Wacom, the leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and intuitive interface solutions, received the coveted award as the most successful brand in the IT / gaming category at the Plus X Awards prize ceremony, held on 19th May 2009 in Cologne, Germany. The Plus X Awards, Europe’s largest contest for technology, sports and lifestyle products, honour products annually for outstanding achievements in innovation, design and ease of use.
The title “Most Innovative Brand of the Year” is the top award given out by the Plus X Award jury which is comprised of well-known journalists and design and engineering experts. This special prize goes to the participant that has received the most product quality seals in its particular product category – which indicates that it provides exceptional products across the board. The jury was so impressed by the Wacom products – Bamboo, Intuos4 and Cintiq 12WX – that several seals were awarded to each product. A total of ten seals meant that Wacom is the strongest brand in its category.

Stefan Kirmse, Director of Marketing at Wacom Europe GmbH: “Marketing managers face dramatic changes in an age of social networks, where transparency is virtually unlimited and individual consumers have considerable power in terms of communication. Authenticity and brands with genuine experience are taking the place of attractive advertising promises. But one thing remains the same: market leadership requires continuous innovation – which is brought about by technological advantages, design and corporate identity innovation as well as innovation with regard to communications strategies. The “Most Innovative Brand Award” provides us with evidence that our branding strategy is working– and encourages us to continue to be innovative.”

Bamboo, the Wacom pen tablet for the consumer market, received honours in the categories of design, ease of use and ergonomics. This supports Wacom’s claim that Bamboo offers computer users an individual, intuitive and ergonomic way of working with computers.

Intuos4, the Wacom pen tablet system for professionals, received Plus X Award product quality seals within various categories including design, ease of use and ergonomics. The intelligent and user friendly design of the tablet is partially based on suggestions from the Wacom Community.

Finally the Cintiq 12WX interactive pen display impressed the Plus X Award jury in a total of four categories: innovation, design, ease of use and ergonomics. This innovative product combines the comfort of a pen display, which enables the user to work directly on the integrated screen with a pen, with the mobility and compact dimensions of a pen tablet.

For more information about Wacom and its products, please contact Glenn Tsunekawa (appress@wacom.co.jp), marketing manager for Wacom Asia Pacific.

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Wacom Company Ltd., (Tokyo Stock Exchange 6727), is a global company based in Japan with subsidiaries in the United States (Wacom Technology Corporation), Germany (Wacom Europe GmbH), China (Wacom China Corporation), Korea (Wacom Korea Co., Ltd.), Australia (Wacom Australia Pty, Ltd), Singapore (Wacom Singapore Pte. Ltd.), and Taiwan (Wacom Taiwan Information Co., Ltd.). In addition to these subsidiaries, Wacom has affiliate offices around the world to support marketing and distribution in over 150 countries. Founded in 1983, Wacom's vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world's leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays, and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom's intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashion and designs around the world and provides business and home users with their leading interface technology to express their personality. Millions of customers are using its cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen technology.