SMART ships 250,000th SMART Board interactive whiteboard
Customers in 75 countries accelerate adoption of SMART products
CALGARY, Alberta --- January 12, 2005 --- SMART Technologies Inc. announces the shipment of the 250,000th SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard, a milestone that further strengthens its position as the world leader in interactive whiteboards. Education authorities around the world, including those in the UK, U.S. and Mexico, are adopting interactive whiteboards to improve student learning in schools and develop skills that are vitally important in today's global workforce.
Schools in every Local Education Authority (LEA) in England, Scotland and Wales use SMART Board interactive whiteboards. Of the 208 LEAs, 122 have more than 100 SMART Board interactive whiteboards installed in schools in their area. Independent market research by Decision Tree Consulting (DTC) confirms SMART's market leadership in the UK. According to DTC, SMART had 49.6 per cent of total interactive whiteboard sales in the UK for the third quarter of 2004, more than any other manufacturer and nearly 16 percent ahead of its closest competitor. SMART led in all screen-size sales, with 80 percent of the 50" (127.0-cm) category, 66 percent of the 60" (152.4-cm) category and 42 percent of the +70" (177.8-cm) category. DTC has reported SMART as the UK market leader in every quarter since it began publishing its interactive whiteboard market report in 2001.
SMART launched the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, the world's first interactive whiteboard, in 1991. Since then, users in markets as diverse as education, defense and business have adopted this tool to improve communication and group collaboration. SMART Board interactive whiteboards continue to win awards that recognise their excellence, the most recent ones being the Best Early Years and Primary Hardware/Secondary Hardware 2005 BETT Award, 2004 Technology & Learning Award of Excellence, 2004 Worlddidac Award and 2004 AEP Distinguished Achievement Award - Instructional Materials: Learning Appliances. Customers choose SMART Board interactive whiteboards because they are intuitive, robust and easy to use. When a pen is selected from the SMART Pen Tray, users can write over any application using either the pen or their finger - no special tools are required. A free download of the latest version of SMART Board software enables users of all 250,000 SMART Board interactive whiteboards ongoing access to the newest features. The SMART Board interactive whiteboard product line includes front- and rear-projection interactive whiteboards to suit a range of budgets and requirements.
"Leadership comes from consistently developing and delivering high-quality solutions that meet customers' needs," says Nancy Knowlton, SMART's president and co-CEO. "We place immense value on listening to our customers and incorporating their input in the development of our products, and our customers have shown their appreciation by continuing to choose SMART products."
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For more information, contact:
Public Relations
SMART Technologies Inc.
300, 1207 - 11th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB CANADA T3C 0M5
Phone +1.403.802.2552 Fax +1.403.228.2500
pr@smarttech.com
Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.