ClearOne Conferencing Equipment Specified For New Minnesota Headquarters of Best Buy Co. Inc

ClearOne’s XAP(TM) audio conferencing equipment will be installed in a 400-seat interactive auditorium, an executive boardroom and a distance education classroom. In addition, ClearOne’s GT1524 audio conferencing and PSR1212 sound reinforcement products will be installed in a large multipurpose room that can be divided into four separate meeting rooms.

“We selected ClearOne’s products because they are the de facto industry standard for challenging audio environments,” said Jeff Stoebner, vice president of sales for AVI Systems, the integration firm responsible for specifying and installing audiovisual products in the Best Buy campus. “The XAP line offers unrivaled performance and flexibility for the high-end conference and meeting rooms throughout the Best Buy facility, and the PSR1212, with its room combining capabilities, is ideal for the reconfigurable multipurpose room,” said Stoebner.

“We are pleased that the world’s largest electronics retailer has chosen ClearOne products to enhance communication in its corporate campus,” said Frances Flood, president and chief executive officer of ClearOne. “We’ve developed our products to deliver the best possible audio results across a wide variety of room environments, and the Best Buy application is a perfect example of this effort.”

ClearOne Communications is a provider of multimedia conferencing products and services that bring geographically dispersed people together — compressing time and distance. Product offerings include audio and video conferencing systems, peripherals and furniture. Service offerings include a full suite of audio, video and data conferencing services, and business services such as training, field support, help desk, and system consulting. Additional information is available at www.clearone.com .

The new corporate headquarters for Best Buy Co. Inc., located in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield, Minn., is scheduled to open in December 2002. With 1.5 million square feet of office space spread throughout four connected buildings (two 6-stories and two 8-stories), the Best Buy project is the largest business development to take place in Minnesota since the construction of the Mall of America a decade earlier. Best Buy’s new facility will provide a central location for more than 5,000 employees supporting 1,900 retail stores operating under the names of Best Buy, Sam Goody, Future Shop, Magnolia Hi-Fi, Media Play and Suncoast. With nearly $20 billion in annual sales, Best Buy is ranked 131 on the Fortune 500 list and is Minnesota’s fifth largest company.