TeleFlip brings e-mail to any mobile phone

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The team behind TeleFlip not only hopes you'll use their free service, which allows mobile phone users to receive e-mail on any cell phone, but that you'll also change your terminology from "I'll e-mail you that address" to "I'll flip you that address".

That's how confident TeleFlip is about its service, which will be announced at the DEMO 2007 show, and will launch in early March. The service allows individuals to "flip their cell phone" and give it the ability to receive alerts, e-mails and reminders without needing any special software, hardware, application downloads or any special data plans.

Working over SMS, the TeleFlip service can deliver e-mail to any person, regardless of that person's handset or carrier, the company says. All a user has to do is go to the TeleFlip Web site, enter in their cell phone number, e-mail address and e-mail password (just once for registration purposes), and then their e-mail can be redirected to their cell phone. It's like having a BlackBerry or Treo smart phone, but without the expensive device, data plans and messaging server integration.

For users who receive lots of e-mail, the service will provide controls that let users decide what e-mail gets sent to the phone, such as only allowing for certain e-mail addresses, or delivering messages during a specific time period (like 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). The service will integrate with Outlook and its calendar functions, redirecting alerts and reminder messages.

When a person receives an e-mail on their phone, they can read or reply, and if they reply the recipient receives a normal e-mail message, not a text message. One cool feature the company offers is the chance to get a specialized e-mail address with the @teleflip.com extension, giving users an "alias" address that users could give out to people allowed to send messages to their cell phone. This could be a better option for people, instead of giving out their normal, PC-based e-mail address.

TeleFlip will be offered "free to everyone on the planet," says Tony Davis, CEO at TeleFlip. Revenue for the company will come from two sources – in mid-2008, the company hopes to support an advertising revenue service ("Not spam," Davis promises), and a premium service will be offered to businesses and enterprises.

For consumers, the first 5,000 flips per month are free, and of course consumers are responsible for any text message fees. Davis says the carriers will end up liking TeleFlip just based on the additional revenue all this "flipping" will bring them.