Nextel users can now listen to e-mail

June 5, 2001

(IDG) — Nextel Communications Inc. announced Monday that it has teamed with wireless application provider Etrieve Inc. to offer cell phone users the option of listening to their corporate e-mail, calendar and contact information from any Internet-enabled Nextel phone.

Through the Etrieve service, offered in Nextel's Mobile Office Email product suite, users can securely breech their corporate firewall from their cell phones to access information from Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, the companies said. On-the-go corporate users have a choice between reading or listening to their information, including e-mail attachments formatted in Microsoft Word, the companies said.

The application, offered in both individual and corporate versions, supports Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Lotus Notes, POP3- and IMAP4-based e-mail. Additionally, Nextel users can also print their e-mail and attachments through a fax machine using their mobile phones.

Etrieve is offering the application on an individual basis in its Desktop Edition, which is priced at US$24.95 a month. After signing up, users can download the service to a Windows-based PC. The corporate service is housed in Etrieve's Server Edition, which is licensed at $1,995 with a monthly service charge based on the number of subscribers. The Server Edition is designed for 20 or more users, providing secure e-mail forwarding, calendar and address book information, the company said.

To access either Etrieve service through Nextel phones, clients must first subscribe to Nextel's Online Plus Wireless Web Service, priced at $10 a month for unlimited use, the company said.