Plantronics Discovery 640 Wins International Industry Forum Design Award
Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that the Plantronics Discovery(TM) 640 Bluetooth(R) headset won the prestigious Industry Forum (iF) Product Design Award in the Consumer Electronics/Telecommunication category.
iF jury members judged nearly 2,000 products from 37 countries to select the winners. With ‘Back to Design’ the theme for the 2006 iF Design Award, Plantronics Discovery 640 won by combining elegant design with sound quality to provide style-conscious users with the ultimate headset for their needs.
“The iF design competition is one of the most prestigious and well-regarded in the world,” said Darrin Caddes, vice president of Corporate Design at Plantronics. “This recognition reinforces our commitment to innovation and confirms we’re on the right path with our design initiative.”
The Plantronics Discovery 640 headset is extremely discreet and lightweight — about the weight of two nickels — and designed with high-end materials and finishes. The Discovery 640 employs an innovative AAA battery charging system that continuously recharges the headset while not in use, providing 15 hours of talk time. In addition to the iF Design award, the Discovery 640 is highlighted in the BusinessWeek “Best Products of 2005″ and GQ “Best Stuff of the Year” lists, and received editors’ choice awards from Cnet and Wired magazine.
Plantronics’ new strategic design initiative began in 2004 with the hiring of Caddes. Previously having worked for companies including BMW/Designworks USA, Fiat Automotive and Indian Motorcycle, Caddes is reinforcing Plantronics’ commitment to sound innovation through headset designs that blend fashion, comfort and cutting-edge technology. Plantronics’ new industrial design center in Santa Cruz, Calif., will be completed in 2006.
About the iF Design Awards
Since the introduction of the iF product design award in 1953, iF design awards have developed into prestigious trademarks for outstanding achievements in the field of design. Enterprises and design studios use the award to make their customers and additional target groups aware of the potentially decisive difference in product and service quality expressed by this distinction.
About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, we’ve become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation(TM) is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to http://www.plantronics.com/ or call (800) 544-4660.
