The other day, my wife and I were watching CNET's video blog on TiVo and they had the top 5 worst products of the last decade. Number 4 on the list was PocketMail. This really pains me; PocketMail is/was a device/service that allowed you to send and receive email by putting the device up to a phone and dialing a toll free number. This worked quite well before wireless data was relatively inexpensive and ubiquitous. It also appeals to RV owners who drive around the country and may not have access to good cell phone coverage and want to keep in touch. So, I really believed in the product, but what really hurts is that I worked on the Backflip with was the PocketMail device that clipped onto a Palm OS device. So, I was involved in what CNET considers one of the worst products in the last decade. How does that make me feel?
Comments
January 11th, 2007
dad
I agree with you. I used PocketMail 5 days a week for almost 3 years in a remote site where I had a land line and no computer.
May 19th, 2007
michaelw
I agree, too, at one time in my life it was a real lifeline. I used it when working a temporary job in San Diego and then again when travelling in Europe and Japan. I remember using it to send a fax to someone in an office in Tokyo from a payphone outside, telling them I had arrived and was waiting outside, unable to make myself understood at the front desk in English. You could also use it on a digital corporate phone system where an analog modem could not operate. You could use it during a power out if you kept a wired landline. I keep the device ready for a time when I may need it again.
September 4th, 2021
Erik Johnson
If you happen to still have your backflip, and any other pocketmail related devices or software/documentation I’d love to buy them from you to share this piece of tech with others.
September 4th, 2021
Scott Gruby
I have one of the devices on my shelf of “fame” that consists of products I’ve helped developed. I’m going to hang on to it as a reminder of the past.
March 12th, 2022
Erik Johnson
No worries, one finally popped up on ebay for cheap, with bock and disks! But, maybe you can give some insight on the modem/codec used if I were to try making my own compatible “service” for it?
Thanks again!