Whirlpool Corporation Proves That the Future of Appliances Is Here at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new year marks the arrival of a new decade and Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) continues its tradition of bringing truly progressive products to consumers in 2010. The world's leading appliance manufacturer continues to lead the industry's innovation by coupling the best in appliance manufacturing with cutting-edge elements from the consumer electronics marketplace. A selection of these innovative appliances, along with a demonstration of Smart Grid technology and exclusive Jenn-Air LCD touch screen cooking guide, is being showcased at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from Jan. 7-10, 2010.

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"These aren't your grandmother's appliances. We've pushed ourselves to take a look at the best consumer electronics features on the market today and meld them with Whirlpool Corporation's long-standing reputation for industry-leading appliances," said Marc Bitzer, president, Whirlpool North America. "The result is appliances that get the job done - and done well - with options that give consumers unparalleled control and style like never before."

According to a 2009 Whirlpool Corporation survey conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive®, nearly one in 10 (9 percent) consumers say that, aside from price, the latest technology and features are important for them when it comes to purchasing major household appliances. Fortunately, they won't need to look far to find them. The company that brought the first refrigerated range to the marketplace will introduce the following this year:

Laundry, your way

The new Whirlpool® brand Vantage(TM) laundry pair offers a LCD touch screen interface and the industry's first USB port to deliver consumers the ultimate in laundry care. The top-load washer and dryer pair melds high-end design and high-tech features to deliver an enhanced laundry experience by offering consumers the ability to update and customize cycles and more through the USB port. With an intuitive LCD touch screen and built-in Cycle-Logic(TM) intelligence, consumers can not only select cycles, but also can create their own - from Mom's laundry cycle to Joey's cycle to school uniform cycle, and everything in between. The Vantage pair also comes with special cycles of its own including, athletic wear, baby items, stuffed animals, jeans, bath mats, shower curtains, shoes and swimwear. And no mustard or grass stain is too tough - the washer features a new Stain Assist laundry feature based on Whirlpool brand's extensive fabric care knowledge to tackle tough laundry soils.

Beauty and brains

Jenn-Air brand has developed a unique wall oven offering the industry's best performing wall oven with an exclusive touch screen control featuring an image-enabled cooking guide. The 7-inch, glass-touch screen on the oven is the largest of its kind and features a touch-anywhere LCD display. By using a sophisticated system of thermal sensors, computer processors, and chef-tested cooking programs, an interactive, patent pending image-driven Culinary Center helps cooks achieve desired cooking results by considering a range of details such as the food category, food type, desired doneness and even the type of pan used. It also features 6,800 watt dual fan convection elements, the most powerful available, to allow for a no preheat function.

Smart grid, smart home

By the end of 2011, Whirlpool Corporation has committed to producing one million smart grid-compatible clothes dryers; and by 2015, the company will make all of its electronically controlled appliances capable of receiving and responding to signals from smart grids. Connected homes will help shift the nation's "peak" energy use, offering vast possibilities in overall energy management and savings. Alternative sources of energy - such as wind and solar - will also become more usable as Americans begin to adapt to the Smart Grid. With Whirlpool Corporation's smart appliances, consumers will easily shift energy consumption to off-peak times - saving money and benefiting the environment - without noticing much, if any, change in the way they interact with their washer, dryer, refrigerator, water heater or other smart appliances.

For more information, please visit www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

                   Whirlpool Space at the Consumer Electronics Show
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                Las Vegas Convention Center - South Hall Meeting Place
                                    Space #36185MP

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive via its QuickQuery(SM) online omnibus service on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation between November 20 and 24, 2009, among 2,089 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For full survey results please email [email protected].

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion in 2008, 70,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. For more information, visit www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation