Reviving a classic: Radio redesign
An innovative designer rethinks an old standby.
(Fortune Small Business) -- Innovative technology and eye-catching product design have always been a priority for Et�n, the exclusive North American licensee for Grundig shortwave radios.
Founded in 1986, the Palo Alto company introduced compact shortwave radios that combined access to numerous bands with such user-friendly details as digital displays. By 2005 Et�n had teamed up with Porsche Design Studio in Stuttgart, Germany to develop several new products with high-profile partners XM, Sirius (SIRI) and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500). But one product category remained ripe for reinvention: the emergency crank radio.
"We were excited by the opportunity to create a new paradigm," says Dan Harden, 49, principal of Whipsaw Design, the San Jose firm that Et�n chose for the job after a yearlong search. Et�n's total investment in the project, including payment to Whipsaw, plus Et�n's expenses to educate its team about the new product line and bring it to market, exceeded "hundreds of thousands of dollars," estimates Et�n founder and CEO Esmail Amid-Hozour, 62.
The outlay seems to have paid off. The radios have received six design awards, including an Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology Award from the International Consumer Electronics Show. Amid-Hozour won't disclose sales figures, but he forecasts that revenue for this product segment, which includes the Solarlink FR500 ($80) and Voicelink FR1000 ($150) emergency crank radios, will increase by 30% in 2009 and double in the next three to five years.
See the redesign: Photo gallery 
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