Mailbug saved my life...
Written: Mar 09 '01 (Updated Jul 17 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Portable, inexpensive for someone who wants email but doesn't have a computer, convenient.
Cons: No printing capability, small storage, disorganized customer service and billing.
The Bottom Line: Get the mailbug when you won't have access to email otherwise... if email is something you NEED in your life!
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| dameblanche's Full Review: Landel Mailbug |
I just recently graduated from college. I had spent four years with a laptop computer and unlimited internet access. I also made a lot of friends who now live scattered throughout the world. Oh, and one other thing... I became the proud owner of several thousand dollars in student loans.
Now I am poor, just starting out in the world, and I can't afford a computer.... but I still have all those friends that I want to keep in touch with. I don't live with my family, so email is an absolute necessity in my life... isn't it? I mean, food, water, air... email!! Right?
So the prospects of living without a computer or internet access scared me. Would I really be cut off from the world? Would I have to resort to pen and paper again? Knowing that I most likely WOULDN'T keep in touch with as many people that way (for even if I put forth the effort, most people simply don't write letters anymore!), I started looking for the best options to keep email a part of my life.
I looked at computers, modems for my current laptop, and even considered signing up with an account at the local high school... but the best option that I found for my current situation was the Landel Mailbug.
The mailbug is small. It weighs only about 2 pounds, yet it has a full keyboard for normal sized fingers. Since I'll probably be moving around quite a bit in the next few years, I find this to be an important quality of my mailbug.
The mailbug is inexpensive, comparitively. It uses the phone line for about 30 seconds at a time (if you aren't sending emails and you don't receive them during that session) to check for email. If you receive email, it can take up to four minutes, depending on the number and size of your emails. The phone call is free, because if you can't find a local access number, they will give you an 800 number to use. You pay only $9.95 per month for service, and the first month is free.
There are disadvantages to the mailbug. First, it only stores around 30 emails at a time. (The ads will tell you that it can store up to 100, but I've never been able to save more than 30 without it telling me that it's nearly out of memory.) Therefore, most of your emails must be deleted. You CAN store email addresses, but it's not very efficient. You're only able to create a list of about 3-5 email addresses at a time. (I have one list of over 100 people that I regularly email for an organization that I'm involved in, so I had to create 16 different "nicknames" and I have to send it to all 16 each time.)
Another disadvantage is that you can't print. So you can't save your emails, and you can't print them. Your only option is to forward them to another email account (one on a regular computer) and print from there. But I'd imagine that if you HAD regular access to a computer, you wouldn't get the mailbug to begin with.
One other thing - if you are one of those people who can't handle poor, slow, or disorganized customer service, spare yourself the agony and invest in a computer with internet hookup! I've been having some "issues" with the mailbug company recently, and I'm about to give up!
I equate the mailbug with Email life support. There are no frills.. you can't see bold or italic type (imagine reading emails from your CALCULATOR.) That's basically what it's like.
So... if you're reading this, you have internet access. Don't bother with the mailbug... but maybe you know a poor college student like me. Or maybe your mother wants to keep in touch with her teenage grandchildren. A mailbug is a great gift.
After six months with my mailbug, I'm ready to invest in a "real" computer! But I'm grateful for the lifeline that the mailbug was for me.
The mailbug costs about $100 from the company, but I got it from Amazon.com for $79.99.
Happy emailing!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $79.99
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Epinions.com ID:
dameblanche
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Location: Houghton, NY, USA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Young Middle School Teacher, loves teenagers and life experiences.
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