Onset to Provide METAmessage Emergency Locator for BlackBerry

Solution Maps Handheld Positions Using GPS Coordinates or Cell ID Locations; Control Centers, Emergency Responders Can Quickly Locate Personnel and Determine Availability; Leverages Location-Based Services on BlackBerry Platform

Onset Technology, a leading developer of enterprise access software for wireless handheld devices, announced today the METAmessage® Emergency Locator, designed for the BlackBerry® wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM) . The Emergency Locator, a component of the METAmessage server, lists and maps the physical locations of BlackBerry handhelds using coordinates obtained from either GPS or cell ID location information. In addition to indicating precise locations, the solution can show whether a device is holstered or in use and its most recent activity status. The METAmessage Emergency Locator is expected to be available in early Q1 2005.

"Location-based services add a new dimension to the applications and solutions Onset and RIM can provide to government and business organizations," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. "By leveraging METAmessage Emergency Locator and the GPS-enabled BlackBerry solution, organizations will be better able to locate and track employees to help ensure the continuity of operations."

The METAmessage Emergency Locator is of special value when used in conjunction with METAmessage Emergency Communications tools such as the Emergency Gateway. For example, in the event of a building evacuation and the loss of network infrastructure, managers can quickly locate personnel and, based on their locations, compose and blast appropriate PIN messages for re-assembly or other procedures.

"In any emergency, the first step is to account for staff personnel and re-establish communications," said Steve Koontz, Vice President, Marketing at Onset. "METAmessage capabilities let government agencies and enterprises leverage their BlackBerry deployments as emergency communications networks. In the most difficult of circumstances, control centers will quickly know exactly where their people are and communications will be uninterrupted."

Onset recently announced the availability of the Emergency Communications Kit that provides all METAmessage Emergency Communications features, onsite installation and setup, and maintenance and support included in one SKU. Also announced was the addition of custom message alerts, a particularly important capability for government users, to the METAmessage feature set. Custom alerts let administrators and users set notification rules in order to differentiate messages from different senders or with different subjects. When an incident or emergency occurs, custom alerts ensure that emergency communications will receive immediate attention.

METAmessage Emergency Communications

Onset offers a suite of capabilities that ensure uninterrupted communications in the event of a catastrophic loss of network, email, or back-end infrastructure. These features include:

--  Automatic PIN address updating -- ensures users always have up-to-
    date, accurate PIN addresses.
--  PIN-to-PIN archiving -- enables PIN-to-PIN messaging activation by
    maintaining complete messaging records.
--  PIN-to-PIN Blast -- lets users quickly communicate with distribution
    lists.
--  Custom message alerts -- makes sure users are alerted when messages
    from specific senders or with specific subjects arrive.
--  Handheld document storage -- makes emergency procedures and documents
    available regardless of network coverage.
--  Instant conference calling -- sets up conference calls quickly with
    just a few clicks
--  Emergency Gateway -- ensures users are in constant communication with
    command centers.
    

METAmessage for Wireless

METAmessage, used by over 1000 enterprise customers with over 120,000 users, is a complete, out-of-the-box solution for BlackBerry. Users can interact directly with a range of enterprise data systems including document management/time-and-billing programs, enterprise applications, and internally developed databases. The user simply opens a form on the handheld and either requests information from or adds information to the data source. Users can also

--  Check spelling;
--  Print anywhere;
--  Set custom message alerts;
--  Access network documents;
--  Ask Concierge Services virtually any question;
--  and more.
    

In addition to its Basic and Emergency Communications products, METAmessage provides advanced Legal, Data, and Voice solutions. METAmessage supports both BlackBerry Mobile Data Service and email transport.

Onset Technology

Founded in 1997, Onset Technology is the developer of METAmessage® for Wireless -- a unique software solution that gives business users access to virtually any data on their enterprise network using wireless devices such as BlackBerry® handhelds from Research In Motion (RIM). The software is broadly compatible with virtually all wireless devices and servers including those from strategic partners AT&T, Ericsson, Microsoft, and RIM. Since its introduction, METAmessage has been widely adopted by Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and a range of large service organizations. For more information, visit www.onsettechnology.com.

METAmessage® is a trademark of Onset Technology. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.