Plantronics Adds Three CES Innovations Design and Engineering Wins to Award Portfolio

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Plantronics today announced that the Calisto® 835 Speakerphone has been named an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards winner in the Computer Accessories product category. The Marque™ M155™ and the Blackwire® 435 received additional honoree accolades in the Portable Multimedia Accessories and Headphones product categories, respectively. Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, engineers and members of the media to honor outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 32 product categories.

“Excellence in design and engineering are at the core of every product Plantronics creates, and it's outstanding to see the CES judging panel continue to acknowledge our efforts with these coveted awards,” said Joe Burton, CTO, Plantronics. “Each one of the Plantronics products honored today can immediately change a person's day-to-day communication and collaboration experience, making it faster, easier, and more intuitive. Innovation is at our core and we will continue to drive our technology to help simplify and improve the communication experience."

Calisto 835

The Calisto 835 simplifies home communications by working with three devices. People can connect to and dial, answer or mute a mobile phone, home landline or softphone such as Skype™ and Microsoft® Lync™. The speakerphone delivers excellent sound quality far better than the speakerphone in a computer, mobile phone or home phone. And more importantly, it is easy to mute a call and it is obvious to see when calls are muted.

Marque M155

The ultimate smartphone companion, Marque M155 offers voice-guided pairing for iPhone® and Android™ smartphones, voice recognition so you can answer or ignore calls completely hands-free, and stereo Bluetooth® (the A2DP standard), which allows you to listen to music, GPS directions or your email, all while providing great stereo quality in the smallest, lightest weight design yet at just seven grams. The Marque M155 includes Vocalyst™ Voice and Text Services which allows users to stay connected with their voice and the MyHeadset™ app, available in the Android Market and App Store which helps users familiarize themselves with the product.

Blackwire 435

The Blackwire 435 wired USB headset allows people to get the most out of their computer audio. As more people use their computers for voice calls, video chatting and streaming music they need a headset that can keep up. The Blackwire 435 is very portable and has a sleek low-profile design, ideal for video. The headset features dynamic equalization (EQ) to optimize the audio for making calls or listening to music.

About the International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards

The prestigious Innovations Design and Engineering Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, the producer of the International CES, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976. The Best of Innovations honor is awarded to the products with the highest judges' scores and will be featured in the Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase at the 2012 International CES.

The Innovations entries are judged based on the following criteria:

• Engineering qualities, based on technical specs and materials used
• Aesthetic and design qualities
• The product's intended use/function and user value
• Unique/novel features that consumers would find attractive
• How the design and innovation of the product compares to other products in the marketplace

Products chosen as an Innovations honoree reflect innovative design and engineering of the entries. Examples may include the first time various technologies are combined in a single product or dramatic enhancements to previous product designs.

Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering honoree products are featured on www.CESweb.org/Innovations, which lists product categories, as well as each product name, manufacturer information, designer, description, photo and URL.

Plantronics' Calisto 835, Marque M155 and Blackwire 435 will be displayed at the 2012 International CES, which runs January 10-13, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Honorees will also be displayed at CES Unveiled: the Official Press Event of the International CES from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday, January 8 in the Venetian Ballroom of the Venetian.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications^TM

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Simply Smarter Communications, Blackwire, Calisto, Marque, M155, MyHeadset and Vocalyst are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. iPhone and Apple are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.