E-mailer
Encyclopedia
The E-mailer is a device made by Amstrad
, launched in 2000. It is essentially a telephone with an LCD screen and limited Internet
dialup and email messaging capabilities. Later models (the E-m@iler Plus, released 2002, and E3 Superphone with videophone capabilities, released 2004) are notable for including the ability to play ZX Spectrum
videogames, leveraging Amstrad's previous experience manufacturing Spectrum models.
The 'pay as you use' business model that the E-mailer is based on is controversial, and favours Amstrad heavily. Internet and email access are made via a premium-line phone number, so frequent automatic checking of email is expensive. Sending SMS texts and downloading ringtones or games are also charged for, similar to cellphone operator schemes. This has received criticism, and was unpopular. The phone also included advertising on its screen. The unpopularity of the phone led to losses at Amstrad's Amserve company.
All e-m@iler models have now been discontinued. On 30 April 2010 the Amserve E-mailer service was transferred to Sky (BSB), who announced that the Amserve e-mail service would close from 30 June 2011. From this date all support for the E-mailer services ended, and the E-mailer phone will only function as a conventional phone with no online and e-mail. However in order for each phone to function as a normal phone, each unit will have had to receive a configuration change. This would have involved the unit being plugged into a telephone line between specific dates, so that the configuration change could be downloaded.
However even after the configuration download - if the unit is set to default factory settings - the configuration change is lost and units remain unuseable. A better option therefore would have been a complete software change.
Amstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
, launched in 2000. It is essentially a telephone with an LCD screen and limited Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
dialup and email messaging capabilities. Later models (the E-m@iler Plus, released 2002, and E3 Superphone with videophone capabilities, released 2004) are notable for including the ability to play ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
videogames, leveraging Amstrad's previous experience manufacturing Spectrum models.
The 'pay as you use' business model that the E-mailer is based on is controversial, and favours Amstrad heavily. Internet and email access are made via a premium-line phone number, so frequent automatic checking of email is expensive. Sending SMS texts and downloading ringtones or games are also charged for, similar to cellphone operator schemes. This has received criticism, and was unpopular. The phone also included advertising on its screen. The unpopularity of the phone led to losses at Amstrad's Amserve company.
All e-m@iler models have now been discontinued. On 30 April 2010 the Amserve E-mailer service was transferred to Sky (BSB), who announced that the Amserve e-mail service would close from 30 June 2011. From this date all support for the E-mailer services ended, and the E-mailer phone will only function as a conventional phone with no online and e-mail. However in order for each phone to function as a normal phone, each unit will have had to receive a configuration change. This would have involved the unit being plugged into a telephone line between specific dates, so that the configuration change could be downloaded.
However even after the configuration download - if the unit is set to default factory settings - the configuration change is lost and units remain unuseable. A better option therefore would have been a complete software change.