Salton, Inc. Introduces "Smart" Home Appliances Under the Westinghouse Brand Powered by Microsoft

Business Wire, April 22, 2002

Business and Technology Editors

LAKE FOREST, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

Salton, Inc. (NYSE: SFP) and wholly owned subsidiary Icebox, LLC, today announced it will introduce a new line of smart, networked home appliances, under the Westinghouse brand, that will interface with the internet via a information center called a gateway device designed by Salton and powered by Microsoft Windows CE .NET. The new line of products will include the gateway device, bread makers, convection ovens, and coffee makers, among other planned future products.

The Westinghouse-branded line of smart appliances is designed for a broad spectrum of customers, with affordable price points and meshes with Salton's strategy of establishing itself as the leader of consumers' transition to smart appliances, which make life easier. The Company seeks to continue offering new, innovative and affordable products to the contemporary kitchen, which minimize or eliminate labor-intensive and manual processes. The products will leverage the Microsoft Windows CE .NET operating system, selected to meet Salton's goal of delivering a reliable, robust consumer experience in a series of networked products that deliver enhanced functionality over conventional appliances.

Leonhard Dreimann, Chief Executive Officer of Salton, commented, "Our journey with Microsoft to introduce a new line of smart home appliances under the Westinghouse brand further enhances Salton's position as the leading provider of innovative products. Microsoft CE .NET provides our customer with a greater set of value added features. The adoption of the CE .NET operating system also enables us to provide consumers with networked appliances today that use a standards-based approach for control of the home in the future. We continue to believe in the connected home lifestyle of the future and that kitchen appliances will leverage the network to deliver new and exciting value propositions for consumers. Our new line of Westinghouse products will offer consumers convenience and simplicity by providing easy-to-use functionality and automated cooking capabilities. We look forward to providing consumers with these new, innovative products at very affordable price points."

"For its upcoming line of Windows Powered home appliances, Salton needed a full-featured operating system that offered rich Internet connectivity, multimedia and application support," said Keith White, senior director of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp. "Windows CE .NET delivers this functionality, enabling Salton to quickly bring its innovative hardware solutions to market."

Some of the features of the new line include, (1) barcode scanners for scanning UPC numbers which allow the food item to be prepared to the exact recipes, or instructions, of the food manufacturer to the settings of the appliance, (2) a coffeemaker that allows the user to easily program unique brew times for each day of the week, and (3) a gateway device that connects to the internet to download new recipes, display news and synchronize clocks on all the appliances. Furthermore, installation of all these products is very simple, as the smart appliances plug into a traditional power outlet and the gateway device requires only a power outlet and a phone line.

The gateway device includes the added value of an AM/FM reception and alarm clock while serving as the home gateway for the networked appliances. The product has a large, backlit liquid crystal display that shows the time, local weather forecast and financial information, all without any intervention by the user. It automatically synchronizes its clock with the U.S. atomic clock and sets the clocks of all of the appliances. The gateway device accomplishes this with a single short call to the Internet once a day. During this call data is exchanged and information is downloaded to the appliances. All programming is done with a simple point and click interface on the smart appliance website.

About Salton, Inc.

Salton, Inc. is a leading domestic designer, marketer and distributor of a broad range of branded, high quality small appliances under well-recognized brand names such as Salton(R), George Foreman(TM), Toastmaster(R), Breadman(R), Juiceman(R), Juicelady(R), White-Westinghouse(R), Farberware(R), Melitta(R), Welbilt(R) and Aircore(R). Salton also designs and markets tabletop products, time products, lighting products and personal care and wellness products under brand names such as Block China(R), Atlantis(R) Crystal, Sasaki(R), Calvin Klein(R), Ingraham(R), Timex(R) Timers, Westclox(R), Big Ben(R), Spartus(R), Stiffel(R), Ultrasonex(TM), Relaxor(R), Russell Hobbs(R), Carmen(R), Hi-Tech(R), Tower(R), Haden(R), Mountain Breeze(R), Salton(R), and Pifco(R).

About Icebox, LLC

Icebox, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Salton, Inc, designs and develops products that simplify technology to fit contemporary lifestyles in a kitchen setting. Icebox, LLC distributes its products directly through its web site as well as through a network of systems integrators, builders, kitchen designers, installers, catalog companies and retailers. Its first product, the iCEBOX, is a web-enabled kitchen entertainment and communications center delivering information, communication and entertainment (I.C.E.) to the home. To find out more about Icebox, LLC, please visit: www.iceboxllc.com.