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Parrot and Paser Announce a Global Agreement Aimed at Providing Users with Steering Wheel-Mounted Controls for Even Safer Driving

AUSTIN, Texas--Parrot, the market leader for Bluetooth® mobile phone devices, is pleased to announce a global commercial agreement with Paser, an Italian firm specialized in electronics for the automobile world. Indeed, the two companies have joined forces to produce and distribute a dedicated electronic system for steering wheel-mounted controls for Parrot products. This agreement has led to the launch of a device that makes it possible to transfer controls for the Parrot CK3000 EVOLUTION and CK3100 Bluetooth handsfree kits directly onto the vehicle‘s steering wheel.

“At Parrot, we are constantly looking for specialized partners who are able to increase the value of our products,” explains Henri Seydoux, Parrot’s founder, Chairman and CEO. “Our goal is to provide users with even greater comfort and safety. For this project, we chose to work with the Italian company Paser, who convinced us right away that they were the appropriate partner on account of their creativity and technical expertise.”

Rosa Larotonda, the Chairman and CEO of Paser, adds that: “We are proud to make our technical expertise available to Parrot. The platform created through this agreement represents a major breakthrough for the Bluetooth handsfree kit market. A new step forwards with the integration of these products into vehicles.”

Two versions of the Parrot/Paser solution will be on sale:

  • Parrot MULTICAN: integrating the well-known CANBUS protocol, this version is compatible with vehicles produced by leading automobile manufacturers including OPEL, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and PSA.
  • Parrot MULTICOMM: this customizable version adapts to the protocol used by automobile manufacturers that are not working with the CANBUS protocol, such as Fiat, Ford or Toyota.

Fitting the steering-mounted control interface for Parrot CK3000 EVOLUTION and Parrot CK3100 kits is quick and easy. The device is delivered with the handsfree kit installation cables and steering wheel-mounted control interfaces in order to ensure the optimum integration of Parrot handsfree kits in the vehicle.

Provided from the outset with a unique rotating keypad, making it possible to access all the controls, the Parrot CK3000 EVOLUTION becomes perfectly invisible with the new Paser interface for steering wheel-mounted controls. For the Parrot CK3100, which has a similar interface and an LCD screen, all of its controls will also be transferred onto the steering wheel. However, the caller’s name will continue to be displayed on the screen as before.

Parrot MULTICAN and Parrot MULTICOMM will be available worldwide from the network of Parrot’s automobile manufacturer clients, as well as from Parrot’s distribution channel (Parrot automobile dealers and OEMs) from January 2007 onwards.

Public retail price: from 79 euros in the Parrot distribution channel.

About Parrot

Founded in 1994, Parrot has rapidly established itself as a pivotal global player for wireless mobile telephone accessories. Drawing on its tried-and-tested expertise on voice recognition and signal processing technologies, Parrot was one of the very first companies to produce Bluetooth®-based wireless hands free car kits, having identified this standard’s vast potential as early as 1999. In the first half of 2006, Parrot sold more than 1 million units.

Determined to accompany the mobile telephone’s irresistible breakthrough into our day-to-day lives, Parrot has developed two new products in 2006: the PARROT PHOTO VIEWER, an LCD photo frame designed to display photos transmitted from a mobile telephone via Bluetooth, and the PARROT SOUND SYSTEM, a wireless hi-fi system with speakers linked up to one another using Bluetooth.

Today, Parrot truly has a major international focus: 87 percent of its sales are generated outside of France, and a large percentage of its production is outsourced to carefully selected partners, enabling it to achieve the best possible level of quality and responsiveness. Parrot is now particularly well positioned to capitalize on the bright future opening up for mobile telephone devices.

Parrot has achieved strong growth in its consolidated revenues, up from 80.9 million euros pro forma in 2005 to 116.4 million euros in the first 9 months of 2006.