Blaupunkt is a brand that was previously known for its various technology devices. Whether radio, television or even e-book readers, there was hardly a category that Blaupunkt didn’t cover. In the early days, however, the company’s course was much straighter. Today, however, Blaupunkt has significantly lost its importance.
The Ideal Radiotelefon- & Apparatefabrik GmbH in Berlin used the blue dot for identification in the early 1920s. In 1924 a brand name was created: Blaupunkt. The blue dot remains as part of the name and will serve as a unique identifier in the future. The brand is primarily making a name for itself as a manufacturer of high-quality car radios. Car owners still click their tongues when they hear the name Blaupunkt. Nevertheless, the blue dot eventually loses its shine. How come?
“Do you also have the headphones with the blue dot?” With this question, more and more customers stormed into the stores in the mid-1920s. Headphones with the highest sound quality are Blaupunkt’s first bestsellers.
The headphones are used to listen to the program on the first radio receivers. Blaupunkt also soon developed radios. However, the company chooses a niche sector. Although there were just under 300,000 cars on the roads in Germany at the beginning of the 1930s, people were working on a car radio.
The first car radio came from Germany
In 1932, Blaupunkt presented the “Autosuper AS 5”, the first car radio in Europe, at the International Radio Exhibition in Berlin. The device is the size of a shoebox and costs an incredible 465 Reichsmarks, an enormous sum even for the time. Today the price would be the equivalent of just over 2000 euros.
At the same time, the Robert Bosch Group secretly and quietly takes over Blaupunkt’s business. The transaction must take place quietly. Due to contracts with the radio manufacturer Telefunken, Blaupunkt is bound to certain conditions towards the contractual partner.
After the Second World War, Bosch moved the Blaupunkt production site from Berlin to Hildesheim. From the 1950s onwards, the company manufactured not only radios but also television sets. However, the focus remains on car radios.
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Blaupunkt conquers Europe
In 1952, Blaupunkt introduced the first car radio with FM reception to the public. New innovations always follow. The company developed into the leading manufacturer of car radios in Europe.
At the beginning of the 1960s it had already sold a million car radios, and almost ten years later the number had risen to over ten million. At this time, almost 14,000 people work for Blaupunkt.
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Blaupunkt is revolutionizing traffic information and navigation
The Blaupunkt brand is also developing a system so that traffic reports can be automatically accessed on the car radio. On June 1, 1974, the system went on air in West Germany. Since then, car radios have been able to recognize when traffic reports are playing on a station using a sound signal broadcast by radio stations.
The company’s developers are always working on new ideas. In the 1980s, Blaupunkt was one of the first companies to recognize the potential of navigation systems. In 1983 it presented its first prototype, EVA. EVA stands for “Electronic Traffic Controller for Drivers”.
However, it took until 1989 before Blaupunkt presented the first navigation system ready for series production, the Travel Pilot. The mini computer works without the support of satellites. The Travel Pilot relies on so-called dead reckoning. The system determines the current position of the vehicle using a map stored on a CD, the start and destination coordinates and the wheel sensors.
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Today Blaupunkt only exists as a name
In the coming years, Blaupunkt will come under increasing pressure because more and more manufacturers from Asia are now flooding the European markets with cheap products. Although the blue dot still stands for innovative technology and top quality from Germany, the Asian competition is quickly catching up in terms of technology and quality.
Blaupunkt’s customers are running away. That’s why the parent company Bosch pulled the ripcord in December 2008 and sold Blaupunkt to an investment holding company. As a result, the traditional company is gradually being wound up.
The Blaupunkt name still exists, but only in the brand licensing business and therefore as a pure brand cover. Many products now bear the name, still car radios, but also e-bikes and vacuum cleaner robots.
The blue dot no longer serves as a seal of quality. Nevertheless, the name still has a pleasant ring to many people, in keeping with the earlier motto: “Whatever the world broadcasts, listen to it with Blaupunkt.”