At the time, I was not a licensed amateur radio operator, but I ordered several of the smaller Baofeng radios to test. I became aware of the smaller products offered by Baofeng when I had my retail store operating. They had enjoyed limited success with these smaller, less powerful radios, but with the introduction of the UV-5R, the US market opened like flood gates.
Baofeng had other radios in its lineup before the UV-5R came to the market.
