Bluetooth SIG announces best of CES winners

Jan. 10, 2006 -- (MobileVillage) -- The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced the winners of its Best of CES Contest, the first such contest hosted by the organization at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2006 this past weekend.

The following products were chosen as winners of each respective category, and finalists are in parentheses.

Mobile phone – Samsung SGH-D600 [finalist: HP iPAQ hw6500 Series Mobile Messenger]

Headset – Jabra BT500 [finalist: Plantronics Explorer 320]

Automotive hands-free – Parrot 3400 LS-GPS [finalist: Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Car Hands-free HCB-700]

Stereo audio – Bluetake Technology i-PHONO mini Bluetooth Stereo Headphone [finalist: Plantronics Pulsar 590]

Printing and imaging – HP Photosmart 385 [finalist: Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Media Center MMV-200]

PC environment – Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser [finalist: Broadcom BLINK Software]

Unique application – Motorola Audex Protective Gear: Helmet and Padded Hat [finalists: Baracoda RoadRunners Barcode Scanner BRR-L and SunCorp. Slide Bluetooth Cordless Phone]

Overall Bluetooth SIG Best of CES winner – Bluetake i-PHONO mini Bluetooth Stereo Headphone

The Bluetooth SIG says carefully tested each product and judged them on a variety of criterion, including ease of use, look and feel, implementation and originality. The products were also judged on their Best of Breed status, a program administered by the Bluetooth SIG that explains how classes of devices should implement specific profiles to provide exceptional user experience.

After determining finalists for each category, the devices were displayed at CES, where press and analysts were able to cast the final vote for the winner of each category.

The winning products will be included in an in-studio broadcast tour where the devices will be shown in top markets across the country. The overall winner, also voted on by press and analysts, will receive a trip to the Bluetooth SIG All Hands Meeting the week of March 26 in Seattle.

The Bluetooth SIG recently announced that shipments of Bluetooth enabled devices have doubled from May to November 2005 and products are now shipping at a rate of over 9.5 million per week.

To help consumers learn about the technology and find out what different devices can do for them, SIG recently updated its website at www.bluetooth.com.

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