Product Description Now there's a convenient tool that fits in the palm of your hand and lets you quickly and easily send and receive e-mail from most phones worldwide. TelMail E-Mail Organizer is an all-in-one electronic messaging device that even lets you send faxes and e-mail enabled alphanumeric pages. TelMail uses advanced NASA developed audio technology called PocketMail that's very fast, highly reliable and noise-tolerant, so there's no need for computer or Internet access, additional phone jacks, wires, or modems. It's called the Sharp TelMail E-Mail Organizer.
Amazon.com Review Send and receive e-mail using an ordinary telephone and the Sharp TM-20 mobile e-mail device with its built-in acoustic modem. Just pull the TM-20 from your pocket, place it against a telephone handset, and press one button to get your messages. No additional computer or Internet service is necessary.
The Sharp TM-20 is a stand-alone portable e-mail editor designed for travelers or anyone lacking a portable PC or access to the Internet. Setup consists of inserting the batteries and setting the clock. You must also sign up for the PocketMail e-mail service by calling a toll-free number or filling out a form on the Internet. The payment plan (either monthly or annual) permits you to receive unlimited text-only messages that are each no more than 4,000 characters long.
The menu prompts are not entirely intuitive, but by following the Quick Start instruction sheet, we set up the unit and the PocketMail account and sent our first e-mail message in about 30 minutes. The TM-20's complete alphanumeric keyboard and buttons are small, making touch-typing impractical, but our short test messages were easy enough to compose.
To send and receive messages, you open the acoustic modem "earpiece" mounted on the bottom of the unit, dial PocketMail's toll-free number, listen for a prompt, press the TM-20 against the telephone handset, and push one button. Reassuring LEDs let you know that the sending and receiving processes are taking place. We successfully sent and received several messages through different ISPs and desktop e-mail programs. We also sent an HTML e-mail message to the TM-20; the PocketMail system stripped out the HTML code but preserved the message itself.
The organizer functions are primitive, useful mainly for tracking names, addresses, and appointments. You can make backups of your TM-20's organizer and e-mail messages by connecting it via the included serial cable to a desktop PC. In our test, the backup program took a surprisingly long 15 minutes.
If you need little more than an alarm clock with your e-mail on the go, then the inexpensive Sharp TM-20 may be just for you.
This device is awesome.August 19, 2000 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
It is so easy to use and you can use it anywhere. The address book and calendar functions are just as good as the organizer features offered by the Palm and Visor, but this is much cheaper and you can do email on it too.
PocketMail PointsAugust 14, 2000 5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Have been a PocketMail owner for 4 months and it is a great portable E-mail device as well as an electronic organizer. The only limitations are lack of a built in calculator and adaptability to send and receive messages via cell phones(digital)!
TM 20 good in the Yukon tooAugust 12, 2000 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Used the Sharp TM 20 on a recent 9500 mile trip to Alaska, travelling thru British Columbia, Yukon Territory, Alaska, Alberta,Canada, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and home and the only time I ever had a problem was on an occasional payphone, once in Edmonton, Alberta and another time in Skagway, Alaska. Works on any phone other than digital cell, public phones are a breeze, pick up the receiver, dial an 800 number and send/receive at the same time. Not even a coin needed. Didn't have to call home one time in a two and one half month trip- pocketmail did it all!!
More than just emailAugust 8, 2000 9 out of 9 found this review helpful
You can do more than just send and receive email. You can get the weather forecast for your area or any area in the world, check on flight information and even get point to point driving directions. If you can ignore the clunkiness of dialing in to send your request and then dialing in a few minutes later to get your information, there is no better option, or you can have the information sent to an alpha pager if you have one. A laptop usually needs a "jack" and an internet account with a local access number, but this unit will work from any phone, except digital cellular, and the call is a toll free 800 number. It's worth the monthly charge just to be able to get concise driving directions from one address to another - across town or across the county.
A LIFESAVERJuly 21, 2000 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
MY HUSBAND, THE TRUCK DRIVER, CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT THIS EMAILER DEVICE. HE IS ADDICTED TO IT AND POUTS WHEN HE DOES NOT GET AN EMAIL FROM ME. THE SERVICE FROM POCKETMAIL COMES AT A REASONABLE PRICE AND SAVES US AT LEAST $20.OO A MONTH IN PHONE CALLS. WE STAY IN CONTACT AND IT HELPS HIM TO STAY CLOSE EVEN WHEN HE IS AWAY FROM HOME. HE IS, HOWEVER, CONSTANTLY BOMBARDED WITH QUESTIONS AND CURIOSITY FROM OTHER DRIVERS WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS DEVICE. IT IS SO SUCCESSFUL, I BOUGHT A SECOND ONE FOR MY DAUGHTER WHO LIVES IN ARIZONA. A MUST HAVE IF YOU ARE A TRAVELER WHO NEEDS TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH HOME.
