B&W's Zeppelin; High-Performance Powered iPod Speakers

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. October 14, 2008

NORTH READING, MA, August 21, 2008. More and more upper-echelon hoteliers are finding that integrating quality audio-video into their luxuriously appointed rooms and suites helps attract and retain the clientele they seek. Increasingly, fine hotels are turning to Bowers & Wilkins to help them do so, by way of the British firm's unique, high-performance Zeppelin iPod music system.

Bowers & Wilkins, known around the world as the leader in high-performance loudspeakers for music and home-theater systems, debuted this striking, audiophile-grade powered speaker system for the current range of Apple Computer's iPods in autumn, 2007. Zeppelin, a one-piece amplified speaker system and docking station allows guests to integrate their MP3 player/iPod into a room's entertainment system, providing ultra-high-fidelity playback of personal music and video collections, or simply of television and pay-per-view sound.

"The hospitality industry is fast discovering the value of audiophile sound for in-room entertainment; it's an ideal complement to the other kinds of luxuries offered by their properties," says Bowers & Wilkins' Executive V.P. Business Development, Evert Huizing. "With its superb sonics and design, Zeppelin offers a truly elevated listening experience to guests who otherwise might never encounter audiophile sound."

Barely two feet wide, with a dramatic, tapered shape and finished in polished stainless steel, Zeppelin sets a new benchmark for both audio fidelity and appearance in the iPod-audio field.

Certified as "Made For iPod(R)", with a form created by international award-winning industrial designers Native Design Ltd. of London, Zeppelin offers the ideal music solution for hotel guestrooms and makes Bowers & Wilkins an important presence in the hospitality industry. Bowers & Wilkins developed dedicated locking-base and wall-mount accessories to adapt Zeppelin to the guest-room environment, which securely integrates the unit into room furnishings with near-invisible, low-profile mechanisms. (These employ non-marring, removable self-adhesive foam that nonetheless withstands 4,000 pounds of lifting force.) Additionally, a specialized volume-level governing program for Zeppelin's operating software has been developed so hotels can set maximum playback levels to meet their standards for in-room loudness.

Zeppelin's smart 30-pin docking port accepts latest-generation iPods without requiring any adapters or interchangeable bases, thanks to a unique, spring-loaded design. What's more, the dock's "floating" arm design allows the user to grasp a docked iPod, making it as easy to operate as when hand-held.

Zeppelin has already received numerous awards, such as Robb Report's "Home Entertainment's 10 Best Designs 2008," the coveted Consumer Electronics Association's "Best of Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Award," Five Stars from What Hi Fi Sound and Vision, and top-pick holiday gift status from both youth-bible Rolling Stone and from Oprah's O Magazine. Zeppelin is world-ready, automatically accepting any AC power standard from 100-240V.

More than 350 examples of Bowers & Wilkins' unique Zeppelin iPod audio system are already beguiling guests with audiophile music listening at fine hotels around the world. These include Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental, the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta and The Carlyle in New York City, among numerous others on a list that is growing week by week.