Press Release from Plantronics 3/2/2010
New Audio Solutions Help IT Departments Enhance User Experiences through Clear, Reliable Audio and Ease of Use
CeBIT 2010 – HANNOVER, Germany – March 2, 2010 – Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today simplified its growing Unified Communications (UC) portfolio and introduced new audio solutions that help IT departments deploy UC quickly and keep costs down . The new solutions, including a USB desk phone, premium corded headsets and wireless DECT (TM) headsets, deliver brilliant audio, unmatched quality and ease of use across all work environments.
The Plantronics Unified Communications product portfolio is now organized into the following product families: Blackwire (TM), Calisto (R), Savi (TM) and Plantronics Voyager (R) UC. The simplified product families are designed for easy IT decision making. Many products provide full call control functions for UC applications from partners including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Skype.
“Voice is paramount in Unified Communications because it enables us to be more expressive and engaged. Workers won’t adopt UC solutions if they can’t trust the audio to be clear and reliable, so it’s imperative that both IT and end users be able to quickly match an audio solution to their work style and audio needs,” said Elizabeth Bastiaanse Hamren, vice president of Product Marketing at Plantronics. “We developed our new solutions to enhance the UC experience with audio that gives the feeling of true ‘face-to-face’ conversations and the reliability that people have come to expect of Plantronics for nearly 50 years.”
Simplifying UC Deployments
The new Plantronics Unified Communications product families give IT departments a single trusted vendor for a wide variety of audio solutions. From executives in the corner office to mobile sales teams to knowledge workers around campus or in the office, Plantronics’ breadth of product options enable clear, reliable conversations across an array of environments. Equally important, the audio solutions are easy to use and install, so IT departments aren’t burdened with support requests.
Plantronics Blackwire: Corded USB Wideband Headsets
Designed for in-office and mobile PC-based conversations, the Blackwire family includes the new Blackwire 420, a foldable headset designed for a mobile worker which can lay flat next to a laptop for portability. It has in-line controls for volume, answer/end and mute. Installation is easy via USB plug-and-play connectivity. The Blackwire line includes five headsets with wideband audio, call control and noise canceling microphones in both mono and stereo.
Plantronics Calisto: Wideband USB Phones
The Calisto family includes the new Plantronics Calisto 540, an Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator deskphone. The Calisto 540 is ideal for stationary workers who primarily use the PC for voice conversations and want the familiarity of a desk phone. The Calisto family of products also includes a USB speakerphone and a handset.
Plantronics Savi: Wireless DECT USB Wideband Headsets
The Savi family includes new binaural and monaural headband versions of the award-winning Savi Office. The Savi family of products is designed for knowledge workers who use both a deskphone and the PC for making calls and want the freedom of mobility with the clear audio quality. Savi Office enables in-office professionals to listen to any PC-based audio such as music players, streaming audio and video, webinars and podcasts, and make calls via the desk phone or PC with a simple press of a button. With Savi Office, IT departments looking to standardize on one headset system can offer users a choice in wearing styles.
Plantronics Voyager UC: Bluetooth (R) USB Wideband Headset
For mobile professionals, Voyager PRO UC, introduced in November 2009, combines Plantronics’ award-winning Voyager PRO Bluetooth headset with a plug-and-play Bluetooth USB adapter to deliver richer wideband audio on softphones along with Voyager PRO’s superior noise and wind cancellation on both mobile phones and softphones. The Plantronics Voyager PRO UC headset supports multipoint technology that allows users to switch between their mobile phone calls and PC calls with the touch of a button.
Pricing and Availability
The full portfolio of UC products is available through authorized Plantronics resellers and will be available in Spring 2010.
- Plantronics Blackwire corded USB wideband headsets range in price from $44.95 to $129 MSRP. The ultra portable Blackwire 420 has an MSRP of $89.95.
- Plantronics Calisto wideband USB phones range in price from $79 to $179 MSRP. The new Calisto 540 USB Deskphone has an MSRP of $169.95
- Plantronics Savi Office, including the new monaural and binaural versions, range in price from $379.95 – $399.95 MSRP and will be available this spring. Over-the-ear and convertible models of Savi Office are currently available.
- Plantronics Voyager PRO UC has an MSRP of $199.95 and is currently available.
Blackwire, Calisto, Plantronics Voyager, Savi, and The Voice of Unified Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. DECT is a trademark of ETSI. 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 their respective owners.
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