SOMERSET, NJ October 8– Oticon Intiga, the hearing device designed to appeal to first-time users, demonstrated its appeal to the distinguished jury of the Danish Design Award 2012 and the general public, capturing the top prize in both the Industrial Design Business-to-Consumer category and in the new People’s Choice Award. Selected from more than 124 applicants, Oticon Intiga is the only category winner to earn two award designations from the prestigious design competition honoring companies that have created innovative products and solutions of a high aesthetic and functional quality.
“We are honored that Intiga has received the recognition of so distinguished an award,” said Oticon President Peer Lauritsen. “We are especially pleased that in open voting, members of the general public also voiced their appreciation for Intiga’s innovative, discreet design. In developing Intiga, our design team aimed to address key requirements for first-time users including discreetness, attractive design, ease of use, reliability, speech clarity and natural listening experience. But the number-one request is for discreetness. Awards such as the Danish Design Award show us that Intiga’s world-class design has far-reaching appeal.”
Earlier studies, surveys underscore Intiga’s appeal
The Danish Design Award is presented annually to companies that have created innovative products characterized by aesthetics, innovation, user-friendliness, responsibility and durability. In presenting the awards, Awards judges noted that Intiga “combined the most recent available technology with a good understanding of users' special needs and a functional and elegant design.”
That “good understanding” has been validated by the impressive results reported in two international studies* and an end-user/professional survey** that looked at Intiga’s performance and appeal to first-time users.
An international study* by respected universities in the USA and Germany has shown that Intiga meets new users’ expectations, delivering immediate acceptance and immediate benefits.
A second international survey showed that Intiga met first-time users’ expectations in everyday use. Intiga earned outstanding marks for its winning combination of discreetness, performance and acceptance. Improved speech understanding, natural sound quality and easy handling contributed to a positive experience that led end-users to choose Intiga and recommend Intiga to others. Hearing care professionals participating in the survey shared their clients’ positive perception. Easy first fit and highly satisfied users who perceive immediate acceptance and immediate benefits were important contributing factors to the practitioners’ high ratings of Intiga.
Optimized power consumption
The Awards program reported an “exciting emphasis on sustainability” among this year’s awards finalists. In describing Intiga’s “functional and elegant design,” Awards judges made special note of Intiga as the “world's smallest wireless hearing aids with minimal power consumption.”
The precise positioning of mechanical elements and powering Intiga’s small, highly efficient RISE 2 platform with a 10A battery enabled the Oticon design team to maintain Intiga’s discreet size while delivering optimized energy efficiency.
For more information about the Oticon Intiga family, including Intiga and the invisible Intigaˡ, visit oticonusa.com or the Oticon Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
*Behrens, T., Schulte, M., Kreisman, B. & Weile, J. (2011). “Meeting the First-Time User Challenge,” The Hearing Review, 2011; 18(13): 18-29.
** More detailed information documenting this survey can be found in the White Paper: Oticon Intiga Satisfaction Survey, 2012 at www.oticon.com
