Parrot™ is Riding High on the Wireless Wave it’s Helping Create
LAS VEGAS--Parrot is riding the wave that’s sweeping the consumer electronics market. And with 2 billion Bluetooth®-enabled products expected to be in consumers’ hands by 2010, perhaps it could be better described as a tidal wave.
In the last two years, Parrot has introduced 12 new products – one every other month -- and this pace is expected to accelerate in 2007, giving retailers and consumers alike a steady supply of exciting, innovative products to ride the Bluetooth wave.
Founded in 1994 by its visionary Chairman and CEO, Henri Seydoux, Parrot has rapidly established itself as a leading global player for wireless mobile telephone peripherals and continues to introduce new products while expanding its operations worldwide.
In addition to introducing a whole new portfolio of products in the last two years, the company has created subsidiaries in the U.S., Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, and China and added major retailers in many countries.
In recognition of its tremendous, profitable growth, Parrot went public in June 2006 and is listed on the Euronext (Paris), while jumping from 34th in 2004 to 5th place this year on the prestigious European Deloitte Technology Fast 50.
“We are very proud of our dramatic progress and we expect to continue this pace in the coming years,” says Seydoux.
Bluetooth Eco-System
Early on, Seydoux foresaw the central role the cellphone – and now the smartphone -- would play in consumers’ everyday lives, and began developing the technology and a product roadmap to capitalize on the mobile phone phenomena.
“With 80 percent of the world’s mobile phones expected to be Bluetooth-enabled by 2009, we see a rapidly expanding market for Parrot products that are designed to seamlessly connect all devices in the Bluetooth eco-system, says Ed Valdez, president and COO of Parrot, Inc., the company’s North American subsidiary.
Parrot defines this “eco-system” as all the popular technologies -- music, voice and photos – that surround Bluetooth cellphones.
Top Car Kit Maker
Parrot was one of the very first companies to produce Bluetooth-based hands-free car kits, having identified the huge potential of this market as early as 1999. Parrot sold more than 1 million car kits in the first half of 2006 (both installed and plug- and-play units), and expects to sell over 2 million for the year as sales increase in the US.
Parrot continues to expand and deepen its presence in cars by adding next-generation voice recognition and noise cancellation technology – as well as audio streaming capability.
Most recently, Parrot introduced the industry’s first car kit with audio streaming – the Parrot MK6000™ -- that plays music through the vehicle’s sound system, directly streamed from Bluetooth A2DP-enabled MP3 players or iPods. The Parrot MK6000 also features the first consumer application of Parrot “beamforming” technology which gives this car kit the best microphone sensitivity and background noise control available.
From Car Kits to Music and Photos
In 2006, Parrot introduced the Parrot PHOTO VIEWER™ – a line of elegantly framed 3.5 inch LCDs that accept up to 120 photos beamed wirelessly via Bluetooth from a cell phone, digital camera or laptop.
The company also introduced the new Parrot SOUND SYSTEM™ – a pair of high-range wireless, stereo bookshelf speakers that play audio streamed from a Bluetooth A2DP-enabled smartphone, laptop, MP3 device or iPod without compromising sound quality.
It also introduced the Parrot MINIKIT™ plug and play speakerphone for both cars and homes, which also enables VoIP and Skype calls via laptops for the millions of self-employed working from home offices. In independent tests conducted in 2006 by a top German testing firm, the MINIKIT tested superior to the two leading competitors in three of the four categories most important to consumers.
At CES 2007, Parrot introduced its next- generation product for display of digital photos – the Parrot PHOTO VIEWER 7”™. The new frame holds up to 500 photos and has a number of exciting new features such as customizable slide shows, extra-fast download, and a simple user interface.
The company will also introduce its first product designed for corporate boardrooms and conference rooms -- the new Parrot CONFERENCE™ – a full-featured Bluetooth speakerphone that is wireless and battery powered so it’s easy to move from meeting room to meeting room.
These will be followed by a host of similar products throughout 2007, maintaining the company’s rapid pace of introducing new products regularly.
Today, Parrot has a strong international focus, both in terms of its client base -- with nearly 90% of sales generated outside of France -- and in terms of production which it outsources to carefully selected partners to achieve the best possible level of quality, price and responsiveness.
In terms of technology, Parrot has nearly 150 engineers focused on developing and refining its proprietary digital signal processing technology and has key alliances with specialty telecom firms, chipmakers and companies engaged in voice recognition.
As a result, Parrot is ideally positioned to capitalize on the exploding wireless consumer products markets surrounding cellphones. It also has the reach and resources to stay several steps ahead of its nearest competitors with a broad portfolio of wireless products, all of which are designed to give the added convenience, security and enjoyment of wireless technology to consumers.
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% 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.
www.parrotcorp.com Euronext Paris – Eurolist, Compartiment B : FR0004038263 – PARRO
CHRONOLOGY OF
PARROT INNOVATION
1994: Founding of Parrot by Henri Seydoux.
1995-1999: Development and refinement of signal processing algorithms, voice recognition, noise and echo cancellation and Bluetooth applications.
1995: Launch of the Parrot Voice Recognition Organizer, first handheld product in the world to offer accurate voice recognition.
1997: Introduction of the next generation Parrot+ Voice Recognition Organizer, specifically intended for the visually-impaired.
1999: Introduction of the Parrot CK28 VoiceMate™, the first hands-free kit with voice recognition.
2001: Development of Parrot CK3000™, the first Bluetooth hands-free kit with speech recognition.
2002: Launch of the Parrot CK4000™ for automakers.
2003: Parrot DriveBlue™, the first plug-and-play Bluetooth hands-free kit.
2004: Parrot CK3100 LCD™ and Parrot CK3300™ with GPS introductions.
2005: Parrot EASY-DRIVE™, Parrot CK3000 Evolution™, Parrot 3200 LS-COLOR™, Parrot 3400 LS-GPS™, Parrot RHYTHM N’BLUE™ stereo head unit with Bluetooth hands-free telephony; launch of Parrot CK5000™ chipset (OEM).
2006: Parrot CK5050™ chipset with steaming audio; Parrot DRIVER HEADSET™ and Parrot MINIKIT™ Speakerphone; launch of the Parrot PHOTO VIEWER™, Parrot SOUND SYSTEM™, Parrot MK6000™, the first Bluetooth solutions designed by Parrot to capitalize on digital photos and music on mobile phones and other devices.
2007- Jan: Parrot CONFERENCE™ speakerphone; Parrot PHOTO VIEWER 7”™, with more products to come.
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