The e-m@iler is basically a telephone available in the UK. However, it is much more than that.

It can send faxes, send and receive e-mails, function as an answer machine, and store about 700 address book entries consisting of name, home number, office number, mobile number, e-mail address, and 'snail-mail' address. It can also send SMS messages to mobile phones, send simple greetings cards, and quite a bit more.¹

The e-m@iler^plus has since been released. It is basically the same as the original e-m@iler but it has a few new features².

It's great for convenience; e-mails can be sent and recieved without the need for a computer. However, e-mail calls³ may be a little pricey...

Purchase price and running costs

Originally the e-m@iler cost near £100, but since the release of the e-m@iler^plus the price has fallen to just under £50. This is a more realistic price for the features available.

It can be bought from most major electrical suppliers.

One of the best aspects of the service provided is that there is no subscription charge. Telephone calls cost as normal and an e-mail call costs 12p⁴ plus the cost of a local call.

Looks

The e-m@iler is quite a stylish design. Its main body is black with a silver section with certain special buttons and a silver frame to the screen. A mini-keyboard is located near the front of the main body for quick access of the address book and a ‘mailboard’ is located under the front of the phone for composing e-mails etc.

The screen can be pivoted and rotated and the backlight is bright so is it incredibly easy to read the screen. The backlight can be set to go off afer 5 minutes, stay on all the time, or stay on between 7am and 10pm and go off after 5 minutes at other times.

The main screen comprises a panel down the left listing some of the ‘Services’ (Such as mobile phone ring tones and graphics). A large analogue-style clock takes up the majority of the screen and there is also a digital-style clock in the top-right corner. A strip at the bottom shows the date and the telephone number of the incoming call⁵.

Phone calls

The e-m@iler can be used as any phone can; pick up the handset and dial the number. It allows dialling prefixes to be set that will be automatically inserted before the main phone number. It also features a handsfree button allowing use without lifting the handset. The handset provides the best quality.

Telephone numbers can also be dialled using the address book. The mini-keyboard can be used to enter some or all of the name. The e-m@iler searches at the start of all words, i.e. pressing the 'B' button will display both the 'Bob Smith' entry and the 'Joe Bloggs' entry. The up and down buttons can be used to select the specific entry. The 'Home', 'Office', and 'Mobile' buttons can be used to dial the desired number. The e-m@iler remembers the last entry accessed so the 3 number buttons can be used to dial without accessing the entry again.

If Caller Display is active then the number of the incoming call is displayed. If the number is in the address book the name will also be displayed.

The e-m@iler also features a log of the last incoming and outgoing calls (Accessed by holding the ‘Office’ button) which show the time, duration and name and number. The call logs can be cleared by holding the delete button while viewing the list.

E-mail Service

When initially registering the e-m@iler⁶ you choose a username for your Amstrad e-mail account. This is the account that will be assigned to your e-m@iler. Up to 8 e-mail addresses can be registered and both amstrad.com and amserve.net can be used after the user-name. Only accounts registered through the e-m@iler can be used (i.e. you can’t use your Yahoo! or Hotmail account with an e-m@iler).

A password is set for online access of the accounts at the amserve webmail service and a PIN can be set for each of the 8 accounts to stop other people reading the e-mails on the phone. If multiple accounts are set-up, then you will be asked to choose an account and enter the PIN, if set, if you want to read or compose e-mails.

Sending and receiving

Holding the 'Email' button initiates an e-mail call that will send any queued e-mails and download any received e-mails. It also sets the clock.

If there are any new e-mails the red light slightly above and to the right of the screen will be lit. The 'Email Read' button displays the list of both sent and received e-mails, which can be deleted individually by highlighting them and pressing the 'delete' button. E-mails can only be deleted individually.

E-mails are composed using the 'mailboard'. This is an almost-full keyboard located under the front of the body. The buttons have a very definite click and the nearest comparison is the keyboard of the Psion Series 5 palmtops. The keyboard is very comfortable to use and is connected to the e-m@iler by a wire so it can be moved a decent distance from the phone itself.

Upon completion of an e-mail, it can be queued to send later or sent immediately.

Answer machine

The answer machine is activated and deactivated with the 'Stop' button. A red light is lit on the button if the answer machine is active. The messages are stored digitally in the e-m@iler's memory. When viewing the list if messages the time is shown as is the name and number if Caller Display is active.

The e-m@iler comes with the generic pre-set message which can be changed to a more personal one if desired.

Memory

The e-m@iler has a fixed internal memory but also features a slot for Smart Media cards. Once a card has been inserted into the e-m@iler it cannot be used in any other device, except other e-m@ilers. If a card is inserted e-mails and answer machine messages will be stored on the card rather than the internal memory. The internal memory will be used again once the card becomes too full. The e-m@iler will not be able to write to the card if it is write-protected.

The unused memory, in bytes, can be found in the 'System Information' screen in the set-up menu.

Power and accessories

The e-m@iler is mains powered. Only the basic phone (Using the handset and dialling manually) can be used without mains power since it takes its power from the phone line itself.

The e-m@iler comes with a small electronic address book called a ‘Pocket Dock-it’ which can be plugged into the side of the e-m@iler and can store the names and numbers in the address book and the configuration settings. It can be used as a backup in case something happens to the e-m@iler or to transfer the data between multiple e-mailers. Names and numbers address to the Pocket Dock-it can also be transferred back to the e-m@iler. Addresses cannot be accessed on the Pocket Dock-it.

The e-m@iler can also be connected to certain printers so that e-mails can be printed.

Adverts

One small disadvantage is that adverts are periodically displayed on screen. The e-m@iler downloads them automatically using a free number and they are a part of the terms and conditions. They no doubt ensure that Amstrad do not need to charge a monthly subscription.

They can be deleted by holding the 'Delete' button when and advert is displayed.

And finally...

The e-m@iler is a great phone for people who don't want to buy a computer to send e-mails and for those of us that like gadgets...

It looks good and works great. There's no subscription charge so it only costs if you use it. The wide array of other features means you don't need to use e-mail to get your money's worth. It's increadibly easy to use, and the reduced price tag makes it far more appealing.