Press Release
April 19, 2005
Onset Announces Agreement with Hutchison Telecom to Provide METAmessage for BlackBerry with Language Support in Hong Kong, Macau
METAmessage® Language Support Lets BlackBerry® Users Read Japanese and Korean Messages in their Original Character Set
Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2005, Orlando, FL - Onset Technology, a leading developer of enterprise access software for wireless handheld devices, announced today an agreement whereby Hutchison Telecom (SEHK: 2332, NYSE: HTX) will resell METAmessage for BlackBerry® in Hong Kong and Macau. In addition to providing spell checking, printing, and other capabilities for Hutchison customers using BlackBerry, the agreement will give customers access to METAmessage Language Support that displays email messages that were originally composed in Japanese and Korean. The capability, designed for users of BlackBerry from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM; TSX:RIM), will be shown by Onset in booth #300 at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium held April 19-21 in Orlando, Florida.
Ms. Agnes Nardi, Managing Director of Hutchison Telecom HK said, “By cooperating with Onset, we are very pleased to introduce the Japanese and Korean language support for our users in Hong Kong and Macau. It can bring more convenience to the Japanese and Korean BlackBerry users in terms of personal communications and business operations as they can read email messages in their own languages via BlackBerry. With this new feature, BlackBerry will be able to extend its penetration further into the Japanese and Korean community in Hong Kong and Macau, by leveraging on our high-quality networks in Hong Kong and Macau, and comprehensive data roaming services.”
The METAmessage Language Support capability lets BlackBerry users receive messages that were originally composed in languages that are not yet widely supported. For example, Windows users often have to download special files in order to view ideograms or comparatively rare alphabet symbols. In an email client, characters in these messages can appear as boxes instead of as language symbols. With METAmessage, such messages are converted by the METAmessage server into attachments that a user can open on their handheld to read.
“There are thousands of Japanese and Korean business-persons in Hong Kong who can benefit directly from the Language Support feature alone,” said Gadi Mazor, Onset’s president and CEO. “As BlackBerry becomes increasingly popular worldwide, Onset will continue to provide METAmessage features specific to user needs in unique markets and sectors. We are proud to be working with Hutchison to give mobile professionals every possible advantage.”
METAmessage for Wireless
METAmessage, used by over 1200 enterprise customers with over 100,000 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 product, METAmessage provides advanced Legal, Data, Emergency Communications, and Voice solutions. METAmessage supports both BlackBerry Mobile Data Service and BlackBerry 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 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.
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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.
