Highscreen

Highscreen is a consumer-electronics brand associated with smartphones and tablet computers marketed in Russia. The name has a longer history connected with Vobis, a German computer company and retailer founded in Aachen in 1975. Vobis originally operated as Vero GmbH, a student-oriented reseller of educational aids, before shifting toward microcomputers and changing its name to Vobis Data Computer GmbH in 1981. During the 1990s, Vobis expanded across Europe and became one of the continent's largest personal-computer retailers under majority ownership by Metro AG. The Highscreen name was used by Vobis during its earlier computer business. In 1997, Vobis introduced the Highscreen Alpha 5000 workstation, based on a DEC Alpha processor. This product represented a move beyond the company's established consumer systems based on the Wintel and x86 platforms. The historical computer usage of the name is distinct from its later Russian mobile-device activity, but it established Highscreen as a Vobis-associated technology label. Vobis' corporate structure changed substantially from the late 1990s onward. Metro separated Vobis' manufacturing operations and several foreign branches at the beginning of 1999, while the remaining business continued under private ownership and later restructuring. Vobis subsequently shifted away from selling complete personal computers toward components, software, services, and franchise retailing. These changes left the Highscreen name available as a brand rather than tying it exclusively to a broad European computer-retail operation. Since 2009, Highscreen has been used for smartphones marketed in Russia. The brand's later portfolio has been described as including smartphones and tablet computers, although the available reference material does not establish a complete product catalogue, detailed specifications, current ownership, or a confirmed present-day operating status. Highscreen is therefore best characterized as a Russia-focused electronics brand with historical roots in Vobis' European computer business, rather than as an independent globally listed corporation. The brand's market identity has centered on consumer mobile hardware sold through the Russian market. Publicly available material supplied for this entry does not provide reliable information about its current headquarters, official website, executives, manufacturing partners, sales figures, financial performance, or current retail presence. Those fields remain unconfirmed.

Highscreen's documented history is closely tied to Vobis, the German computer company that later used the name for mobile devices in Russia. Vobis was established in Aachen in 1975 as Vero GmbH by Theo Lieven and Rainer Fraling, initially reselling educational materials such as slide rules and calculators to university students. The business moved into microcomputers and adopted the name Vobis Data Computer GmbH in 1981, beginning a period of expansion in the German computer market. Metro AG acquired a majority stake in Vobis in October 1989. Vobis became a public company in 1991 and expanded outside Germany through operations in countries including Austria, Poland, Belgium, and France. By the middle of the 1990s it had become Europe's largest personal-computer retailer by branch network and sales presence. The company was also involved in the competitive operating-system market: in 1994 it pre-installed IBM OS/2 on new computers after Microsoft delayed Windows 95. This decision helped OS/2 gain unusually high visibility in Germany, although Vobis and Microsoft later reached an agreement concerning Windows licensing. The Highscreen name was used for Vobis computer products during this period. In 1997, Vobis launched the Highscreen Alpha 5000 workstation, built around a DEC Alpha processor. It was a significant technical and product-line departure for a business previously focused largely on consumer machines using Intel-compatible x86 architectures. The same year, Vobis had 776 branches in eleven countries, illustrating the scale of the corporate environment in which the Highscreen computer label operated. At the beginning of 1999, Metro broke up important parts of the Vobis business. Its manufacturing lines were sold to Maxdata, in which Metro held a majority interest, and several foreign operations were spun off. The remaining Vobis company continued under new private shareholders and was renamed Vobis Microcomputer AG. Over the following years, the business went through further restructuring, changes in headquarters, franchise reductions, and a gradual shift from complete personal computers toward components, software, services, and telecommunications-related activities. The later use of Highscreen was geographically narrower. Since 2009, Vobis has used the brand for smartphones marketed in Russia. The supplied reference material also identifies tablet computers among the brand's typical products, but it does not provide a reliable chronology for individual tablet or smartphone models. Nor does it establish whether Highscreen remains actively marketed, who currently owns the trademark, or which company currently manages product development and distribution. Accordingly, Highscreen should be understood as a technology brand with two documented phases: an earlier Vobis-associated computer-hardware usage, including the Alpha 5000 workstation, and a later Russia-focused mobile-device usage beginning in 2009. Its current corporate status and market activity require additional verification.

• 2009

  Highscreen adopted for Russian smartphones

  [1]Vobisen.wikipedia.org

  The Highscreen name began being used for smartphones marketed in Russia, creating the brand's documented modern mobile-electronics phase.

• 1999

  Vobis restructuring separated manufacturing operations

  [1]Vobisen.wikipedia.org

  Metro reorganized Vobis, selling manufacturing lines to Maxdata and spinning off several foreign branches. The remaining business continued under a new ownership structure.

• 1997

  Highscreen Alpha 5000 workstation introduced

  [1]Vobisen.wikipedia.org

  Vobis introduced the Highscreen Alpha 5000, a DEC Alpha-based workstation and an early expansion of the name beyond conventional consumer x86 computers.

A Russia-focused consumer-electronics label associated with affordable or mainstream mobile devices and historically linked to Vobis computer hardware.

• Workstation computer · 1997

  Highscreen Alpha 5000

  Introduced by Vobis in 1997, the Highscreen Alpha 5000 was the brand's documented workstation product and used a DEC Alpha processor. It represented a departure from Vobis' established consumer-computer range, which had primarily relied on Wintel and x86-compatible platforms. The available source does not provide detailed specifications, pricing, distribution information, or a confirmed production period beyond its 1997 introduction.

• Smartphones · 2009

  Highscreen smartphones

  From 2009, the Highscreen brand was used for smartphones sold in Russia. The supplied reference establishes the market and start of use but does not document a complete model list, operating systems, hardware partners, retail channels, or current availability. These devices form the principal known modern product category associated with Highscreen.

• Tablet computers

  Highscreen tablet computers

  Tablet computers are identified as part of Highscreen's typical product scope. The available material does not specify individual tablet models, launch dates, technical platforms, or whether the category remains active. They are included as a documented category rather than as a confirmed current product line.

• 2009

  Extension of Highscreen into Russian smartphonesStrategy

  Background

  The Highscreen name had previously been associated with Vobis computer hardware, including the Alpha 5000 workstation. Vobis later used the label in a more geographically focused mobile-device business.

  Action taken

  Vobis began marketing smartphones under the Highscreen name in Russia.

  Aftermath

  Highscreen became associated with Russian consumer mobile electronics. The available sources do not quantify the commercial result or document the brand's subsequent ownership and market status.

  Source

1. 1Vobisen.wikipedia.org