ORB™ Wireless Earpiece Finger Ring Wins CES 2010 Top Honor

Nov. 18, 2009 - PRLog -- SAN FRANCISCO— AbsolutelyNew, the company that partners with independent inventors and small businesses to launch new products, announced that client Hybra Advance Technology, Inc.’s ORB™ “ear ring” has just been named the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010 Best of Innovation winner in the wireless handsets accessories category.

Developed with technology brokering and marketing support from AbsolutelyNew’s Science+Technology Division, the ORB is a finger-worn ring that twists open to become a comfortable, secure and sophisticated Bluetooth headset for hands-free calling.

To win this prestigious CES award, the ORB was judged by a panel of distinguished industrial designers, engineers and members of the media, and found to represent the year’s most outstanding design and engineering in its consumer electronics product category.

Key details on the ORB:

• Harnesses bone conducting technology from NXT Sound to deliver high-quality sound without the discomfort of placing a device inside the ear.
• Delivers Class 2 Bluetooth (~30-ft range) in multiple ring sizes.
• Offers vibratory alerts of incoming calls and messages.
• The base model features an E Ink display that shows caller ID, text messages and calendar reminders.
• The deluxe edition features a FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen for full-color display of caller ID, text messages and calendar reminders.

Hybra plans to start selling its first base model ORBs in early 2010, at a suggested retail price of $129 USD. The deluxe edition is planned for launch later in 2010, at a suggested retail price of $175 USD. Limited edition models featuring decorative gemstones, to be priced based on the value of the gemstones, will also follow.

“The greatest manufacturers in consumer electronics—technology leaders including Sony, Nikon, HP, and Logitech—have won the top CES awards year after year,” said Richard Donat, AbsolutelyNew’s CEO. “We’re delighted to see the ORB in such good company, and to be recognized for adding significant value to Hybra’s innovation.”

Added Ryan Wells, Hybra’s co-founder, “This award comes after a very considerable, concerted effort to bring a bold new idea to life and to market, bringing together dozens of advanced technologies to do so. We’re delighted with the pre-launch attention, and we now look forward to delighting ORB users around the world starting early next year.”

Hybra’s Sound Band™ surface excitation wireless headset, also commercialized with AbsolutelyNew, earned an honorable mention in the CES awards’ wireless handsets category. It too will launch in 2010.

Print-quality ORB images are available at www.photobucket.com/absolutelynew.

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AbsolutelyNew is the consumer goods company that partners with inventors (plus manufacturers and retailers) to launch breakthrough products. The company’s Science+Technology Division also helps innovators launch new devices and technologies into businesses. Products in AbsolutelyNew’s portfolio span a range of categories and can be purchased in stores and catalogs, online and on TV. Headquartered in San Francisco, AbsolutelyNew is privately held with venture capital backing from Artiman Ventures. For more information, visit www.absolutelynew.com.