Overview

mailpad® represents the latest in personal communications and is ideal for the home or for the professional. This compact, lightweight, fully portable unit permits sending and receiving email at the touch of a single button. mailpad® can be connected to a standard phone line or GSM mobile phone. To send or receive email, simply press the "MAIL" button and mailpad® automatically connects to the service provider(s). mailpad® is designed for the average person and is very simple to use and no knowledge of computers is necessary. mailpad® can be operated with its own keypad and large in-built graphical LCD. In addition mailpad® can be connected to a standard TV for full colour (32,000 colours!) flicker free display.

Included with mailpad® are features such as an email editor for writing emails, a viewer for reading the email received. The viewer can also display graphic images on the TV and even automatically resizes the images to fit the TV screen. File formats .GIF, .JPG and .BMP are currently supported with more viewers on the way. The Memo utility provides a means to write notes, memos, letters etc. which can then be printed or attached to an email. The Address book will store 200 entries helping to keep track of names, email addresses, telephone & fax numbers and other details. Using the address book "nicknames" can be created for email addresses, this makes sending email even easier. Simply create a nickname (Fred) and record the persons email address (fred.flint@rocks.bedrock.com) and the next time an email is to be sent to him simply address it to Fred, mailpad® will take care of the rest. mailpad® is fast, simply switch it on and it is ready to go. Trials have shown that mailpad® is ready to send and receive emails up to 9 times faster than on a PC.

Browsing the Internet is easy with mailpad® - simply add the Browser upgrade.

Using the web browser with mailpad® connected to a TV at home or in a hotel, mailpad® delivers a full colour graphical display. It is also possible to browse in text mode on the LCD while on the move. When operating mailpad® with the TV it is recommended that the optional cordless keyboard is used. This enables mailpad® to be operated up to 5 meters away. mailpad® Express software utility (and cable) for connecting to a PC, this permits the sharing of information (emails, files, address book etc.) between mailpad® and the PC. The cable, which comes with mailpad® Express also, permits connection to a printer.

The Manager
"Keep things simple" was the basic instruction to the development team and this goal was achieved. The manager is the core interface between the user and the unit. From here the user can view emails, sort them into their own mailboxes, access the editor and other functions. The interface is both graphic and clear. There are 5 standard mailboxes: In, Out, Trash, Saved and Files. The latter is not strictly a mailbox, rather a place where files created on mailpad® or attachments received are stored. Navigation of the screen could not be easier, use either the cursor keys or the number buttons to select the mailbox to view and in the right hand panel the contents of the select mailbox are displayed.
 

Email Editor and Viewer
mailpad® has a full featured email editor and includes a host of features including easy navigation, word-wrapping, cut, copy, paste and undo, together with the facility to attach files/images to an email. There is also an auto save feature, which will automatically save the last unsaved email. This means if the user forgets to save and email EdiView will do it. The View part of Ediview permits the viewing of emails and a variety of graphic image formats such as JPEG, GIF and BMP. These graphic images are displayed to the TV in full colour and using Ferrotec designed algorithms the images are automatically resized (maintaining the aspect ratio) to fit on a TV screen.

Attachments
One of the most frequent questions about mailpad® is "does it handle attachments?" The answer is; "yes very well!" As with all handheld devices available memory is the controlling factor, with mailpad® we have built in intelligence so that it knows what it can accept. Basically, mailpad® will accept any type of attachment up to the size of available memory. If the unit detects an attachment on an incoming email it will check to see how big it is; it then alerts the user that there is an attachment and states if there is enough memory to download it. The user then decides whether to take the email complete with attachment or simply take the body of the email and leave the attachment (and the original email) on the server. The user can take just the body even if there is not enough memory to store the attachment. Sending attachments is fully supported, any file stored on mailpad® (text, graphic, audio etc) can be attached to an email either through the Editor (EdiView) or from the Manager. Choose the file and then select the Icon for "Attach to New Mail".
As part of attachment handling, mailpad® is fully equipped to receive (and decode) attachments which have been encoded using MIME or UUENCODE. When transmitting an attachment, mailpad® will use MIME encoding.

Addressbook
mailpad® is supplied with an address book which allows the user to enter information such as:

Nickname:    Fred
Name:          Fred Flint
Email:           fred@bedrock.com
Telephone:   555.3636
Address:      3 Granite place
                   Marble City
Notes:         Fred buys a lot of hammers. His mobile phone number is 555.6565

The Addressbook can be opened from the mailpad® Manager and viewed. When an entry is being displayed the user can select the "New Mail" icon and mailpad® will open the Editor to create a new mail, already addressed to fred@bedrock.com. Alternatively simply open the Editor and type Fred in the "To:" part of the email and mailpad® will automatically look up the Addressbook and enter the correct email address.
 

Printing
One of the features of mailpad® is the ability to print the information stored on it. For example it is possible to print emails, documents, Addressbook entries etc. All the user needs to do is connect a serial printer to mailpad® (using the mailpad® link cable) and select the print icon.
 

PC Link Utility
As mentioned previously, a PC utility is available to allow the sharing of information between mailpad® and a PC. The utility provides the following functions:

Upload email, files, Addressbook etc from mailpad® to the PC,

Download email, files, Addressbook etc from the PC to mailpad®,

Create/edit/delete Addressbook entries,

View emails, attachments etc.

Accessories
 
 

	Printer Ferrotec PM Printer, portable A4 printer, with print speeds of 3 pages per minute, in a matching black finish. Supplied with battery charger and connection cable.  Size: 295 x 157 x 60mm (W x D x H) Weight: 2.5kg Power: Mains/Rechargeable Battery (included)
	Infra-red Keyboard The mailpad IR Keyboard has 86 full size keys for ease of use. It has a range of operation of 0.5 to 5 meters and has some extra functions not available on mailpad®. With long battery life and in matching black colour.  Size: 350 x 220 x 40mm (W x D x H) Weight: 1Kg Power: 2 x AAA Batteries (not included)
	Connection Kit This includes mailpad® Express PC link utility for transferring data between mailpad® and a PC, or vice-versa. The kit also includes a link cable.  Kit contents: Link Cable & software.
	Expansion Pack Various packs are available for adding features (Web Browser) or extra memory (2Mb, 4Mb). Connects into the expansion port on mailpad®.  Size: 43 x 36 x 5mm  Weight: 2g  Power: N/A
	Car Adaptor This simple adaptor provides a method for charging mailpad® in a car. Plug the adaptor into the cigarette lighter in the car and connect it to mailpad®
	Digital Camera Coming soon, a digital still camera which connects to the expansion port of mailpad®.

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