety of styles ranging from large vertical tower cases to small models which can be tucked behind or rest directly beneath (and support) LCD monitors.

While the term "desktop" often refers to a computer with a vertically aligned computer tower case, these varieties often rest on the ground or underneath desks. Despite this seeming contradiction, the term "desktop" does typically refer to these vertical tower cases as well as the horizontally aligned models which are designed to literally rest on top of desks and are therefore more appropriate to the "desktop" term, although both types qualify for this "desktop" label in most practical situations aside from certain physical arrangement differences. Both styles of these computer cases hold the systems hardware components such as the motherboard, processor chip, other internal operating parts. Desktop computers have an external monitor with a display screen and an external keyboard, which are plugged into ports on the back of the computer case. Desktop computers are popular for home and business computing applications as they leave space on the desk for multiple monitors.

A gaming computer is a desktop computer that generally comprises a high-performance video card, processor and RAM, to improve the speed and responsiveness of demanding video games.

An all-in-one computer (also known as single-unit PCs) is a desktop computer that combines the monitor and processor within a single unit. A separate keyboard and mouse are standard input devices, with some monitors including touchscreen capability. The processor and other working components are typically reduced in size relative to standard desktops, located behind the monitor, and configured similarly to laptops.

A nettop computer was introduced by Intel in February 2008, characterized by low cost and lean functionality. These were intended to be used with an Internet connection to run Web browsers and Internet applications.

A Home theater PC (HTPC) combines the functions of a personal computer and a digital video recorder. It is connected to a TV set or an appropriately sized computer display, and is often used as a digital photo viewer, music and video player, TV receiver, and digital video recorder. HTPCs are also referred to as media center systems or media servers. The goal is to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into one box. HTPCs can also connect to services providing on-demand movies and TV shows. HTPCs can be purchased pre-configured with the required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be assembled from components.

Keyboard computers are computers inside of keyboards. Examples include the Commodore 64, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST and the ZX Spectrum.

Portable

The potential utility of portable computers was apparent early on. Alan Kay described the Dynabook in 1972, but no hardware was developed. The Xerox NoteTaker was produced in a very small experimental batch around 1978. In 1975, the IBM 5100 could be fit into a transport case, making it a portable computer, but it weighed about 50 pounds.

Before the introduction of the IBM PC, portable computers consisting of a processor, display, disk drives and keyboard, in a suit-case style portable housing, allowed users to bring a computer home from the office or to take notes at a classroom. Examples include the Osborne 1 and Kaypro; and the Commodore SX-64. These machines were AC-powered and included a small CRT display screen. The form factor was intended to allow these systems to be taken on board an airplane as carry-on baggage, though their high power demand meant that they could not be used in flight. The integrated CRT display made for a relatively heavy package, but these machines were more portable than their contemporary desktop equals. Some models had standard or optional connections to drive an external video monitor, allowing a larger screen or use with video projectors.

IBM PC-compatible suitcase format computers became available soon after the introduction of the PC, with the Compaq Portable being a leading example of the type. Later models included a hard drive to give roughly equivalent performance to contemporary desktop computers.

The development of thin plasma display and LCD screens permitted a somewhat smaller form factor, called the "lunchbox" computer. The screen formed one side of the enclosure, with a detachable keyboard and one or two half-height floppy disk drives, mounted facing the ends of the computer. Some variations included a battery, allowing operation away from AC outlets.

Notebook computers such as the TRS-80 Model 100 and Epson HX-20 had roughly the plan dimensions of a sheet of typing paper (ANSI A or ISO A4). These machines had a keyboard with slightly reduced dimensions compared to a desktop system, and a fixed LCD display screen coplanar with the keyboard. These displays were usually small, with 8 to 16 lines of text, sometimes only 40 columns line length. However, these machines could operate for extended times on disposable or rechargeable batteries. Although they did not usually include internal disk drives, this form factor often included a modem for telephone communication and often had provisions for external cassette or disk storage. Later, clam-shell format laptop computers with similar small plan dimensions were also called "notebooks".

Laptop

A laptop computer is designed for portability with "clamshell" design, where the keyboard and computer components are on one panel, with a hinged second panel containing a flat display screen. Closing the laptop protects the screen and keyboard during transportation. Laptops generally have a rechargeable battery, enhancing their portability. To save power, weight and space, laptop graphics chips are in many cases integrated into the CPU or chipset and use system RAM, resulting in reduced graphics performance when compared to desktop machines, that more typically have a graphics card installed. For this reason, desktop computers are usually preferred over laptops for gaming purposes.

Unlike desktop computers, only minor internal upgrades (such as memory and hard disk drive) are feasible owing to the limited space and power available. Laptops have the same input and output ports as desktops, for connecting to external displays, mice, cameras, storage devices and keyboards. Laptops are also a little more expensive compared to desktops, as the miniaturized components for laptops themselves are expensive.

A desktop replacement computer is a portable computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer. Such computers are currently large laptops. This class of computers usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally found in smaller portable computers, and may have limited battery capacity or no battery.

Netbooks, also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks, were a subgroup of laptops suited for general computing tasks and accessing web-based applications. Initially, the primary defining characteristic of netbooks was the lack of an optical disc drive, smaller size, and lower performance than full-size laptops. By mid-2009 netbooks had been offered to users "free of charge", with an extended service contract purchase of a cellular data plan. Ultrabooks and Chromebooks have since filled the gap left by Netbooks. Unlike the generic Netbook name, Ultrabook and Chromebook are technically both specifications by Intel and Google respectively.

Tablet

A tablet uses a touchscreen display, which can be controlled using either a stylus pen or finger. Some tablets may use a "hybrid" or "convertible" design, offering a keyboard that can either be removed as an attachment, or a screen that can be rotated and folded directly over top the keyboard. Some tablets may use desktop-PC operating system such as Windows or Linux, or may run an operating system designed primarily for tablets. Many tablet computers have USB ports, to which a keyboard or mouse can be connected.

Smartphone

Smartphones are often similar to tablet computers, the difference being that smartphones always have cellular integration. They are generally smaller than tablets, and may not have a slate form factor.

Ultra-mobile PC

The ultra-mobile PC (UMP) is a small tablet computer. It was developed by Microsoft, Intel and Samsung, among others. Current UMPCs typically feature the Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux operating system, and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors.

Pocket PC

A pocket PC is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer (personal digital assistant, PDA) that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. It may have the capability to run an alternative operating system like NetBSD or Linux. Pocket PCs have many of the capabilities of desktop PCs. Numerous applications are available for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware. Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons like GPS receivers, barcode readers, RFID readers and cameras.

In 2007, with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of a new naming scheme: devices without an integrated phone are called Windows Mobile Classic instead of Pocket PC, while devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are called Windows Mobile Professional.

Palmtop and handheld computers

Palmtop PCs were miniature pocket-sized computers running DOS that first came about in the late 1980s, typically in a clamshell form factor with a keyboard. Non-x86 based devices were often called palmtop computers, examples being Psion Series 3. In later years a hardware specification called Handheld PC was later released by Microsoft that run the Windows CE operating system.

Terminology

The term "PC" is an initialism for "personal computer". While the IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation in its model name, the term originally described personal computers of any brand.

In some contexts, "PC" is used to contrast with "Mac", an Apple Macintosh computer. Since none of these Apple products were mainframes or time-sharing systems, they were all "personal computers" and not "PC" (brand) computers.

In 1995, a CBS segment on the growing popularity of PC reported "For many newcomers PC stands for Pain and Confusion".

History

In the history of computing, early experimental machines could be operated by a single attendant. For example, ENIAC which became operational in 1946 could be run by a single, albeit highly trained, person. This mode pre-dated the batch programming, or time-sharing modes with multiple users connected through terminals to mainframe computers. Computers intended for laboratory, instrumentation, or engineering purposes were built, and could be operated by one person in an interactive fashion. Examples include such systems as the Bendix G15 and LGP-30 of 1956, and the Soviet MIR series of computers developed from 1965 to 1969.[citation needed] By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person.

The personal computer was made possible by major advances in semiconductor technology. In 1959, the silicon integrated circuit (IC) chip was developed by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor, and the metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor was developed by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs. The MOS integrated circuit was commercialized by RCA in 1964, and then the silicon-gate MOS integrated circuit was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968. Faggin later used silicon-gate MOS technology to develop the first single-chip microprocessor, the Intel 4004, in 1971. The first microcomputers, based on microprocessors, were developed during the early 1970s. Widespread commercial availability of microprocessors, from the mid-1970s onwards, made computers cheap enough for small businesses and individuals to own.

In what was later to be called the Mother of All Demos, SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart in 1968 gave a preview of features that would later become staples of personal computers: e-mail, hypertext, word processing, video conferencing, and the mouse. The demonstration required technical support staff and a mainframe time-sharing computer that were far too costly for individual business use at the time.

Early personal computers‍—‌generally called microcomputers‍—‌were often sold in a kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. Minimal programming was done with toggle switches to enter instructions, and output was provided by front panel lamps. Practical use required adding peripherals such as keyboards, computer displays, disk drives, and printers.

Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit microcomputer based on a microprocessor, the Intel 8008. It was built starting in 1972, and a few hundred units were sold. This had been preceded by the Datapoint 2200 in 1970, for which the Intel 8008 had been commissioned, though not accepted for use. The CPU design implemented in the Datapoint 2200 became the basis for x86 architecture used in the original IBM PC and its descendants.

In 1973, the IBM Los Gatos Scientific Center developed a portable computer prototype called SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) based on the IBM PALM processor with a Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT, and full function keyboard. SCAMP emulated an IBM 1130 minicomputer in order to run APL/1130.[19] In 1973, APL was generally available only on mainframe computers, and most desktop sized microcomputers such as the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC. Because SCAMP was the first to emulate APL/1130 performance on a portable, single user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 designated SCAMP a "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer". This seminal, single user portable computer now resides in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. Successful demonstrations of the 1973 SCAMP prototype led to the IBM 5100 portable microcomputer launched in 1975 with the ability to be programmed in both APL and BASIC for engineers, analysts, statisticians, and other business problem-solvers. In the late 1960s such a machine would have been nearly as large as two desks and would have weighed about half a ton.

Another desktop portable APL machine, the MCM/70, was demonstrated in 1973 and shipped in 1974. It used the Intel 8008 processor.

A seminal step in personal computing was the 1973 Xerox Alto, developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). It had a graphical user interface (GUI) which later served as inspiration for Apple's Macintosh, and Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Alto was a demonstration project, not commercialized, as the parts were too expensive to be affordable.

Also in 1973 Hewlett Packard introduced fully BASIC programmable microcomputers that fit entirely on top of a desk, including a keyboard, a small one-line display, and printer. The Wang 2200 microcomputer of 1973 had a full-size cathode ray tube (CRT) and cassette tape storage. These were generally expensive specialized computers sold for business or scientific uses.

1974 saw the introduction of what is considered by many to be the first true "personal computer", the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). Based on the 8-bit Intel 8080 Microprocessor, the Altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution, as the first commercially successful personal computer. The computer bus designed for the Altair was to become a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus, and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC.

In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold the Apple I computer circuit board, which was fully prepared and contained about 30 chips. The Apple I computer differed from the other kit-style hobby computers of era. At the request of Paul Terrell, owner of the Byte Shop, Jobs and Wozniak were given their first purchase order, for 50 Apple I computers, only if the computers were assembled and tested and not a kit computer. Terrell wanted to have computers to sell to a wide range of users, not just experienced electronics hobbyists who had the soldering skills to assemble a computer kit. The Apple I as delivered was still technically a kit computer, as it did not have a power supply, case, or keyboard when it was delivered to the Byte Shop.

The first successfully mass-marketed personal computer to be announced was the Commodore PET after being revealed in January 1977. However, it was back-ordered and not available until later that year. Three months later (April), the Apple II (usually referred to as the "Apple") was announced with the first units being shipped 10 June 1977, and the TRS-80 from Tandy Corporation / Tandy Radio Shack following in August 1977, which sold over 100,000 units during its lifetime. Together, these 3 machines were referred to as the "1977 trinity". Mass-market, ready-assembled computers had arrived, and allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware.

In 1977 the Heath company introduced personal computer kits known as Heathkits, starting with the Heathkit H8, followed by the Heathkit H89 in late 1979. With the purchase of the Heathkit H8 you would obtain the chassis and CPU card to assemble yourself, additional hardware such as the H8-1 memory board that contained 4k of RAM could also be purchased in order to run software. The Heathkit H11 model was released in 1978 and was one of the first 16-bit personal computers; however, due to its high retail cost of $1,295 was discontinued in 1982.

During the early 1980s, home computers were further developed for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming and games. They typically could be used with a television already in the home as the computer display, with low-detail blocky graphics and a limited color range, and text about 40 characters wide by 25 characters tall. Sinclair Research, a UK company, produced the ZX Series‍—‌the ZX80 (1980), ZX81 (1981), and the ZX Spectrum; the latter was introduced in 1982, and totaled 8 million unit sold. Following came the Commodore 64, totaled 17 million units sold and the Amstrad CPC series (464–6128).

In the same year, the NEC PC-98 was introduced, which was a very popular personal computer that sold in more than 18 million units.[38] Another famous personal computer, the revolutionary Amiga 1000, was unveiled by Commodore on 23 July 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a multitasking, windowing operating system, color graphics with a 4096-color palette, stereo sound, Motorola 68000 CPU, 256 KB RAM, and 880 KB 3.5-inch disk drive, for US$1,295.

Somewhat larger and more expensive systems were aimed at office and small business use. These often featured 80-column text displays but might not have had graphics or sound capabilities. These microprocessor-based systems were still less costly than time-shared mainframes or minicomputers.

Workstations were characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large-capacity local disk storage, networking capability, and running under a multitasking operating system. Eventually, due to the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market, personal computers and home computers lost any technical distinction. Business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of a few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of personal computers used at home.

IBM's first PC was introduced on 12 August 1981.

In 1982 "The Computer" was named Machine of the Year by Time magazine. In the 2010s, several companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Sony sold off their PC and laptop divisions. As a result, the personal computer was declared dead several times during this period.

An increasingly important set of uses for personal computers relied on the ability of the computer to communicate with other computer systems, allowing interchange of information. Experimental public access to a shared mainframe computer system was demonstrated as early as 1973 in the Community Memory project, but bulletin board systems and online service providers became more commonly available after 1978. Commercial Internet service providers emerged in the late 1980s, giving public access to the rapidly growing network.

In 1991, the World Wide Web was made available for public use. The combination of powerful personal computers with high-resolution graphics and sound, with the infrastructure provided by the Internet, and the standardization of access methods of the Web browsers, established the foundation for a significant fraction of modern life, from bus time tables through unlimited distribution of free videos through to online user-edited encyclopedias.

A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician. Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes, time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. Primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s, the term home computer was also used.

Institutional or corporate computer owners in the 1960s had to write their own programs to do any useful work with the machines. While personal computer users may develop their own applications, usually these systems run commercial software, free-of-charge software ("freeware"), which is most often proprietary, or free and open-source software, which is provided in "ready-to-run", or binary, form. Software for personal computers is typically developed and distributed independently from the hardware or operating system manufacturers. Many personal computer users no longer need to write their own programs to make any use of a personal computer, although end-user programming is still feasible. This contrasts with mobile systems, where software is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by the manufacturer.

Since the early 1990s, Microsoft operating systems and Intel hardware dominated much of the personal computer market, first with MS-DOS and then with Microsoft Windows. Alternatives to Microsoft's Windows operating systems occupy a minority share of the industry. These include Apple's macOS and free and open-source Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux.

The advent of personal computers and the concurrent Digital Revolution have significantly affected the lives of people in all countries.

History

A handheld mobile radio telephone service was envisioned in the early stages of radio engineering. In 1917, Finnish inventor Eric Tigerstedt filed a patent for a "pocket-size folding telephone with a very thin carbon microphone". Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships and trains. The race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with developments taking place in many countries. The advances in mobile telephony have been traced in successive "generations", starting with the early zeroth-generation (0G) services, such as Bell System's Mobile Telephone Service and its successor, the Improved Mobile Telephone Service. These 0G systems were not cellular, supported few simultaneous calls, and were very expensive.

The development of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) large-scale integration (LSI) technology, information theory and cellular networking led to the development of affordable mobile communications, and devices such as the car phone. The first handheld cellular mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). The first commercial automated cellular network (1G) analog was launched in Japan by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in 1979. This was followed in 1981 by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Several other countries then followed in the early to mid-1980s. These first-generation (1G) systems could support far more simultaneous calls but still used analog cellular technology. In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first commercially available handheld mobile phone.

Digital cellular networks appeared in the 1990s, enabled by the wide adoption of MOSFET-based RF power amplifiers (power MOSFET and LDMOS) and RF circuits (RF CMOS), leading to the introduction of digital signal processing in wireless communications. In 1991, the second-generation (2G) digital cellular technology was launched in Finland by Radiolinja on the GSM standard. This sparked competition in the sector as the new operators challenged the incumbent 1G network operators. The GSM standard is a European initiative expressed at the CEPT ("Conférence Européenne des Postes et Telecommunications", European Postal and Telecommunications conference). The Franco-German R&D cooperation demonstrated the technical feasibility, and in 1987 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between 13 European countries who agreed to launch a commercial service by 1991. The first version of the GSM (=2G) standard had 6,000 pages. The IEEE and RSE awarded to Thomas Haug and Philippe Dupuis the 2018 James Clerk Maxwell medal for their contributions to the first digital mobile telephone standard. In 2018, the GSM was used by over 5 billion people in over 220 countries. The GSM (2G) has evolved into 3G, 4G and 5G. The standardisation body for GSM started at the CEPT Working Group GSM (Group Special Mobile) in 1982 under the umbrella of CEPT. In 1988, ETSI was established and all CEPT standardization activities were transferred to ETSI. Working Group GSM became Technical Committee GSM. In 1991, it became Technical Committee SMG (Special Mobile Group) when ETSI tasked the committee with UMTS (3G).

The lithium-ion battery, an indispensable energy source for modern mobile phones, was commercialized by Sony and Asahi Kasei in 1991. In 2001, the third generation (3G) was launched in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on the WCDMA standard. This was followed by 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G enhancements based on the high-speed packet access (HSPA) family, allowing UMTS networks to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity.

By 2009, it had become clear that, at some point, 3G networks would be overwhelmed by the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications, such as streaming media. Consequently, the industry began looking to data-optimized fourth-generation technologies, with the promise of speed improvements up to ten-fold over existing 3G technologies. The first two commercially available technologies billed as 4G were the WiMAX standard, offered in North America by Sprint, and the LTE standard, first offered in Scandinavia by TeliaSonera.

5G is a technology and term used in research papers and projects to denote the next major phase in mobile telecommunication standards beyond the 4G/IMT-Advanced standards. The term 5G is not officially used in any specification or official document yet made public by telecommunication companies or standardization bodies such as 3GPP, WiMAX Forum or ITU-R. New standards beyond 4G are currently being developed by standardization bodies, but they are at this time seen as under the 4G umbrella, not for a new mobile generation.

Types

Smartphone

Smartphones have a number of distinguishing features. The International Telecommunication Union measures those with Internet connection, which it calls Active Mobile-Broadband subscriptions (which includes tablets, etc.). In the developed world, smartphones have now overtaken the usage of earlier mobile systems. However, in the developing world, they account for around 50% of mobile telephony.

Feature phone

Feature phone is a term typically used as a retronym to describe mobile phones which are limited in capabilities in contrast to a modern smartphone. Feature phones typically provide voice calling and text messaging functionality, in addition to basic multimedia and Internet capabilities, and other services offered by the user's wireless service provider. A feature phone has additional functions over and above a basic mobile phone which is only capable of voice calling and text messaging. Feature phones and basic mobile phones tend to use a proprietary, custom-designed software and user interface. By contrast, smartphones generally use a mobile operating system that often shares common traits across devices.

A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, or hand phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area. The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture and, therefore, mobile telephones are called cellular telephones or cell phones in North America. In addition to telephony, digital mobile phones (2G) support a variety of other services, such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, video games and digital photography. Mobile phones offering only those capabilities are known as feature phones; mobile phones which offer greatly advanced computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones.

The development of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) large-scale integration (LSI) technology, information theory and cellular networking led to the development of affordable mobile communications. The first handheld mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola in New York City in 1973, using a handset weighing c. 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs). In 1979, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) launched the world's first cellular network in Japan.[citation needed] In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first commercially available handheld mobile phone. From 1983 to 2014, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew to over seven billion; enough to provide one for every person on Earth. In the first quarter of 2016, the top smartphone developers worldwide were Samsung, Apple and Huawei; smartphone sales represented 78 percent of total mobile phone sales. For feature phones (slang: "dumbphones") as of 2016, the top-selling brands were Samsung, Nokia and Alcatel.

The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks.

The field has evolved due to the convergence of multiple technologies, including ubiquitous computing, commodity sensors, increasingly powerful embedded systems, and machine learning. Traditional fields of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation), independently and collectively enable the Internet of things. In the consumer market, IoT technology is most synonymous with products pertaining to the concept of the "smart home", including devices and appliances (such as lighting fixtures, thermostats, home security systems and cameras, and other home appliances) that support one or more common ecosystems, and can be controlled via devices associated with that ecosystem, such as smartphones and smart speakers. The IoT can also be used in healthcare systems.

There are a number of concerns about the risks in the growth of IoT technologies and products, especially in the areas of privacy and security, and consequently, industry and governmental moves to address these concerns have begun, including the development of international and local standards, guidelines, and regulatory frameworks.

Redmi is a subsidiary company owned by the Chinese electronics company Xiaomi. It was first announced in July 2013 as a budget smartphone line, and became a separate sub-brand of Xiaomi in 2019 with entry-level and mid-range devices, while Xiaomi itself produces upper-range and flagship Mi phones. Redmi phones use the Xiaomi's MIUI user interface on top of Android. Models are divided into the entry-level Redmi, the mid-range Redmi Note, and the high-end Redmi K. In addition, the unrelated Mi A Android One series is also positioned in the similar market segment with Redmi devices, despite being part of the upper-range Xiaomi Mi lineup. The most significant difference from other Xiaomi smartphones is that they use less-expensive components and thus have lower prices while retaining higher specifications. In August 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the second quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, Xiaomi had a market share of 4% of smartphone shipment rankings in China. Redmi sales were attributed as a contributing factor toward this gain in shipment rankings.

History

2013

The first Redmi phone Redmi 1, released in 2013, was first launched on Xiaomi's website, with consumer sales beginning on 12 July 2013.

2014

On 13 March 2014, Redmi announced that their phones had been sold out in Singapore alone, eight minutes after being made available to buy on Xiaomi's website. Criticism regarding the release of Redmi phones included the notion that the firm may be exaggerating its sales by releasing them in small batches, causing them to quickly sell out.

On 4 August 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that in China's smartphone market, Xiaomi overtook Samsung in the second quarter of the 2014 fiscal year with a 14% market share in smartphone shipment rankings, while Samsung had a 12% market share during this time. Yulong and Lenovo both had a 12% market share during this time. Redmi sales were attributed as contributing to Xiaomi's increased shipment rankings in the smartphone market. Conversely, in the first quarter of 2014, Xiaomi held a 10.7% market share.

2015

The Redmi Note 3 launched on 24 November 2015; unlike its predecessor, it does not have a user-changeable battery or microSD slot. It uses the MediaTek Helio X10 Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 SOC with the PowerVR G6200 GPU. The Snapdragon variant of the phone, released later the same year, is based on the Snapdragon 650 and has microSD support.

2016

In July 2016, the actors Liu Shishi, Wu Xiubo and Liu Haoran became the first ambassadors of the Redmi series in China. Redmi Pro has appeared as Pro lineup in Redmi series.

On 25 August 2016, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 4, powered by MediaTek's Helio X20 deca-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz. The device has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. It has a 5.5-inch Full-HD display and a 13 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop and is powered by a 4,100 mAh battery.

In November 2016, Xiaomi released its new budget phone, Redmi 4. It has a polycarbonate body, dual-SIM support and runs on MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The Redmi 4 has a 5-inch 720x1280 pixels display, is powered by a 1.4 GHz octa-core processor, and has 2GB of RAM.

2017

In January 2017, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4x based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Chipset became the company's first major launch of 2017. It is an upgraded version of the previously released Redmi Note 4 based on the MediaTek Helio X20 chipset. The device is known as Redmi Note 4 in regions where the original Redmi Note 4 was not released.

In December 2017, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 5 and 5 Plus. They are the first phones in the Redmi series with an 18:9 screen aspect ratio. The EU release was set to January 2018 and prices were set to €170 for the Redmi 5 and €215 for the Redmi 5 Plus.

2018

In February 2018, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro. They are the first phones from Xiaomi to feature facial recognition.

In May 2018, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi S2.

In June 2018, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi 6, 6A and 6 Pro. The Redmi 6 Pro is the first phone in the Redmi series with a notch similar to the iPhone X and a 19:9 screen aspect ratio.

In September 2018, Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 6 Pro. It is the first phone in the Redmi series with four cameras (two cameras on the front and two cameras on the back) and constructed using 6000 series aluminium.

2019

In January 2019, Xiaomi officially announced Redmi to be a separate sub-brand, distinct from Xiaomi.

On 10 January 2019, Redmi unveiled the Redmi Note 7 and Note 7 Pro, the first phones in the Redmi series with a 48-megapixel rear camera. The Note 7 has a Samsung GM1 image sensor, and the Note 7 Pro has a Sony IMX586 48MP image sensor. The Note 7 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-Core Processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, and the Note 7 Pro has an 11 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 Octa-Core Processor clocked at 2.0 GHz. The Note 7 is available with 3GB RAM with 32GB storage, 4GB RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB RAM with 64GB storage. It has a 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0. The Redmi Note 7 series of smartphones is one of the best-selling Redmi phones; over 20 million devices were sold in the 7 months from their introduction.

The Redmi K20 and K20 Pro (also marketed as the Mi 9T) are Redmi's first foray into the flagship market. The phone was launched along with the Redmi 7A in China on 28 May. The K20 Pro is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 855 processor while the K20 is powered by the newly released Snapdragon 730 and Redmi 7A is a less expensive phone with Snapdragon 439. Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro were launched on 29 August, and Redmi 8 and 8A were announced in October 2019.

After emerging as a sub-brand of Xiaomi, Redmi employed the same Smartphone & AIoT dual core strategy as Xiaomi, and branched out to different product categories such as smart TVs, notebook PCs. Xiaomi also forayed into home appliances such as washing machine, and products such as luggage.

2020

On 7 January, Redmi unveiled the Redmi K30 5G, it being Redmi's first 5G handset available in the market. The K30 is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 765G, an Octa-Core Processor clocked at 2.4 GHz. The K30 features a LCD display punchhole camera cutout with 120 Hz refresh rate.

In March, Redmi unveiled the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max in India. Both handset models is powered by the Snapdragon 720G, an Octa-core Processor clocked at 2.2 GHz. The Redmi Note 9 Pro features a 48MP quad camera rear setup and 18W fast charge, while the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max features a 64MP quad camera rear setup and 33W fast charge. In the same month, Redmi introduced the Redmi Note 9S to the global market, rebranded from the Indian Redmi Note 9 Pro, both featuring identical design and specifications. Redmi introduced the Indian Redmi Note 9 Pro Max rebranded as the Redmi Note 9 Pro to the global market in May, both featuring identical design and specifications.

On March 24, Redmi unveiled the Redmi K30 Pro. The Redmi K30 Pro has a Sony IMX686 64MP sensor. The K30 Pro is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 865, an Octa-Core Processor clocked at 2.84 GHz. The Redmi K30 Pro is available with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB UFS 3.0 storage, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM with 128GB UFS 3.1 storage and 8GB LPDDR5 RAM with 256GB UFS 3.1 storage.

Redmi introduced a massive 98" Redmi TV MAX at a price of RMB 19,999 which undercuts the massive screen LCD TV market.

On 26 May, Redmi unveiled the Redmi 10X Series, featuring the Redmi 10X Pro 5G, Redmi 10X 5G and Redmi 10X 4G. Both the Redmi 10X Pro 5G and Redmi 10X 5G features the MediaTek Dimensity 820, a 7 nm Octa-core Processor clocked at 2.6 GHz. Redmi 10X 4G features the MediaTek Helio G85, clocked at 2.4 GHz. Along with the introduction of the Redmi 10X Series, Redmi also introduced the Redmi TV X-series, offering big-screen TV at excellent value. Redmi also unveiled a range of notebook PCs featuring AMD Ryzen on the same day.

Xiantao (Chinese: 仙桃; pinyin: Xiāntáo) is a sub-prefecture-level city in the east of Hubei province, China. Located at the Jianghan Plain in the middle of Hubei province and spanning 112°55' – 113°49' east longitude and 30°04' – 30°32' north latitude, Xiantao City covers an area of 2,538 km2 (980 sq mi). Xiantao is the hometown of author Chi Li and entrepreneur Lei Jun.

Geography

It is close to the provincial capital of Wuhan, and only one hour drive from the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, Hankou Railway Station and Changjiang—Wuhan Port. The G4 Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway running and the G42 Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway cross near Xiantao city.

Demographics

As of 2006, the population of Xiantao was 1,480,100.[10] Of this, the urban population was 593,500 and the rural population was 886,600. As of 2016, the population of Xiantao was 1.5635 million.

Sports

Xiantao has been described as a "Gymnastics town", because it has cultivated several gymnastics champions, such as Li Xiaoshuang, Li Dashuang, and Yang Wei.