TechGazing

Yes, you read that right. There’s a new mobile e-mail app in town and it claims it can deliver get e-mail to your handset, without your even needing a mobile Internet or GPRS connection.  Called BlacMail, it is an offering from Bangalore-based Fifth C Solutions, and while we have not tried it out as yet, seems incredibly promising.

Evidently, all you need to get BlacMail working on your handset is to download the software from www.blacmail.in - you can download it directly to your phone (if you have a GPRS connection) or to your PC and then transfer it to your handset. That’s all there is to it. The app claims to support not only popular mail services like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, but also corporate mails. Round that off with the fact that it can also let you access social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut, and you will see why we are so impressed.  It does not come free, though. Rates for the service begin at Rs 49, although details  are sketchy at the moment. However, it runs on most handsets and by all accounts, works a charm.

Very, very promising, we think. We intend giving it a once-over in the coming days, and would advise you to do the same if you are the type that likes to get their mail on the move.

It looks like a BlackBerry. And handles e-mail like a BlackBerry - letting you view and reply to mails the moment they arrive in your inbox. But unlike a BlackBerry, it does not do anything other than that. And before you start complaining, we should point out that it costs a fraction of a BlackBerry. We are talking of Peek, the e-mail-only device released by Aircel. It is a device that lets you access your mail on the move with a bright 2.5 inch screen and a very spacious QWERTY keypad. And all at a price of Rs 2,990, with unlimited mail access at the rate of Rs 299 per month, available on both prepaid and postpaid. It allows you to configure up to three e-mail accounts on it, including most popular Web mail services like Gmail, and also allows you to  view (but not edit) MS Office and most popular image format attachments.

And that’s it  - it does no calls, no texts, no music, no games, no photography….just e-mail.

Convergence fans are going to frown at a device that is dedicated only to e-mail, but it could prove to be a very economical deal for those who like to send and receive mail on the go, without busting a hole in their pockets. And there is something to be said for simplicity too - as the Peek is dedicated to e-mail, it has a staggering battery life that runs well into three days. So you can have your mails in a pocket-friendly QWERTY device that weighs around a 100 gms, has great battery life, costs about Rs 3000 (and Rs 299 per month), and looks sleek as hell in the bargain.

Hmm…we can see people being tempted. We certainly are.

Yes, it is actually that simple. We were playing around with the Nokia E72 when the thought struck us that with the handset handling e-mail as easily as it does text messages, would it not make more sense to send mails rather than texts to people? And this is not just limited to enterprise devices like the Nokia E72, but to just about any decent mid-segment handset, as most handsets are tailored to handle mail as seamlessly as possible.

Here are our five reasons why using push mail is a better option than sending zillions of texts every month.

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