Siemens Scores "Wireless Wonder" Award for Gigaset Cordless Phone System

Wireless techno-gadget users know winning technology when they hold it in their hands. When visitors to Wireless Wonders, Inc.'s Web site had the chance to vote on the best wireless products, they chose the Siemens Gigaset® 2420 cordless communication system hands down.

The inaugural ``Seven Wireless Wonders of the Year'' awards program went where the rubber meets the road to identify the best of the best for 1999. Selected from more than 20 products nominated for the award, Siemens' Gigaset was one of seven winning products from wireless industry leaders that include 3Com, Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia. A Siemens representative accepted the award at the Wireless Symposium / Portable by Design Conference & Exhibition in San Jose, CA on February 22.

``To be recognized in the company of the industry's top wireless innovators is confirmation that we're indeed delivering on consumers' expectations,'' says Siemens' vice president of digital products Noel Schnell. ``Although we treasure all of our industry awards, being recognized by the consumer is where it really counts for us.''

To qualify for a Wireless Wonder award, products needed to be based on RF (radio frequency) and microwave technology and be usable in a home, office or mobile environment. The criteria for voting included novelty in terms of functionality, integration or miniaturization, impact on productivity, and ease of use. Nominations of the products for the contest started on October 1, 1999 and voting closed on February 18, 2000.

To date, Siemens has won multiple industry and end-user awards for its Gigaset 2.4 GHz cordless phone models. The Gigaset 2420 won the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) premier honor -- the ``Innovations award'' -- for 1999. Also of note, PC Computing honored the Gigaset 2420 with its 1999 Most Valuable Product (MVP) award for best cordless phone of the year. And Etown.com named the phone system its Product of the Year in the phone and answering combination product category.

Siemens' Gigaset 2415 multi-user, single-line cordless phone took top CEA 2000 honors in the telephone product category. The Gigaset 2402 two-line, multi-user cordless system won CEA's small office / home office (SOHO) category.

Schnell stresses that Siemens' best is yet to come. The company announced at the CeBIT 2000 wireless trade event that it is partnering with Proxim to deliver integrated voice and data technology and products compatible with the HomeRF(TM) wireless networking standard. Siemens has contributed heavily to the industry's body of knowledge concerning 2.4GHz and DECT (digital enhanced cordless telephony) voice technologies, which are cornerstones of the HomeRF standard.

Siemens was the first phone manufacturer to offer full 2.4GHz transmission for both the telephone base and handset resulting in sound quality benefits superior to older radio frequencies. Based on the leading DECT standard, the award-winning Gigaset family of cordless phone systems incorporates advanced technology and design principles. Targeted for SOHOs and busy households, the Gigaset takes just minutes to install and requires no phone jacks for additional cordless handsets.

For more than 150 years, Siemens has been well known in Europe and around the world for high quality and finely engineered telecommunications products. Siemens Communication Devices, a division of Siemens Information and Communication Products LLC, develops, manufactures and markets feature-rich, digital cordless products for the North American market. Siemens is the leading provider of cordless phones based on the DECT standard, having shipped more than 20 million DECT phones in more than 50 countries. Taking the cordless market as a whole, Siemens ranks second in the world.

Gigaset is a registered trademark of Siemens AG. HomeRF is a registered trademark of the Home Radio Frequency Working Group. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

Further Information