MILPITAS, Calif., March 12, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- SPOT Inc. announced today that they have been honored with the 2008 Backpacker Magazine Editors' Choice Award for the new SPOT Satellite Messenger. The award was presented in recognition of the SPOT Messenger's outstanding innovation in product design, materials and performance.
SPOT revolutionizes life for outdoors enthusiasts and their friends and family by allowing them to send messages from the backcountry to cell phones and email addresses back home in real time, and alerting responders in the event of an emergency of their GPS location.
SPOT Inc. was presented with the Editors' Choice Award on January 23rd at the annual Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, Utah by Backpacker Editor-In-Chief Jonathan Dorn and his staff of editors and product testers. The SPOT Satellite Messenger was one of only 17 innovative products selected for 2008.
"We are extremely proud SPOT was selected to win the 2008 Backpacker Editors' Choice Award, an incredible honor in the outdoor market," said Darren Bassel, Director of Marketing for SPOT Inc. "Backpacker editors and product testers are the leaders in the industry and traveled the Globe testing SPOT and its messaging functions for accuracy and reliability."
Since 1993, Backpacker magazine has recognized products with the Editors' Choice Award chosen by Backpacker editors as best of the year according to months of extensive field testing by teams of highly trained hikers and climbers. Hundreds of new products every year are put through a rigorous testing process to ensure the performance of the winner is truly worthy of distinction and meets the guiding principles the program: gear that is of real value to the readers of Backpacker magazine, who are very active, long-term outdoor enthusiasts
"The SPOT Satellite Messenger earned a Backpacker 2008 Editors' Choice Award for introducing valuable and innovative new functionality to the world of personal safety devices," said Backpacker Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Dorn. "This award is the gold standard against which all outdoor products are measured, and our testers agree that the SPOT is a very smart buy not only for backpackers, but for anyone who spends time in the outdoors."
SPOT enables users, based on varying levels of need, to send messages to friends, family, or emergency responders, and to visually track the location of the SPOT satellite messenger:
* Alert 9-1-1 notifies emergency responders of your GPS location
* Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family
* Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are OK
* Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows contacts
to track your progress using Google Maps
Weighing just over 7 ounces and sold at U.S. $169.95 SRP, the SPOT satellite messenger is ideal for the growing market of more than 64 million estimated outdoor enthusiasts in the U.S., specifically for backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, ice and rock climbing, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, or recreational maritime activities. In addition, SPOT provides peace-of-mind for anyone who spends a considerable amount of time in the outdoors or just wants to stay connected with a line of communication.
SPOT and other recipients awarded with the 2008 Backpacker Editors' Choice Award will be officially announced to the public in the April issue of Backpacker Magazine, on newsstands March 11.
About Backpacker
Backpacker brings the outdoors to reader's doorsteps, inspiring and empowering them to get out and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature, and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.
Backpacker is published by Active Interest Media (www.aimmedia.com), has a circulation of 340,000, and is published nine times per year. In 2006, the magazine won a coveted National Magazine Award for editorial excellence. Backpacker's award-winning website, www.backpacker.com, is updated daily and features more than 3,000 hikes, a searchable and comprehensive database of outdoor gear (www.gearfinder.com), special sections for beginners and female hikers, the most active community forums in the outdoor space, and a wealth of trail tips, videos, and GPS know-how.
About SPOT Inc.
The SPOT Satellite Messenger, the world's first satellite messenger, uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center. SPOT Inc., a subsidiary or Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT), provides lifesaving communications technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. Thanks to this affordable, cutting-edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how SPOT Inc. is helping users live to tell about it(tm) -- from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure purposes -- visit www.findmespot.com.