OmniSky Launches My OmniSky Customizable Services for Handheld Devices, Using InfoSpace's Platform and Suite of Services
PALO ALTO, Calif., and BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- OmniSky Corporation (Nasdaq: OMNY), a provider of branded wireless Internet and e-mail services for users of handheld devices, and InfoSpace (Nasdaq: INSP), a leading global provider of merchant and consumer infrastructure services on wireless and other platforms, today announced that OmniSky has leveraged InfoSpace's comprehensive platform to power My OmniSky, a suite of customizable services. Introduced in conjunction with the launch today of OmniSky's Release 2.0 wireless Internet and e-mail service, My OmniSky provides customers with access to a wide range of personal communication, information, and commerce services, branded as My OmniSky, and powered by InfoSpace.
OmniSky 2.0, including My OmniSky, is currently available for the Palm V and Vx, and will be extended to the Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC platform. Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Jornada Pocket PC will be the first Pocket PC supported with OmniSky service.
"InfoSpace's wireless Internet services allow us to offer our mobile customers the ability to access up-to-the-minute, personalized information from their handheld device," said Barak Berkowitz, OmniSky president. "We're pleased to leverage InfoSpace's platform to offer compelling new features to mobile professionals who view wireless data as a critical component of conducting business on the go."
"This is an extension of our efforts to deliver cutting edge data and transaction infrastructure services across multiple platforms and devices, including TV's, mobile phones, PC's and Internet appliances," said Arun Sarin, CEO of InfoSpace. "With the launch of My OmniSky, we continue to build upon our vision of enabling people to more effectively communicate, collaborate, conduct commerce and manage their lives any time, anywhere, and on any device."
About OmniSky
OmniSky Corporation is mobilizing the Internet for users of handheld devices. The OmniSky wireless Internet and e-mail service offers unlimited usage and enables subscribers to access and navigate the Internet, send and receive e-mail messages and securely conduct e-commerce transactions all for a fixed monthly fee. OmniSky partners with the leading wireless hardware, services and infrastructure providers, including AT&T Wireless, PSINet, Aether Systems, and InfoSpace, as well as the most popular online content and commerce providers, including AOL, eBay, E*TRADE, and Yahoo!. Subscribers can access nearly 1,000 links to optimized Web content through an intuitive wireless portal that organizes information into categories such as finance, shopping, news, sports and more. In addition, subscribers can search and surf the Web through the OmniSky wireless portal. OmniSky currently provides its service on the Palm V and Palm Vx handheld mobile devices and expects to offer service on multiple devices, platforms and networks capable of offering handheld users a compelling wireless experience.
OmniSky currently offers its service within the United States in over 118 major metropolitan areas, encompassing over 160 million people. Through a joint venture with News Corporation, OmniSky expects to begin offering its wireless service internationally in the first half of 2001. OmniSky is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For more information visit www.omnisky.com or call 650-969-7700.
The foregoing information contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations. These expectations are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those referred to in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks related to: market acceptance of an early stage service such as ours; delays in the development or introduction of new versions of our service; technical difficulties with networks or operating systems on which we rely to deliver our service; changes in technologies that affect the wireless, Internet or handheld mobile device industries; the ability of an early stage company such as ours to manage its growth; the protection of our proprietary information; release of competitive products and services; and general economic downturns. These and other risks are more fully described in OmniSky's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be obtained online at the Commission's web site at sec.gov. Readers should consider the information contained in this release together with other publicly available information about OmniSky for a more informed overview of the company.
About InfoSpace
InfoSpace is a leading global Internet information infrastructure services company. InfoSpace provides commerce, information and communication infrastructure services to wireless devices, merchants and Web sites. InfoSpace's affiliates include a network of wireless and other non-PC devices including PCs, cellular phones, pagers, screen telephones, television set-top boxes, online kiosks, and personal digital assistants. These include relationships with AT&T Wireless, Intel, Ericsson, Nokia, Mitsui and Acer America. InfoSpace's affiliate network also consists of more 3,100 Web sites that include AOL, Microsoft, Disney's GO Network, NBC's Snap, Lycos, DoubleClick and ABC LocalNet, among others.
InfoSpace's recent announcement that it has completed its merger with Go2Net (Nasdaq: GNET) positions the company to tap the market for broadband wired (DSL and cable) and broadband wireless (2.5G and 3G) services, such as interactive gaming, television and other entertainment services. In addition, the merger brings full back end payment processing to InfoSpace's existing commerce services, allowing InfoSpace to offer everything a merchant needs to conduct the entire lifecycle of a transaction, one of the key drivers of mobile commerce adoption.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the development of InfoSpace's products and services and future operating results, including statements regarding the Company's agreement with OmniSky, that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations of such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect the Company's actual results include the progress and costs of the development of our products and services and the timing of market acceptance of those products and services. A more detailed description of certain factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited to, those discussed in InfoSpace's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the section entitled "Factors Affecting InfoSpace's Operating Results, Business Prospects and Market Price of Stock." Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
CONTACT:
Vanessa Wagar
OmniSky
650-962-4407
vwagar@omnisky.com
Mark S. Peterson
InfoSpace, Inc.
206-357-4000
mark@infospace.com
Katie Deines
Text 100 Public Relations
206-381-3791 Ext. 119
katied@text100.com
SOURCE InfoSpace, Inc.
/CONTACT: Vanessa Wagar of OmniSky Corporation, 650-962-4407, or
vwagar@omnisky.com; or Mark S. Peterson of InfoSpace, Inc., 206-357-4000, or
mark@infospace.com; or Katie Deines of Text 100 Public Relations,
206-381-3791, ext. 119, or katied@text100.com/
/Web site: omnisky.com
/Web site: go2net.com
/Web site: http://
(INSP OMNY GNET) |
