Hong Kong-based Proview International Holdings was established in 1989, and owns Proview Electronics in Taiwan and Proview Technology in Shenzhen, and it claims to have created the 'iPAD', with capitalised letters, differing slightly from Apple's 'iPad'.
Proview International manufactures and sells cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, as well as LCD and plasma display TVs.
As the market for CRT monitors declines, Proview has begun looking towards flat-screen digital TV business for future growth. Proview said it was once one of the top five computer monitor-makers in the world.
The company said it registered the trademark in Taiwan in 2000 and on the mainland in 2001. The trademark was registered in other countries such as Mexico, Thailand and Singapore at about the same time, it said.
The company said it produced a 'CRT-based internet appliance' called Internet Personal Access Device, or iPAD in 1998, and turned out more than 10,000 pieces until the product line was stopped because of technical problems.
Each device retailed for US$300, and Proview founder Yang Rongshan told a news conference the company had spent more than US$30 million on R&D for its iPAD.