MESSAGEVINE KNOWS WHERE IT'S
AT
Addition of Location Management to wireless IM Set to Drive
GPRS Adoption
New York, NY, January 23, 2001 -- MessageVine,
a leader in Instant Messaging (IM) technology, today announced the addition
of Location Management capabilities to its MessageVine IM Server.
This addition will enable mobile phone users to see which of their IM 'buddies'
are in their immediate area and to receive messages, such as special promotions,
from local retailers. The service will be a driving force in the adoption
of GPRS and will generate more airtime and greater revenues for wireless
carriers.
MessageVine provides location management services by interfacing with mobile
positioning services on carriers' networks. Users can identify the whereabouts
of their 'buddies' from their cell phones and personal digital assistants.
The optional disclosure of location information ensures
users
have complete control over whether their 'buddies' - or with permission, other
users and retailers - will be able to "see" their location, thus
ensuring that privacy issues are addressed.
The MessageVine IM solution is platform agnostic and operates at the server
level. Thus, its Location Management technology works with WAP, i-mode,
HDML and other platforms. The technology was originally developed using
Ericsson's tools and is built upon an open-architecture that facilitates
integration with a wide variety of mobile positioning systems and protocols.
Carriers will be able to offer the service over existing circuit switched
networks although it is primarily targeted at GPRS networks where the 'always
on' connection will release the full potential of location based services.
"With the addition
of sophisticated functionality such as Location Management, MessageVine
is at the forefront of wireless Instant Messaging," said Eli Efrat,
CEO of MessageVine. "It is vital that genuine killer applications,
such as Instant Messaging with Location Management, are available prior
to the roll-out of GPRS, if it is to succeed where WAP disappointed users.
We predict that IM will dominate the mobile market in the year to come.
In addition to enabling wireless IM with location management,
MessageVine IM servers power highly branded and customisable desktop messengers;
LDAP and customer database registration integration; interoperability with
leading IM protocols including MSN Messenger and ICQ; i-mode and WAP platform
compatibility and 1-way and 2-way Short Messaging Service (SMS) support.
MessageVine offers three different
editions of the MessageVine IM Server designed to meet the specific business
needs of wireless carriers and telcos; Internet portals and ISPs; and application
service providers.
About
MessageVine
MessageVine, formerly known as multimate.net, Inc., is the
leading worldwide provider of carrier-scale, wireless and wireline instant
messaging servers. The company's private-label IM solution allows wireless
carriers, telcos, and Internet Service Providers to extend their brands
and maintain constant communication with their users. MessageVine's customers
include ZDNet, Go2Net, MVS Telecom and El Sitio. Privately funded, MessageVine
was founded in 1999 and has offices in New York, San Mateo and Tel Aviv.
For more information, please visit www.messagevine.com