The ease and expense of setting up an email connection has always been a problem. For starters you have to fork out at least £500 for the computer equipment and then go through the rigmarole of finding an ISP and hooking yourself up to the internet.

So, offer someone an all-in-one telephone, digital answerphone and email device that's about as simple to use as a normal telephone, and only costs £80, and even the poorest of technophobes would have to sit up and take notice. Amstrad has done just that, and it is called the E-m@iler.

This device is quite compact and bound to receive the kind of gadget envy that push-button phones attracted in the days when most of us were still using dials. The black and white screen has a resolution of 480 x 320dpi - enough to read emails comfortably and view graphic images.

Under the standard set of phone buttons is a tiny keyboard for everyday use, such as accessing the contacts book. For intensive typing, such as composing emails, you'll want to use the keyboard which slides out from under the phone.

It's similar to those used on Psion's handheld computers, which is great if you've small fingers - you'll be able to touch type - but not so great for those with bigger hands.

The phone has all the functions you'd expect of a device at this kind of price. As for the features, Amstrad has managed to cram so many in there that we can't mention them all in the review.

By far the most useful feature is for email. Amstrad really couldn't have made this easier to use. To write an email, bring up your chosen contact from the address book and press the email button. This will open a message box screen with your contact's email address already typed in.

Write the subject of the message, press the down arrow to get into the main section of the message and type away. When you've finished, press the email button and the device will whisk the message away. Unfortunately, there is no outbox, so you can't write a batch of messages and send them all at the same time.

As you send a message out, the device will also check for any messages waiting for you. If you have no messages to send though, and you subscribe to BT's Caller Display service (costing an extra £4 a quarter) you will be notified of any new email, free of charge, as soon as it arrives. This is done with a small indicator light sitting on the top right of the screen.

Again, you still have to connect and pay your 12p to retrieve messages, but it's the connection that you're being charged for, not the number of emails you collect. So if there are actually 50 emails waiting for you, you'll still only be charged for the single connection.

By far the oddest, and some might say sinister, thing about this is that your home is going to be the target of advertisers. While your phone is out of use, usually at night, Amstrad will be sending adverts to your E-m@iler's screen. Throughout the day these will flash up when the phone is not in use. If you see a message you like, you can press a button to be connected directly to the company that is advertising. This advertising, and the money to be made from emailing, allows the initial cost of the device to be so low.

For people who, for whatever reason, don't want a PC, this is a useful email alternative. If you don't receive much email, the instant warning could save on fruitless calls to an empty mailbox. However, this device doesn't offer the same flexibility of email tasks that you will find on a PC.

Call charges
Sending and receiving emails is charged at a straight 12p each time you log into the email server. The 12p charge applies no matter how many emails you receive in one batch, but you get charged 12p for every email you send. This means the E-m@iler works out expensive for heavy email users, but is a good deal for light users.

All your normal calls are charged at the usual rates. The phone will work with any telephone exchange but the extra services such as Instant Email Notification and Caller ID can only be used if you're connected to BT and have BT's Caller Display service (£4 a quarter). It is not compatible with the Caller ID provided through other telephone service providers, such as television cable companies.

Contact Amstrad 01277 208811