A world first from Bosch for garden care: Isio – compact, lightweight Grass and Shrub Shear

· Smaller, lighter and handier than established cordless shears

· Powerful lithium-ion battery without self-discharge and memory effect, with short charge time

Bosch presents a world first for taking care of lawn edges, waysides, bedding frames or decorative shrubs: the Grass and Shrub Shear Isio. This innovative cordless tool is especially lightweight, compact and handy. It weighs only 500 grams, which is half as much as conventional tools with a NiCd battery. What’s more, working with the Isio is much less strenuous and tiring than it is with hand grass shears.

The Isio has a lithium-ion battery, a technology that has already proven to be hugely successful in cellphones and laptops. This battery has hardly any self-discharge and no memory effect. This means that the Isio is always ready for use and is very easy to operate. After the work is done, the user simply places the tool back onto the practical charging station, without having to pay attention to the charging state. The battery run time of the Isio is approximately 40 minutes, enough to cut the lawn edges of two football fields. Even a battery that has been completely run down offers full power again after a short time: 80 percent of the full power is available again after just 2.5 hours of charging. The total charge time is five hours and compared to NiCd grass and shrub shears three to four times faster.

An LED display informs the user about the charging process. It lights up when the battery is being charged; the light goes out when the battery is full. This level of convenience is something that previously known cordless shears do not have. All of this makes the Isio the ideal solution for any gardening enthusiast. All you have to do is simply place it back on the charging station after use, to make sure that the tool is recharged.

When combined with the telescopic handle, which is also available as a special accessory, the Isio is a perfect lawn edger – both for horizontal and for vertical cuts.

The grass shear has a cutting width of 80 millimeters, and the cutter of the shrub shear is 120 millimeters long. The laser-cut and diamond-ground quality blades guarantee clean and rapid cutting. No tools are required for changing the cutting inserts. This makes the Isio a universal gardening assistant for the garden lawn or for shrubs on vegetated roof-decks in front gardens, on balconies or patios and even on the camp site.

Lithium-ion batteries were first used as an energy source for power tools in 2003 on the Cordless Screwdriver Ixo from Bosch, more than three million of which have been sold so far. Now the developers at Bosch have designed a grass and shrub shear for gardening enthusiasts which is just as easy to operate and whose design, ergonomics and practical benefits are equally impressive.

Bosch will supply the Isio at retail outlets from March 2007 onwards in several different versions: as a grass shear, as a shrub shear, as a grass/shrub shear set and as a grass shear with telescopic handle and wheels. The tool always comes complete with a battery charger. Bosch supplies all versions in a very attractive packaging, which also makes the tool an ideal gift.


The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2005, some 251,000 associates generated sales of 41.5 billion euros. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering,” the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of more than 280 subsidiaries and more than 12,000 Bosch service centers in over 140 countries.

The special ownership structure of the Bosch Group guarantees its financial independence and entrepreneurial freedom. It makes it possible for the company to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future, as well as to do justice to its social responsibility in a manner reflective of the spirit and will of its founder. A total of 92 % of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by the charitable foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.

PI5508 - August 2006

Contact Information

Dr. Michael Schmidtke

Power Tools Communication

Bosch Group

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