If you're looking for a way to pick up your email without a telephone jack, and if your travels don't take you far from a major metropolitan area, then you're an excellent candidate for WyndMail, a nationwide wireless email service.
Just one year old, WyndMail offers a service superior to its older competitor, RadioMail. WyndMail uses the RAM Mobile Data Network to deliver email directly to a radio modem. Mail is delivered instantly, although the system's slow speed (roughly 2400 to 4800 baud in real world situations) makes it better suited to short missives than to those 800K issues of Slate.
Besides Internet email, Wynd has a fax gateway that lets you send an email message to a fax machine. An operator answersa an 800 number, transcribes your caller's message, and emails it to you.
WyndMail works with Macs, Windows, Newtons, and the HP 100/200 LX palmtop computer. Unfortunately, right now Wynd is crippled by its proprietary email client. While it's better than the mail client offered by RadioMail, it's still quite limiting. Fortunately, Wynd plans to junk the system later this year and let customers use Eudora, Netscape Communicator, or even Microsoft Exchange. That will make this already good service really useful.
I used WyndMail during my 5,950-mile cross-country trip last December. I found that it worked flawlessly in cities, but, as expected, I was out of contact during those long drives down the interstate. On the other hand, RAM's network had coverage in some areas where I didn't expect it - like Redding, California. The folks at Wynd say that many of their customers are businessfolk who want to pick up their email while awaiting flights in airports. It also works pretty well in airplanes as long as you are traveling under 10,000 feet or so. But, of course, running a two-watt transmitter in the cabin won't make the cockpit too happy, so you might want to keep your transmissions grounded.
##### WyndMail: US$29.95 per month for measured usage (includes 200 free email messages), $149.95 per month for unlimited usage. Service requires a wireless modem, which can be rented for $39.95 per month or purchased for $499.95. Wynd Communications: (800) 549 8900, +1 (805) 781 6000, on the Web at www.wynd.com/.
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