RSSNovember 10, 2008, 8:00 AM
Franklin Electronic Publishers' Speaking Spelling Bee Wins FamilyFun Magazine 2008 Toy of the Year (T.O.Y.) Award
BURLINGTON, N.J., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. , the innovative developer of handheld electronic reference and language learning devices, was named a winner of FamilyFun Magazine's coveted Toy of the Year (T.O.Y.) Award. Franklin's Speaking Spelling Bee is one of only 36 toys to receive the 2008 T.O.Y. Award, as recognized in the magazine's November issue.
"It's an honor to have received this award from FamilyFun Magazine. FamilyFun is a reputable source for both parents and educators," said Toshihide Hokari, Senior Vice President and COO of Franklin Electronic Publishers. "Winning an award for the Speaking Spelling Bee is a testament to the hard work, dedication and research that goes into the development of all Franklin products."
Released earlier this year, the Speaking Spelling Bee has emerged as one of Franklin's most well-received products. The Speaking Spelling Bee emulates a real spelling bee tournament and is a virtual spelling bee tutor designed to improve spelling skills for students ages 8 and up. Developed in conjunction with the TikGames version created for PC Play, the game features a moderator who announces a word from the spelling bee list. The players can then request an example sentence, definition, and word origin for the word in play. Players then spell them out on the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. This innovative handheld features a high contrast 2 inch color LCD screen and connectivity to a TV enhancing the learning environment through shared interactivity for up to six players for home or classroom fun. The Speaking Spelling Bee features three modes of play-competition, game show and practice modes, features a USB port and memory expansion slot and a Speaking Merriam-Webster Intermediate Dictionary, Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary. The Speaking Spelling Bee retails for $99.95 and is available at Borders, J&R, other select retailers and online at www.franklin.com.
About Franklin
Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 52,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX(R) Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com.
ROLODEX(R) is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation.
Except for the historical information contained in this news release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent the Company's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "expects" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Franklin's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.