CeBIT 2007: Free push email service launched

Mobile enterprise firm ThinPrint is set to launch a new service that will push your email to your mobile phone, for free, at the CeBIT show in Hannover this week.

Dubbed Cortado Free , the service will forward emails to mobile handsets from the Nokia N-series , Sony Ericsson W- and K-series and the forthcoming Apple iPhone , as well as over 800 other mobile phones.

It will allow users to send and receive emails and attachments in real time, like text messages, using their mobile phone. Email messages and attachments can be viewed and printed out, transferred to a notebook computer screen, or forwarded to a fax machine.

The Cortado Free package includes a personal Cortado email address, which comes with a professional spam filter, virus protection, and a web-based Microsoft Outlook environment - plus a 20MB email account. Those who want to keep using their current email address can continue to do so, and divert messages to their mobile phone.

Cortado uses IMAP push technology for its free accounts, as most current mobile phones are compatible to this standard. Devices such as the Nokia N-series and E-series; Sony Ericsson W-, K- and P-series; and the new Apple iPhone are able to receive emails as they are sent. Currently, there are 835 mobile phone models on the market that use IMAP support.

No software is needed, and the IMAP push technology uses a very low volume of data, ThinPrint said. Cortado uses the available standard mail functions on the phone for "complete integration into the device".

"The free Cortado service enables the average mobile phone user to receive their emails in real time whilst on the go, without having to buy the latest equipment or pay expensive fees," said Dirk Löwenberg, business director at Cortado Services.

"When choosing a suitable data tariff, mobile push mail with Cortado is much more economical than sending text messages. There's no character limit, and it allows the mobile sending and receiving of attachments," Löwenberg added.