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Comment by fireattack | Hacker News Reader

I honestly think Hitachi is well-known even for average people (not for IT division though). Not Sony level for sure, but isn't exactly niche.

But maybe it's just my bias too.

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In Australia, they're known for very well built fridges and aircon units.

> not for IT division though

The only reason I know that company name is because I think they sold hard drives in the past, and/or showed up on my BIOS screen. So maybe IT people know it too.

Oh yeah, ther storage definitely is relatively more famous.

I personally knew Hitachi first by their elevators/lifts.

They also build trains and ... personal massagers.

The personal massager. After 53 years of sales it's still very well regarded.

Didn’t Hitachi get sued for making a clone of an IBM mainframe? That case set the stage for the PC clone market.

I think so, their name is on a lot of construction equipment.

They also have the Hitachi Magic Wand vibrator, which is commonly known as just Hitachi.

The brand was also known for power tools but that's not a part of the company anymore and is being rebranded to Metabo.

No - I'm afraid you are mistaken: what Hitachi sold was a "massager" - they were "distraught" to discover it's salacious "alternative" uses as it harmed their brand. Hitachi only agreed to continue selling the product as a joint venture (IIRC) if they removed the Hitachi name from it. So it's rebranded as just the "Original Magic Wand" now - no Hitachi :)

Quick tip: You can find a lot of places selling really solid new power tools at 50-75% off because of the name change. They will usually be sold now as "HPT", Hitachi Power Tools and they have to move the stock before they can sell the newly rebranded tools thus the discount.

They used to make good TV's in the 90s too. First color TV in our house was Hitachi.

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