SALT LAKE CITY, June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ClearOne (Nasdaq: CLRO), the leading global provider of audio conferencing products, announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC), a global integrated media company, named the CHAT 170 as a 2009 TMC Labs Innovation Award winner presented by its publication Unified Communications.

A Certified Partner in the Microsoft Partner Program, ClearOne developed the CHAT 170 to fill the need for a hands-free speakerphone that could be used by small groups or individuals using Microsoft Office Communicator 2007. The CHAT 170 replaces the speakers and microphone of a PC or laptop with a high-quality, hands-free solution, perfect for crystal-clear audio conferencing for small groups. This allows users a much better audio option for voice and video calls, allowing them the freedom to communicate without being tethered to the computer by a headset cable.

The CHAT 170 easily connects via USB to PCs or laptops and delivers true plug-and-play operation, requiring no software or drivers to be installed and contains HDConference^™, ClearOne's suite of advanced audio processing technologies. Originally developed for professional conferencing systems, HDConference produces rich, unrivaled audio through technologies such as Distributed Echo Cancellation^™, noise cancellation, full-duplex audio, first microphone priority, adaptive modeling, and others. The CHAT 170 has three built-in microphones for full 360-degree pickup and a large speaker for exceptional, high quality sound. For users of Office Communicator 2007, the CHAT 170 is the perfect addition to the office or conference room for greatly enhanced collaboration.

"TMC editors have previously honored the CHAT 170 with product of the year awards, but this recognition from TMC Labs is especially rewarding, as it recognizes the CHAT 170's innovation in the unified communications space," said Mark Child, Director of Product Marketing - Telephony, at ClearOne. "The CHAT 170 was only released three months ago but has already received three industry awards, this one being the most recent. Globally, enterprises are deploying Microsoft Office Communicator at an ever-increasing rate and the CHAT 170 is quickly becoming an essential tool for high-quality, hands-free audio in this popular unified communications environment."

"ClearOne has demonstrated a commitment to quality and a commitment to the further development of the unified communications industry through its CHAT 170," said Tom Keating, CTO and TMC Labs editorial director at TMC. "ClearOne deserves this great honor and I look forward to seeing other innovative solutions from them as they continue to contribute to the future of the UC industry."

"We're proud to grant ClearOne with a Unified Communications TMC Labs Innovation Award," stated Rich Tehrani, TMC president. "The CHAT 170is clearly deserving of recognition for its out-of-box innovation."

The TMC Labs Innovation Award honors products that have demonstrated raw innovation, unique features, and significant contributions toward improving communications technology. The TMC Labs Innovation Award is not granted to the best-selling products, but instead to those demonstrating a significant contribution to the industry.

2009 TMC Labs Innovation Award winners can be found in the May/June 2009 issue of Unified Communications magazine.

About ClearOne

ClearOne Communications Inc. is a communications solutions company that develops and sells audio conferencing systems and related products for audio, video and web conferencing applications. The reliability, flexibility and performance of ClearOne's comprehensive solutions create a natural communications environment that saves organizations time and money by enabling more effective and efficient communication. For additional information, access www.clearone.com.

About Unified Communications magazine

Launched in July 2007, Unified Communications magazine is devoted to educating enterprise decision makers on why and how they need to deploy unified communications (UC) solutions. Every issue of Unified Communications magazine features a comprehensive news section; case studies of successful deployments and lessons learned; interviews with leading hardware and software companies; and an 'industry' section, featuring analysis of important mergers and acquisition, partnerships and a Wall Street perspective on the unified communications market. Unified Communications has a readership of 100,000.

About TMC

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is a global integrated media company helping our clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and NGN Magazine. TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by two to three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends. TMCnet is ranked as 2,921 in Quantcast's Top U.S. Sites placing TMCnet in the top .03% most visited Web sites in the US. In addition, TMC produces ITEXPO, 4GWE Conference, Digium|Asterisk World and Communications Developer Conference. TMC's Green Blog has been ranked on the "100 Best Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World". TMC also recently launched new industry-specific Web sites: IT.TMCnet.com, Cable.TMCnet.com, Robotics.TMCnet.com, Satellite.TMCnet.com, Green.TMCnet.com. New services offered by TMCnet include the Tech Jobs site, TMCnet iPhone News and Facebook connections. For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

    ClearOne Contact:
    Mark Child
    801-303-3446
    mark.child@clearone.com

    TMC Contact:
    Jan Pierret
    Marketing Manager
    203-852-6800, ext. 228
    jpierret@tmcnet.com

http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=509&to=ea&s=0

SOURCE ClearOne Communications Inc.