Historical name changes: Atten -> Siglent & Agilent -> Keysight - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2020, 07:30:07 pm
content: [warning of reply to old post; this is a reflection over a historical brand change that many have forgotten]Quote from: saturation on January 27, 2011, 12:59:20 pmQuite ironic thatAttenprobably got "inspired" by a leading brad name likeAgilent, when they looked for a new name for the measurement business to operate under -Siglent- and some years agoAgilentchanged their measurement business to operate under a new company with theKeysightname.

author: CalMachine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2020, 09:36:19 pm
content: I'm pretty sure Agilentsoldtheir T&M division... not just renamed it.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2020, 10:04:14 pm
content: Quote from: CalMachine on July 07, 2020, 09:36:19 pmCorrect. And if we really go back to history basics: we're talking Hewlett-Packard - a legendary company.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 07, 2020, 10:19:36 pm
content: All is not quite as it seems.A simple search of the forum reveals much discussion in years gone by.....Some informative threads:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-826-siglent-ceo-eric-qin-visits-the-eevblog-lab/Some now banned members still contribute under well known logins.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/rigol-ds1102e-vs-xytron-dso1102cal-aka-(atten-ads1102cal)/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-scopes/

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 08:03:39 am
content: Quote from: CalMachine on July 07, 2020, 09:36:19 pmYes, that is correct. That was the same with change from HP to Agilent (they sold their T&M and medical divisions).I also think the renaming to Siglent was very likley due to that Atten reorganized the ownership structure of Attens T&M division.That said I do think (which was the purpose of my post) that it was funny how the Siglentname change was clearly inspired by the old Agilentname change.

author: martinot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 08:24:17 am
content: Quote from: tautech on July 07, 2020, 10:19:36 pmI know that the previous name for Siglent was not only Atten, but also DinYoung Technologies Co.But I think it where more intersting with the Agilent name change, and Siglent name change "inspired" by them.Here is one more relevant link I found with same type of search you did above:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/rigol-ds1102e-vs-xytron-dso1102cal-aka-(atten-ads1102cal)/Will post more as I find them, but the above one is really interesting!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 09:25:55 am
content: Quote from: martinot on July 11, 2020, 08:24:17 amAs highlighted above and with other info shared with you today about a members homeland you might put 2+2 together with the homeland of member aghp.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2020, 06:37:31 pm
content: Quote from: CalMachine on July 07, 2020, 09:36:19 pmQuote from: martinot on July 11, 2020, 08:03:39 amNo, that's not correct. It was neither "just renamed" nor sold.It wasspun off, meaning that the original company essentially split in two (unequal) entities, one of which had to get a new name. (Corporate meiosis, basically!)

author: ChristofferB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 07:29:51 am
content: Yeah. Analytical chemistry instruments like HPLCs and mass spectrometers still carry the Agilent brand. I think that's the same division as the previous HP one.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 03:32:22 pm
content: HP originally spun off Agilent (to house everything other than computers and printers). Then Agilent spun off Keysight to house electronics test and measurement (leaving Agilent solely for laboratory analytics stuff). And then HP recently spun off its enterprise IT division as HP Enterprise, leaving only HP PCs and printers under the original company.

author: 25 CPS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 03:37:13 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on July 13, 2020, 03:32:22 pmThere was one other section of business that, in my opinion, regrettably, stayed under the HP side of the split: calculators.I really think the calculator division would have done better under Agilent and then Keysight than it has under HP.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 03:38:31 pm
content: How so?

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 04:40:37 pm
content: Quote from: 25 CPS on July 13, 2020, 03:37:13 pmI think that is just wishful thinking. Calculators -- especially high end scientific and domain specific calculators like HP made -- just don't have the value proposition that they did in the 80s and 90s. Really the only markets left by even the mid 2000s were education and cheap/disposable 4 function calculators. TI dominated the educational market (at least in the US) well before HP spun off Agilent.These days, they only really appeal to nostalgia nerds and that isn't really a viable business model. I love the feel of real physical buttons as much as anyone, but it isn't enough to justify keeping such a bulky and limited device around.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2020, 10:54:45 pm
content: For those of us who will give up RPN calculators when they are pried from our cold, dead fingers, there is an interesting Swiss companyhttps://www.swissmicros.com/that came up with some modern hardware with similar configuration to traditional -hp- handhelds and apparently runs more modern software on them. I find the keypads a bit stiff compared with my real ones, but they work well. They have several configurations that run on essentially the same hardware.

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2020, 01:34:08 am
content: Quote from: tooki on July 13, 2020, 03:32:22 pmAnd many of the buyers of those PCs and printers would have no idea of the HP brand name history and legacy. Would have been a WAY smarter move to keep the HP name with test and measurement stuff IMHO. Can you imagine for example, Rolls Royce keeping their name with ship deck machinery and renaming their cars to xcvjnskdnfas? About as dumb as it gets.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2020, 10:34:28 am
content: Quote from: Circlotron on July 15, 2020, 01:34:08 amI agree with you 100%.

author: 25 CPS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2020, 07:59:02 pm
content: Quote from: ejeffrey on July 13, 2020, 04:40:37 pmWell, it might be a bit of wishful thinking and I'm not under any illusion that the calculator market's pretty much on its last legs but my line of thinking was this: Given how things went down at the Hewlett-Packard in the years after Agilent was separated off, I think the calculator product line might have fared a bit better at Agilent and subsequently Keysight than it has at HP even though it certainly wouldn't have been a return to the good old days by any stretch.I'm aware of the Swiss Micros units and if any of my regular use HPs conk, the plan is to replace them with their Swiss Micros counterparts, but I'll cross that bridge if it comes.

author: srb1954
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2020, 02:43:08 am
content: IMHO they should have renamed the test equipment division with the full "Hewlett-Packard" name to reflect the legacy of Bill and Dave. It is a terrible shame that the names of the company founders are now three times removed from the great test equipment company they originally created.They could have then retained the abbreviated HP brand just for the computer products. Most buyers of those products would have no idea, nor cared, who Bill and Dave were.

author: 0culus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2020, 03:01:45 am
content: Quote from: ejeffrey on July 13, 2020, 04:40:37 pmThat's not entirely true...the HP-12C financial calculator is still popular among bean counter types which is why it is the only classic HP calculator that is still made. That said, nowadays pocket calculators are largely the realm of the ultra nerdy in science and engineering, much like slide rules. I am happily guilty as charged. I have: HP15C, 2xHP16C, HP45, HP35S (not a bad little machine for a modern one), HP50g (lack of a REAL enter key is a disappointment). I'm not the only one at my work who uses old HP calculators though.