ZOLEO™ Named Product of the Year at the Third Annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards
TORONTO, Canada, January 22, 2021 — (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ZOLEO Inc., an emerging global messaging solutions company, today announced it has garnered one of the outdoor industry’s most coveted innovation awards, Outdoor Retailer Product of the Year during the third annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards. The awards recognize products, brands, and retailers working to make an impact through design, functionality, sustainability, and the ability to inspire. ZOLEO was awarded top honors by a 16-member judging panel who evaluated a record number of entries to determine the winner.
ZOLEO is the first consumer-focused global messaging solution of its kind to leverage Iridium® Short Burst Data® (SBD®), cellular and Wi-Fi® networks. Aimed at anyone who ventures beyond mobile coverage for work or recreation, the compact ZOLEO device connects via Bluetooth® with a free app on the user’s Android® or Apple® smartphone/tablet to provide a seamless messaging experience as the user moves through coverage zones, and only ZOLEO automatically routes messages over the least cost network. Personal safety features like check-in, hyper-local weather forecasts, and 24/7 worldwide SOS alerting offer extra peace-of-mind when venturing off-the-grid. Users also receive a dedicated SMS number and email address for easy sharing with contacts. With many people turning to the outdoors in this era of travel restrictions and social distancing, ZOLEO helps make it easy for them to do so safely.
"Receiving top honors from such a respected organization in the outdoor industry is incredibly validating," says Morris Shawn, President of ZOLEO Inc. and Roadpost Inc. "ZOLEO was born from the desire to offer today’s wireless consumers innovative, lower cost remote messaging, delivered in a way that is more attuned to their expectations, and in doing so to open a much larger, more inclusive market opportunity among both experienced and newer participants in outdoor activities. ZOLEO’s immediate impact in the outdoor market is evidence of the company’s success in achieving our vision, with many outdoor retailers, customers and editorial reviewers pointing to the very attributes of simplicity, intuitiveness and affordability that we targeted."
"Our industry is driven by innovation and strives to improve the outdoor experience by making it more accessible and safer for all," said Marisa Nicholson, Outdoor Retailer senior vice president and show director. "The judging panel recognized those attributes when awarding the ZOLEO Satellite Communicator the Product of the Year. It's innovative technology truly serves the outdoorist, and we're excited to celebrate ZOLEO through this year's Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards."
"The simplicity and intuitiveness of the ZOLEO global messaging experience reflects deep integration between the user’s smartphone, the ZOLEO mobile app, the ZOLEO device and a sophisticated backend messaging infrastructure," explains Michael Capocchi, Vice President of ZOLEO Inc. and Managing Director of Beam. "Simply put, ZOLEO is the first product that delivers fully functional and truly seamless global messaging to the world."
The judging panel evaluated entrants based on four criteria to determine the winner — Spark: concept, design, appeal; Desire: opportunity, differentiation; Function: innovation, functionality, insight; and Impact: cultural, environmental, business. ZOLEO was selected to receive top honors from 189 entrants and 34 finalists. The award was presented to Morris Shawn in a virtual ceremony during Outdoor Retailer Winter Online on Thursday, January 21, 2021.
About ZOLEO Inc.
Formed in 2018 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, ZOLEO Inc. is a joint venture between Beam Communication Pty. Ltd. and Roadpost Inc. that is pioneering the development of innovative lower cost, consumer-oriented global messaging solutions, including wireless devices and apps based on Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD), cellular and Wi-Fi standards. The company serves three primary markets including consumers residing on the fringe of cellular coverage, outdoor recreation users and field workers requiring lone worker safety and remote messaging. Its products are offered through authorized retailers and e-tailers in the US, Canada and Australia, including national retailers like Cabela’s, Bass Pro, MEC and Anaconda. Roadpost is responsible for retail distribution in North America and Beam is responsible for the Asia Pacific region. Staged distribution in other regions will be jointly managed. For more information visit www.zoleo.com.
ZOLEO is a trademark of ZOLEO Inc. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by ZOLEO Inc. is under license. Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi logo are registered trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance. Other brands, products, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Media Contacts
North America
Kim Layne
Email: klayne@roadpost.com
Mobile: +1 416-587-7088
Australia
Brendon Lau
Email: media@beamcommunications.com
Mobile: +61 409 341 613