MOBILE ELECTRONIC MAIL

Electronic mail (email) is the transferring of information messages via an electronic communications system. Initial versions of email could send short text messages of 1 to 3 pages. Email technology has evolved (standardized) to allow file attachments, and new versions of email (such as those using Flash technology) send animation or video clips as email messages.

Email messaging is probably the best single reason for users to get connected to the Internet. There were over 400 million email account users in 1998, and the number of email accounts is expected to top 1 billion by the end of 2000.
Email messaging has been the leading application (“killer application”) among online users age 18 and younger. Email is used by greater than 40 percent of online children under age 13, and almost 60 percent of online children between ages 13 and 18. A large proportion of older children spend their time online communicating with others via instant messaging.

Wireless email will grow quickly as society adapts to email as a more vital lifeline of communications, and especially as people begin to appreciate the convenience and freedom of being able to connect from anywhere. Additionally, as the wireless email landscape matures, advanced capabilities such as voiceenabled text-to-speech, real-time synchronization with desktop and calendar, intelligent filtering, and security will make wireless email services a “need to have” rather than “want to have.”