Onset Bundles METAmessage Emergency Communications Components Into One-SKU Kit

ARLINGTON, VA -- 11/22/2004 -- Homeland Security Conference and Expo -- Onset Technology, a leading developer of enterprise access software for wireless handheld devices, announced today the availability of the Emergency Communications Kit, a bundle of METAmessage capabilities designed to help government IT managers meet continuity of operations (COOP) and emergency response mandates using the BlackBerry® wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM) (TSX: RIM). The Kit provides all METAmessage Emergency Communications features, onsite installation and setup, and maintenance and support included in one SKU. The Kit will be shown in the AT&T Wireless (now part of Cingular) booth at the 4th Annual Global Homeland Security show November 22 and 23 in Arlington, Virginia.

In addition to the Homeland Security show, Onset and AT&T Wireless are hosting an Emergency Communications “lunch-and-learn” December 9th at the Hotel George in Washington D.C. Interested parties should contact Onset at (831) 471-1360 x508 for more information.

“We recognize the need to continue to offer vital wireless capabilities to federal, state, and local governments in meeting homeland security needs by offering a solution that can support the executive order of establishing continuity of operations,” said Stacey Black, Vice President of Government Solutions at AT&T Wireless. “METAmessage Emergency Communications solutions help us do that. Its features ensure that even if communications infrastructure goes down, BlackBerry users will have updated PIN addresses, emergency documents, uninterrupted data access, and much more.”

“Onset is committed to helping federal, state, and local governments meet homeland security needs by offering a solution that can be quickly implemented and processed,” said Gadi Mazor, Onset’s CEO and president. “By making our METAmessage Emergency Communications capabilities available in a convenient Kit, with all our features as well as installation and support rolled into one, we help agencies minimize procurement paperwork and get up-and-running that much quicker.”

Onset also recently announced the addition of custom message alerts, a particularly important capability for government users, to its 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.

Another major advantage to the METAmessage solution is that many features, such as printing, spell checking, and custom message alerts, are used on an everyday basis by all users while emergency features are ready for occasional use.

METAmessage Emergency Communications

In the event of a catastrophic loss of network, email, or back-end infrastructure, BlackBerry users can take advantage of PIN-to-PIN messaging to communicate directly with other BlackBerry users over the wireless network. However, two factors can potentially impede this feature: the need for easy access to PIN addresses and the decision by many organizations to “turn off” PIN-to-PIN messaging due to the absence of message archiving. With METAmessage, users can make sure their BlackBerry address books have the latest PIN addresses by using METAmessage’s PIN updating feature. And, organizations can enable PIN-to-PIN messaging with the knowledge that all transmissions will be securely archived.

PIN Blast using PIN-to-PIN messaging makes fast communication with groups possible by letting users address messages using special lists of PIN addresses or using existing lists from the BlackBerry address book where PIN addresses have been included in the address book entries.

The METAmessage Handheld Document Storage (HDS) capability lets a user read emergency information immediately on their handheld even if out of wireless coverage. When in coverage, METAmessage monitors specified network folders that contain emergency documents. It converts the documents into handheld-readable format, and uploads the documents to the handheld. METAmessage maintains the latest versions of emergency documents on the handheld, and the original documents can be in virtually any format, from WordPerfect documents and Excel spreadsheets to MS Project files, PowerPoint presentations and .html pages.

Instant Conference Calling lets a user quickly set up a conference call on their BlackBerry handheld by choosing from a list of pre-defined groups, by selecting participants from the address book, or by entering new numbers. Working with either a local or hosted voice gateway, METAmessage calls and connects the participants, including the initiating user. Response teams and other emergency groups can be talking to each other quickly with just a few clicks of the handheld.

The Emergency Gateway ensures that BlackBerry handheld users are in constant communication with command centers, receiving and reporting emergency notifications and updates via PIN-to-PIN messaging, automatically switching user handhelds from email to PIN-to-PIN mode. For example, the server can push an emergency “Where are you?” message to users that appears as a pop-up window with an audible alert. The message can require the user to enter location and contact information in the window and submit the data back to the Gateway. The Gateway, interacting with virtually any type of information system such as a database, can then push user location information, or any other appropriate information, such as Continuity of Operations (COOP) and emergency response (ER) plans, to the field. Or, the Gateway can respond to individual user requests as needed.

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.

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 the BlackBerry Wireless Handheld™ from Research In Motion (RIM). The software is broadly compatible with virtually all wireless devices and servers including those from strategic partners such as Microsoft and RIM, and is sold through a variety of channels including major carriers worldwide. 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.

Contact Information

Steve Koontz

PR

Onset Technology

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