PocketMail was a very small and inexpensive

mobile computer Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage, which allows for the transmission of data, voice, and video. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware ...

, with a built-in

acoustic coupler In telecommunications, an acoustic coupler is an interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone. The link is achieved through converting electric signals from the phone line to sound a ...

, developed by PocketScience.

History

PocketMail was developed by the company PocketScience and used technology developed by NASA. This was the first ever mass-market mobile email. The hardware cost around US$100 and the service was initially US$9.95 per month for unlimited use. Later the monthly fee increased. After the company made a reference hardware design, leading consumer electronics manufacturers Audioxo,

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

, and others made their own PocketMail devices. Later a PocketMail dongle was created for the

PalmPilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pal ...

. PocketMail users were given a custom email address or able to synch up PocketMail with their existing email account (including

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

accounts). Although actually a computer, its main function was

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

. Its main advantages were that it was simple, and that it worked with any phone, even outside the United States. It was a low-cost

personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a handheld PC, is a variety mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. PDAs have been mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of highly capable smartphones, in partic ...

(PDA) with an inbuilt

which allowed users to send and receive email while connected to a normal telephone, thus allowing use outside of mobile phone range, or without the need to be signed up with a mobile telephone provider. Popularity of the PocketMail peaked around 2000, when the company stopped investing in new technology development. In Australia, the company known as PocketMail in 2007 stopped marketing the PocketMail service, changed its name to Adavale Resources Limited and now owns uranium mining prospects in Queensland and South Australia.

References

Websites

* Dan's Data Review: http://www.dansdata.com/pocketmail.htm * TechCrunch: Nostalgiamatic: The Sharp TM-20 with PocketMai

* Government Computer News: With PocketMail, e-mail access is phone call awa

* JVC's PocketMail offers e-mail without computer or mode

* InfoWorld Review of Sharp PocketMail devic

Cracked.com's list of "The 5 Most Ridiculously Awful Computers Ever Made
Mobile computers Modems Email devices {{Compu-stub