Simple Emailer Phone (Amstrad E-Mailer Plus E-mail Telephone)

Member Name: suz1584

Product:	Amstrad E-Mailer Plus E-mail Telephone
Date:	01/07/09 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use

Disadvantages: Everything Costs

Again I am writing a review based on products in my parents' house. This review is based on my Dads' favourite bit of technology in his house - the Amstrad E-Mailer Plus E-mail Telephone.

I bought this phone for my Dad a couple of years ago for his Christmas. To be honest I didn't know how he would get on with it as he doesn't really work with technology. He doesn't use computers and his mobile phone is a basic Nokia as he wouldn't manage to work anything else. I will admit though he has worked out how to use all the functions on the phone that he requires - which is a bonus!!

The Looks

This phone is slightly larger than most desk phones. I would advise to use a table or desk for this as you need a lot of room for it especially if you are going to use it for all the functions it has.

It is silver and black in colour which is quite nice to look at and looks quite modern (goes well with the t.v which is also black and silver!)
As well as the standard phone and handset it also has a small LCD screen which displays a large clock on the screen when it's not in use.

To install

It's very easy to use. You need to plug into your telephone point as well as an adapter into an electric socket this is to power the LCD screen.

Once up and running you need to fill in a couple of details as well as setting up an email address for the phone which is very simple to do. It prompts you with what you will need to do. If you are still not sure there is a rather big handbook to help you sort it out.

There is quite a lot to set up but it doesn't all need to be done when you first switch it on and once you know your way around the phone a bit better you can go back and setup the rest. For instance you don't need to add all your phone number to the address book until you're ready.

What's included in the phone

Email

As you have probably worked out from the title of the product the phone is also an emailer as well as just a standard phone. Once you have set up an email account you are ready to send and receive emails. It is quite simple to use the email on here and a lot easier for my Dad to use instead of a computer or laptop. You can set up a max of 8 email accounts which is a good amount so everyone in the family can have one.

There is a keyboard that slides out from underneath the phone and this is why I'd advise to have your phone on a larger table or desk so you are able to use this. The keyboard is set out just like a keyboard on your computer but obviously a lot smaller.

The good thing about this is they can email another account to let you know when there is mail on this one. At first I did this with my Dad as I knew he wouldn't know how to work it so I got the alerts sent to my email. In time my Dad got used to this and I was able to stop the alerts coming to my email.

As well as alerts emailed there is also a display on the main page of the phone to let you know how many emails you have and there is also a red light just above the LCD screen to let you know there is new emails in your account. So really you won't miss an email when it comes in.

To access your email is also very simple. There are two buttons on the phone pad. There is one which says read email, all your email the comes up and select the one you want to read, you can also store the emails, all instructions to so this comes up to tell you how to do this. Again this is very easy to do and you won't have any problems.

If it's to send an email there's another button further down the phone pad which says email/send. Once you press this button it comes up with a screen saying compose email. It's pretty impossible to do this wrong as there is nothing else on the screen.

The only problem with this phone is there is a charge every time it checks for new email which it does automatically. This is charged at 20p each time it dials in to check your email which can be a bit pricey when this is done every day.

Text Messages

The phone is able to send text messages to any UK mobile phone. You can also send MMS and voice messages from this phone to any UK mobile phone. This isn't something my Dad has ever used as he can't even send them from his mobile so there's no point teaching him on this.

There is a max of 160 characters which is normal for a mobile text message but if you do wish to send a longer text then do this by using the MMS option instead.

If someone replies to your text this will displayed in your emails along with photos if it's an MMS message they have sent to you and if they send you a voice message then this will just play automatically when you access the email they have sent you.

Again this is simple to use and there is an SMS button on the phone for you to use this function.

The Internet

Ok it's not the full internet but you can access some low graphic websites. You can try to get normal websites but the full site will have very limited viewing so in my eyes it's not worth trying to view them as you will end up getting frustrated.

Another warning against the internet usage is there is links to premium sites like prank calls. Just watch if you have kids in the house that they don't use this as it does cost a lot of money.

A good thing about internet is the services menu where you can keep an eye on the charges you have run up from accessing internet and checking your emails.

Your phone also doesn't go online until you input a website address. Until you have done this it doesn't connect so you won't be charged.

Fax

This phone also has a fax option. This means from the phone you can send a message and picture attachment if require. This option works through the emailer system. It works in the same way as sending an email but instead of using an email address to send to you can input a fax number.

There is also an option to forward a fax on the phone which is again simple with a step by step guide on the phone to talk you through how to do this.

Games

Your phone can store up to 50 games at a time. The library for games is always updated so you will always find something that you will enjoy to play.

To play the games you can use the pull out keyboard or you can purchase a gamepad which connects to the phone.

There is a Games button on your phone to access the games on your phone. If you do purchase any games then you have to download this onto your phone where you will again then be charged for going online so try and watch how often you do this as charges go sky high before you know it.

The games include games like Tetris and Scrabble but for copyright reasons they have been re-named. E.g Scrubble instead of Scrabble.

Address Book

The phone itself has an address book where you can store up to 700 entries. I don't think my Mum and Dad know 700 people to store on the address book but it's good to know you will never run out of space.

There is a couple of reasons why this is the best part of the phone;

1 - You never have to remember any numbers and you can store more than one number for each person. You can store mobile, home, fax, office numbers.

2 - When phoning someone all you have to press is home (to call their home number) then press the letter of their name. For instance if you were to call James you would press home button and then press J. If you have more than one person with their name beginning with J then just use the down arrow to get to the right one. You then pick up the handset and it will start dialing that number for you.

3 - If someone calls you and you have their number stored then their name will come up on the LCD screen, so my Dad knows who is trying to phone him. If the number is not stored then it will just come up with the number, again this is good because you can tell if it's a sales call and you don't have to answer it.

Extras

These have never been used on my Dads phone but I would like to let you know that they are there if you do need them;

Calculator
Videophone
Ringtones
Adverts and Services

Overall

My Mum and Dad have had this phone for a few years now. Mum doesn't use much as she has a computer which she uses but Dad loves this phone and said it's extremely simple for him to use. The address book is his favourite part of the phone, for this reason I could never see him get rid of this phone even though he does get extra charges for it checking for updates and emails.
This week I have used it a few times and it is a really nice phone to use. I also set this phone up and found this really straight forward.

This phone is no longer available to purchase in shops but you can buy them on Ebay and prices range from £15 - £40 and I would say it is worth it for someone who can't use computers but would still like a bit of freedom and a choice to have an email address of their own which they can check without help.

If I have missed anything out or you are looking for a bit more info please visit the following -

http://www.amstrad.com/products/emailers/emp.html

Summary: Dad loves it especiallt the address book

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