SBC Plans to Offer E-Mail-Only Phone Service

SBC Communications, the telephone company for the Southwest and California, plans to sell an e-mail-only phone service for people who want to communicate online, but don’t want to use a computer or surf the Internet.

The new eMessage service, expected to be announced today, uses a portable phone attachment with a computer-like keyboard and screen.

SBC, based in San Antonio, hopes eMessage will appeal to those who find that e-mail has become an essential tool for business or personal dealings--but also find computers and the Internet intimidating, confusing, time-consuming or too expensive.

eMessage would mark the first time a major phone company has offered service for an “information appliance” designed for those who want to use the Internet with the ease of turning on a television or making a call.

But an e-mail-only device might prove too limited compared with a new breed of Internet telephones that will enable people to engage in popular Web activities such as shopping and chatting without having to boot up a computer or log on.

eMessage will be introduced in September at about $10 a month, about the same as the typical monthly fee for limited Web access via computer, or half the fee for unlimited Web access. Likewise, the eMessage device will sell for about $180, half as much as Web phones.

SBC will sell eMessage through its Pacific Bell unit in California and its Southwestern Bell unit in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.