HARDWARE
When they say, "This product is so simple, even your mother can use it," it's my mother they're talking about. Well, sure enough, she's sending email like a natural, courtesy of the MailStation, a kind of answering machine for your email.
With its half-height black-and-white screen and single-purpose design, this self-professed "dedicated email appliance" is smaller and much cheaper than a notebook PC. It runs on three AA batteries, boots up instantly, and has a prominent Get E-mail button, so even those still hunting for the Any Key key need not fear.
Leave the MailStation hooked up to a phone line and a light blinks within a few hours of a new message's arrival (the product's settings allow it to dial in only every four hours); email accounts for up to five users can be added for an extra fee. In addition to email, simple address-book and calendar programs are included, along with printing capabilities.
Though it's not perfect, the MailStation's icon-driven interface is clearly designed with the email neophyte in mind: Five hot keys cover most uses, and there are keyboard buttons for the @ symbol, spellcheck, and jumping to the main menu. More important, the MailStation comes configured and ready to run. The first time you plug in to a phone jack and press Get E-mail, it does just that.
The competition's answer to the MailStation, Vtech's e-Mail PostBox, puts a prettier face - and less cramped keyboard - onto a similar soul. Each product has its strengths and weaknesses, but on the whole, the MailStation's interface is less confusing for the email newbie. And though the PostBox's monthly service fee includes up to five users, the device can't check mail while unattended.
Because they aren't PCs, these information appliances for the masses don't handle email attachments. Even more annoying, each has a restrictive maximum message length - long enough for most personal notes, but inadequate for most mailing lists or longer communications. Also, neither of them can access POP mail - a significant limitation if you already have an email address.
Despite these shortcomings, however, Cidco and Vtech provide great new ways for the technophobe to jump on the email bandwagon. Just email my mom and ask her.
MailStation: $99.95, plus $99.95 service package. Cidco: (800) 718 1412, www.cidco.com.
e-Mail PostBox: $99.99, plus $24.99 per quarter. Vtech: (888) 468 8324, www.vtechworld.com.
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