Your mailbox in your pocket

The new service is an extension of BPL Mobile''s endeavor to bring the power of the internet to mobile phone users, says Mr. Vinay Agarwal, chief operations officer (COO), BPL Mobile, Maharashtra and Goa. "It''s an ideal product for people on the move. You don''t need to be near a computer to read the mail and reply it," Mr. Agarwal says.

The new service alerts BPL Mobile subscribers on receiving an e-mail through any of the POP3 accounts (Yahoo!, VSNL, Bplnet, Satyam, etc.). On dialling 787, the text mail gets converted to digital voice and is read out to the subscriber. The customer can then even send an instant reply to it by voice mail. The recipient will receive the reply as a voice mail attachment, which can be heard using any multi-media kit on a PC or a laptop.

The company first introduced mobile mail services last February, facilitating mobile phone users to send or receive mails through Short Messaging Services (SMS). With ''miHearmail'', the service has been made more pro-active.

The new service is yet another attempt by the company to bring the benefits of the Internet closer to mobile phone users. It all started with mobile mail followed by mobile commerce – net banking with HDFC and ICICI – and portal services with miZone, providing information, finance, entertainment services on Wireless Application Protocol-based (WAP) mobile phones. "Our aim is to bring the net into your pocket," says Mr. Agarwal.

The ‘miHearmail’ service, which can be availed on all ordinary mobile phones (not necessarily WAP-based ones), are currently restricted to post-paid subscribers. However, the facility would soon be extended to pre-paid mobile users. Interestingly, the service comes free of any access charge till February 28. Subsequently, it would be charged at a mobile-to-mobile rate as per the subscriber''s tariff plan or at the outgoing airtime charge.

So, BPL mobile subscribers can now have their mailbox in the pocket – literally. And they can hear their mails and shout, cry, laugh or sing back in reply. Pronto!