New Pocket Email Device From Sharp

The folks at Sharp Electronics have come up with yet another new handheld or pocket organizer. This one has one of the most useful functions of all, the ability to send and receive email from just about any telephone in the world. Sharp's Anthony Titone says the TelMail has the standard address book and calendar capabilities plus....

"You can use the large keyboard to actually type your emails. Once you've written an email, you simply turn off the device and as you turn it over you'll notice that it has a mouth piece at the bottom and you simply hold it up next to the phone dial an 800 number, hold this device next to the phone and then actually press this button... and it actually exchanges emails accoustically."

The technology was developed by NASA. Unlimited calls to the 800 number email service cost 9.95 a month. The TelMail will be on the market later this fall for under a hundred fifty dollars. And it has advantages over more expensive modem equipped Windows CE devices...

"What we found in the past was always too difficult to find a phone to plug it into, a connector like you used to have to do. Now, this is much easier, I can get off a plane, I can be on a plane, it actually works with your cellular phones, with analog cellular phones it works just fine."

. And with pay phones as well.