Roomba™, the new intelligent floor appliance from iRobot that cleans floors all by itself, left the competition in the dust as the big winner of PC Magazine's prestigious "The Last Gadget Standing" event at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

On January 11, nine of the year's best new products competed in "The Last Gadget Standing," an interactive product demonstration with a Survivor twist. The event, which was hosted by PC Magazine's editor-in-chief Michael J. Miller and contributor Robin Raskin, was attended by more than 1,000 CES show goers. At the end of the session, attendees voted for the hottest product with staying power in a PC Magazine online poll. Roomba won with more than 33 percent of the vote.

"We'd like to congratulate iRobot. Clearly, Roomba captured the attention of people, both at the session at CES and on the Web site," said Miller. "It's very interesting to see computers and robotics coming together to create a consumer product. Since the 'Last Gadget Standing' focuses on trends that are keepers, we expect to see even more robotics at work back at CES next year."

"We are honored to win this year's CES 'Last Gadget Standing' competition," said Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot Corporation. "The overwhelming vote of confidence from CES show goers affirms that there is a new market for robotics in the home. Roomba's unprecedented application of robotics technology in a useful and affordably priced appliance is delivering on the promise of robotics to change people's lives for the better."

About Roomba™ Intelligent FloorVac

Roomba is the first floor appliance to deliver the promised conveniences of advanced robotics technology (at the affordable consumer price of $199.95). At the touch of a button, Roomba automatically cleans all types of floor surfaces, including carpet, tile, hardwood and linoleum. Users simply place it in the middle of the room, turn it on, select the room size and walk away. Guided by infrared sensors, Roomba automatically avoids stairs and cleans around furniture without getting stuck.

Weighing less than six pounds, Roomba's unique three-stage cleaning process cleans like vacuums many times its size, even outperforming uprights on hard floors.

It can even clean under kick-boards in the kitchen and underneath beds or furniture less than four inches off the floor. A spinning side brush thoroughly cleans next to walls and hard-to-reach places. Roomba comes with an invisible infrared "wall" to keep it from crossing open areas as wide as 13 feet. One charge of the included NiMH battery provides enough power to clean up to three medium-size rooms.

Roomba is available at Brookstone, The Sharper Image and Hammacher Schlemmer.

About PC Magazine

PC Magazine, the independent guide to technology, delivers comprehensive labs-based reviews and the most trusted recommendations for buyers of technology products and services. Reaching more than 5.9 million highly engaged technology readers, PC Magazine provides product reviews, first looks at emerging technologies and products, and opinionated columns from renowned technology pundits. To meet its readers' needs for buying information that is as current as it is comprehensive, PC Magazine publishes 22 times a year in print and continually on the Web.

About iRobot

iRobot has a long commitment to advancing the robotics industry and over the past 12 years has developed technology and built numerous products for the U.S. military, law enforcement, energy, industrial cleaning and toy industries, and now the consumer marketplace. Introduced in 2002, Roomba Intelligent FloorVac was named one of the year's best inventions by Time Magazine, Business Week, and USA Today. For additional information about Roomba and iRobot visit www.irobot.com.

SOURCE: iRobot