Press Release
October 21, 2003
Nextel and Onset Empower Attorneys To Gain Full Wireless Access to the Enterprise
METAmessage for Wireless Provides Access to Doc Management, Time and Billing Applications, and CRM Systems on Nextel's BlackBerry 6510
Reston, VA and Santa Cruz, CA - Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXTL), a leading provider of fully integrated digital wireless communications services, and Onset Technology, a leading developer of enterprise access software for wireless handheld devices, announced today Onset's METAmessage® for Wireless for law firms using the BlackBerry® 6510 from Nextel. METAmessage allows mobile attorneys to access document management systems, maximize billable hours management with time and billing applications, optimize client relationships by tracking important matters, and spell check outgoing messages anywhere, anytime on Nextel's guaranteed all digital wireless network.
"The legal community has overwhelmingly embraced our METAmessage solution," said Drew Freeman, Onset's vice president of business development. "Now, our partnership with Nextel will enable law firms to quickly roll out the BlackBerry 6510 from Nextel together with a powerful application that delivers invaluable benefits to mobile attorneys."
"The union of Onset's METAmessage application with the Nextel BlackBerry 6510 has formed an incredibly effective tool for legal professionals that are increasingly on the move and need instant access to company records," said Denise Mehr, Esq., director of professional services for Nextel. "With the ability to remotely obtain crucial case information and ensure that outgoing correspondence is presented in a professional, accurate and timely manner, the legal community is no longer tethered to the office to get the job done."
METAmessage, used by more than 150 law firms (40+ in the "AmLaw 100") and more than 1,000 enterprise customers, is a complete, out-of-the-box solution for Nextel's BlackBerry 6510 handheld device providing access to the enterprise. Users can interact directly with a range of enterprise data systems including document management/time-and-billing/customer relationship management programs, enterprise applications, and internally developed databases.
By simply opening a form on the BlackBerry, the user can either request information from or add information to the data source. In addition, users can get documents to send, read, or print; access the Web without opening a browser, for driving directions, flight information, Google searches, and more; and, read email attachments and Web pages and print them anywhere, including network printers.
With METAmessage, Nextel increases its portfolio of Wireless Business Solutions that address the real-time business needs required across the extended enterprise. Nextel's WBS initiative brings to market the only enterprise-strength wireless platform combining the applications, services, tools and support companies need to deploy productive wireless solutions.
About Nextel
Nextel Communications, a Fortune 300 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc., currently serve 293 of the top 300 U.S. markets. Through recent market launches, Nextel and Nextel Partners service is available today in areas of the U.S. where approximately 243 million people live or work.
About 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 just a wireless email device such as RIM's (NSDQ:RIMM; TSX:RIM) BlackBerry® handheld. 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.
