Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) announced it has been recognized with one of the world’s foremost industrial design honors, an iF product design award. Motorola’s APX™ 7000 portable multi-band two-way radio was lauded for its innovative dual-sided design and compact, rugged form factor – purpose-built to address the unique requirements of government and public safety users.

Developed under a user-centered design integration process that blends the art of design with the rigors of social science, the APX radio is rich with applications including integrated GPS, text messaging, intelligent lighting and user-controlled radio profiles. The APX radio was designed specifically for first responders by applying the science of High Velocity Human Factors (HVHF). The result is a portable radio that features a slip-free T-Grip with raised, slanted knobs and buttons made especially for gloved hands. In review, APX was praised for design quality, workmanship, choice of materials, degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, visualization of use and universal design – all tenants of the iF evaluation platform.

“Motorola has embraced design as a key differentiator for more than 30 years,” remarked Bruce Claxton, senior director of design integration for Motorola’s Government and Public Safety business. “Communication tools are lifelines for emergency responders and the lives they’re saving. Public safety professionals depend on tools built to meet their unique requirements and work intuitively, which begins with thoughtful, purpose-built design.”

The iF product design award was introduced in 1953 and is conferred annually by the German-based iF International Forum Design. Attracting nearly 3,000 product entries worldwide, the iF product design award is one of the world’s oldest, best-known design competitions. This year, the iF judges – renowned experts – reviewed 2,808 products submitted from 39 countries and awarded 802 products in a total of 16 categories.

“We were once again pleased with the keen response throughout the world this year to the iF product design award. Not only were there a great number of entries, but also the diversity within the individual categories increased. Technical innovations come to us from diverse countries, guaranteeing quality and a broad range of competition,” explains Ralph Wiegmann, iF managing director.

The iF product design awards will be formally presented at the CeBIT 2009 exhibition in Hannover, Germany on March 3, 2009. The date also coincides with the announcement of 50 iF gold award winners. Motorola’s APX 7000 and all of the winning products will be on public display in the large exhibit on the Hannover exhibition grounds.

For more information about Motorola’s design integration process and its pioneering work in High Velocity Human Factors, please visit: Motorola.com/missioncriticaldesign.