Taser Int'l to unveil new Taser X3

July 1, 2009
by Andrew Johnson, The Arizona Republic

Taser International Inc.'s newest law-enforcement stun gun will be able to aim at and shoot multiple targets at once, but the company is staying tight-lipped about the technology until later this month.

Scottsdale-based Taser said Wednesday that it will unveil the Taser X3 at its annual tactical conference July 27 at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort in Fountain Hills.

Taser is trying to build buzz around the product by revealing new details about the technology at its Web site daily and on Facebook and Twitter social-networking sites.

The X3's capabilities will be "quite a leap forward" from the Taser X26, the stun gun the company began selling to law enforcement in 2003, spokesman Steve Tuttle said.

The X26 device shoots two metal probes attached to conductive wires that can reach a target as far as 35 feet. They incapacitate a target by emitting up to 50,000 volts of electricity.

Tuttle would not say what the price for the X3 is but said it will be "cost competitive in terms of what it can do." The company currently sells the X26 for about $800 per unit.

The X3 is one of several new products Taser has ramped up research-and-development spending on during the last two years.

The company, which has been the subject of numerous product-liability and wrongful-death lawsuits over the use of its stun guns, has been trying to diversify its product line to battle lower sales.

Taser's shares closed up 2.2 percent at $4.66 on Wednesday.