Finalists Selected for the 2009 Edison Best New Product Awards

Prestigious Awards Recognize Excellence in New Product Development, Marketing and Innovation

Chicago (PRWEB) February 11, 2009

On this day in 1847, Thomas Edison was born. In honor and celebration of America's greatest inventor and innovator, the finalists for the prestigious 2009 Edison Best New Product Awards™ are being unveiled today. The awards are among the most elite accolades honoring excellence in new product development, marketing, and innovation. Strategic implementation partners for the 2009 awards program include the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University, the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and The MIT/Stanford Venture Lab (VLAB).

The Edison Best New Product Awards, sponsored this year by Google, The Nielsen Company and Steelcase, focus on new products and services that excel in marketplace innovation, marketplace success, technological innovation, market structure innovation, and societal impact. These criteria align with Edison's own innovation best practices, called the Five Competencies of Innovation. MENG members nationwide cast their ballots for entries they deemed worthy of being linked to the Edison name.

"I can't think of a better way to recognize Thomas Edison's birthday than to announce the finalists for the 2009 Edison Best New Product Awards," stated Sarah Miller Caldicott, great grandniece of Thomas Edison and co-author of Innovate Like Edison. "I'm excited to see such high caliber entries this year. The Edison Awards Steering Committee had some intense debates in selecting which nominations would make the ballot." Caldicott is also Chairperson of the Edison Awards Steering Committee.

Awards will be announced in 10 categories, including: Consumer Packaged Goods, Science & Medical, Lifestyle & Social Impact, Energy & Sustainability, Technology, Industrial Design, Living & Working Environments, Media & Visual Communications, Transportation, and Electronics & Computers. Finalists include:

Science and Medical

Insight High Throughput Experimentation Platform, from a subsidiary of Nuvo Research, Inc. Omnipod Insulin Management System, from Insulet Corp. 23AndMe Personal Genome Service, from 23AndMe i-LIMB Hand, from Touch Bionics

Electronics and Computers

Google G1 Android Phone, from T-Mobile and Google Apple iPhone, from Apple

Energy and Sustainability

Bixi - Montreal's Public Bike System Essentials Cleaner from Arm & Hammer Paradigm Earth Study 360, from Paradigm Digital Subsurface Asset Management

Technology

EssenceWise brand tracking system, from Wise Window, Inc. Realsight Quantitative Anthropology video tracking system, from Realsight Speedo LZR Racer, from Speedo WiiFit, from Nintendo

Transportation

Trek Madone 5.2, from Trek Bicycle Corporation WorldWide Telescope, from Microsoft Verdier Solar Powered Eco-Camper, from Verdier

Industrial Design

Macbook Air, from Apple

Lifestyle and Social Impact

Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign Healthiest Companies in America, from Unicom Marketing Mint. com The Apple App Store, from Apple

Living and Working Environments

Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona

Media and Communications

Flip Mino Camcorder, from Pure Digital Technologies, Inc. Instructional Genome, from Noggin Labs

Consumer Packaged Goods

Olay Regenerist facial care, from Procter & Gamble No Frizz styling line, from Living Proof Inc. Tide to Go, from Procter & Gamble

Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be announced at an Awards Gala on April 1, 2009 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To register to attend, visit Edison Award (http://www. edisonawards. com/Awards/2009EdisonAwards. html).

About The Edison Awards:

The Edison Best New Products Award™ recognizes the persistence and excellence Thomas Edison personified, qualities which have allowed America to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity, and ingenuity in the global economy. The Edison Achievement Award™ honors business leaders who have displayed the persistence, collaboration, and creativity necessary to promote successful innovation in their organizations. For more information about The Edison Awards, visit Edison Awards Website (http://www. edisonawards. com).

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