Microsoft Tilt Wheel: Best New Product or Service for 2005

Microsoft's Tilt Wheel Named Best New Product or Service for 2005
Scroll Wheel Wins International Stevie Award in Second Annual Business Awards Program

Microsoft today announced that its revolutionary Tilt Wheel has won an International Business Award for the Best New Product or Service of 2005. These awards, nicknamed "the Stevies" for the Greek word "crowned," are the only global, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Microsoft's win in 2005 follows 2004's winner for Best New Product or Service, Research In Motion for the BlackBerry 7230.

Microsoft's Tilt Wheel was chosen for the intuitive four-way scrolling capabilities of its all-in-one mouse wheel, the first of its kind, which makes navigating large spreadsheets and Web pages easier than ever. The four-way scrolling technology is quickly becoming an industry standard and winning business- and retail-customer acclaim worldwide. The Tilt Wheel actually boasted greater initial sales than those of Microsoft's popular optical technology in its first six months of availability.

"Two years ago we advanced the scroll wheel, the No. 1 feature people look for in a mouse, with the first Tilt Wheel Technology," said Tom Gibbons, general manager of the Hardware Group at Microsoft. "Our Tilt Wheel has set a precedent for our business customers, and we are proud to receive this prestigious award in recognition of the benefits it delivers to businesses worldwide."

Seventy-six International Stevie Award winners were selected from more than 600 nominations received from companies and individuals in more than 30 countries. Twenty-one nations have at least one International Stevie winner: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Companies worldwide can enter the International Business Awards competition in any of more than 40 categories, including Best Multinational Company, Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program and Best Executive. Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs select International Stevie winners from among the finalists, which are determined by volunteer judges around the world during two months of preliminary judging.

"This year we saw greater international representation among the entries, and this is reflected in the number of countries that are represented in the winners' circle," said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of The Stevie Awards, the organization that runs the International Business Awards competition. "We congratulate all the finalists and International Stevie Award winners, and we look forward to honoring them for their achievements at our gala awards dinner in New York on May 19."

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