Cidco to Sell System for E-Mail-Only Service

Telephone device maker Cidco will announce this week an e-mail-only device that will allow users to send and retrieve e-mail without a PC.

Known as the MailStation, the device is designed to appeal to older people who may be intimidated by computers and to those who can’t afford a PC, said Nadia Jamshidi, a spokeswoman for Cidco. The system is just one of an explosion of PC-like devices that are becoming popular among consumers because of their price, ease of use and portability.

The 2.2-pound system looks like a small typewriter with a monitor at the top. It holds up to 100 pages of information and works when a user plugs it into a phone jack. The device downloads e-mail the user can read later by plugging it into a wall socket or using batteries.

If a user agrees to a one-year contract, the system is available for $99 with a $9.95 monthly service charge. Without a contract, the device is $149 plus the $9.95 monthly fee. People purchasing the device will be assigned an e-mail address.

The company plans to announce later this year a series of agreements with content providers that will allow it to compile e-mail messages with weather reports, financial information, sports and other news gleaned from the Internet to distribute to subscribers.