Polar RS200 has been awarded the iF Design Award 2006 in Leisure/Lifestyle category. iF Design Award is one of world's key design competitions and a benchmark for outstanding design. This year’s IF design awards ceremony will be at CEBIT exhibition in Hannover in March. This year a total of just under 2000 products from 37 countries competed for the 2006 iF Design Award in different categories.

"For Polar, receiving the iF Design Award in this category is a precious recognition for our design team for combining multifunctional features with trendy and stylish design. The real test, however, lies in the hands of consumers, and with these urban models we have received an excellent reception”, says Mr. says Mr. Olli Komulainen, the leader of successful RS200 design group.

Polar Electro design team values the iF Design Award recognition - especially because the iF seal of design excellence has become a symbol for superior quality and developed into a trend-setting design competition over the past five decades. The challenge for the winner design team was to fit all Polar performance in functional but top trendy style: the large, high-contrast LCD display, 4 symmetrically placed side buttons and centrally placed iconic “Polar red” front lap button.

The Polar RS200 target was to create casual sporty design that you can wear 365 days a year. In result, you can see influences from latest sport fashion and footwear, as well as modern furniture and interiors. Features like simple basic shapes with integrated structures give an impression of modern appeal and easy of use. All then wrapped up with highlighted center stripe emphasizes sportiness as well.

Polar RS200 Running Computer – the right features inside the appealing form

The Polar RS200 Running Computer was developed for recreational runners who want to enhance their running experience. Based on the same pioneering world-renowned Polar heart rate monitoring technology used valued by the world’s most successful athletes, the Polar RS200 has all the Polar running features the user would expect. The feature list is extensive; an intuitive easy to use user interface, that guides you to the features that not only give you running speed and distance, but more importantly provide you with feedback about how your “running body” is performing and how to develop it more. The light and purposeful design of the Polar RS200 helps the runner to listen to his or her body in the intended environment.

The iF Award evaluation criteria included design quality, workmanship, material choice, environmental friendliness, functionality, ergonomics and safety as well as the brand value. iF is supervised by the International Design Forum (iF) in Hannover, Germany. For additional information on the iF awards, please visit http://www.ifdesign.de/index_e