Oct/Nov 2006

Cortado is the catchy name for a brand new "push" email system launched in the UK and across Europe by German technology company ThinPrint. The company was previously known better for its solutions for printing documents from mobile devices locally without the need to download them on to the device itself.

The system is said to be one of the world's first direct push mail services based on Microsoft Exchange, which is hosted by ThinPrint itself. It enables users with Windows-based mobile devices to have their emails sent directly to their mobile devices, without having to set up their own email server first.

In addition to the direct push function, ThinPrint says it will gradually add other services to Cortado. For instance, users will be able to read, fax or print attachments via Bluetooth or infrared without downloading them first. These are classic ThinPrint specialities.

Customers are given a special email address for correspondents to use. Emails sent here are then redirected via "push" to the recipient's mobile phone. There is no software for users to install, though the mobile device has to be running the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system with the Microsoft Messaging and Security feature pack.

 

The company is aiming to make it as easy as possible for users to sign up. The service can be booked at its Web site, www.cortado.co.uk, and is priced quite attractively at 4.98 euros a month. As an incentive, early customers are being offered two months' use free of charge.