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Computing

E-mail arrives in your pocket

September 17, 1998
Web posted at: 5:07 PM ET

by Ephraim Schwartz

From...

(IDG) -- By the end of next month, the converging worlds of consumer electronics and computer technology will move another step closer together when JVC ships the HC-E100, a $99 pocket-size device for sending and receiving e-mail.

Sharp Electronics on Wednesday announced it will ship a similar e-mail device in mid-November, dubbed the Sharp TeleMail, which will also include some organizer capabilities.

Both companies are using a new technology called PocketMail developed by PocketScience Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based company. According to sources, major manufacturers of Windows CE devices will also offer the technology later next year.

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PocketScience is licensing its technology to handheld manufacturers as well as selling its e-mail service to subscribers for $9.95 per month. The fee includes unlimited incoming and outgoing messages with a 4KB, or 4,000 character, limit per e-mail on the Sharp and JVC Devices.

"The 4KB size limit is a function of how the hardware vendor implements the technology. There will always be some limit, but we expect devices that will accommodate larger e-mails," said Andy Shapiro, vice president of marketing at Pocket Science.

Subscribers are charged for facsimile transmissions at the rate of 25 cents each for domestic faxes and $1 each for international faxes.

E-mail is sent and received by accessing the PocketMail service via an 800 number, holding the device up to the handset of the phone, and pushing a button. After the usual screech and squawk sounds ordinarily associated with a modem connection, e-mail is downloaded and received.

"Five e-mails at 4KB each takes about 25 seconds," said Neil Peretz, founder and chief executive officer of PocketScience.

The PocketScience service requires users to access PocketMail servers; however, business users can access their own corporate e-mail server behind the firewall by having their e-mail forwarded to the PocketMail server, Shapiro said.

Sharp's TeleMail will also include a scheduler, address book, calendar, and a memo function in a addition to the PocketScience technology.

Both the JVC and Sharp units will have an eight-line display with scrolling capability and weigh less than 10 ounces. Although battery life is hard to determine, a Sharp representative estimated 30 hours if sending and receiving messages two times per day.

Both units will include status reports as well as notification of successful completion of message.

Ephraim Schwartz is an editor at large for InfoWorld.

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