A decade ago, in 1995 Synentia (then Synectics) launched a product
named PageMail for Microsoft Mail 3.x and Lotus cc:Mail.
PageMail was the next evolutionary step from an existing range of products that
already provided criteria based Out-Of-Office (OOF) monitoring of user's
mailboxes and forwarding of e-mail to pagers and mobile phones.
PageMail's
greatest achievement was that it used a wireless network (RAM Mobile Data -
Mobitex) and a handheld device (Motorola InfoTAC) to provide two-way
communications so a user could stay in touch with their e-mail constantly.
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More info about InfoTAC >>
During the development of PageMail, one of the
most critical decisions that would affect the robustness and scalability of the
product was how it would interface with the Mobitex network. In 1995
Research In Motion (RIM) offered their
RAD-Tools but Synentia's final decision
was to use Nettech System's (now Broadbeam Corporation) RFMLib Application
Program Interface.
PageMail pro-actively monitored registered
user's mailboxes and used filters to determine what should be
sent, allowing the user to react only when necessary so avoiding the
"check for new mail" scenario.
Using the same technology used in previous products, PageMail provided the
handheld user direct access into their mailbox so they could mark messages as
read, reply, forward and do many other tasks knowing they could return to the
office and not have to do any mundane and time consuming synchronisation.
PageMail was envisaged to be such a unique invention that even Microsoft
requested a copy for evaluation. Regrettably, after several focus groups and
trials, the feedback obtained indicated that a more compact device with a
larger screen and better keyboard would be required to make PageMail a global
success.
Synentia and RAM Mobile Data used their resources to track down many
organisations and manufacturers but none had a device that could provide the
capabilities. PageMail was stalled due to the fact that it was years
ahead of its time and manufacturers of handheld devices had yet to
catch up.
The scaned copy of a
flyer was sent to many organisations informing
them of the imminent release of PageMail.
Years later many organisations and manufacturers
have developed handheld devices and have also tried to mimic PageMail. Some
have patented the same technology that was made available to the public in 1995
claiming it as their own invention.
