No PC? Give the internet a call

It's a phone. Yes, a phone. With a flat-screen display. And keyboard. In fact, two keyboards and number pad. And more slots and sockets than sense. This extraterrestrial communications entity is the Amstrad E-m@iler Plus. And it lets you surf the internet, play classic computer games and send e-mail without a PC. And, as you'll have noticed, it looks stranger than ET.

The original e-m@iler could already handle mail, send faxes, act as an answering machine, hold a 700-name address book and send SMS text messages to mobiles. As well as improved screen display, the new machine boasts two important new capabilities: it can surf the internet and play games.

The phone uses Microsoft's Mobile Explorer internet browser. This is best at text-based websites designed for mobile usage (such as Pocket PCs or WAP phones). So Amstrad has provided "Amsurf" - menus containing a series of sites that will take you straight to pages which work well on the E-m@iler Plus. You can still put in your own URLs to access normal, image-heavy websites in full. However, this can be a more awkward process - with pictures coming up slowly and often separated from accompanying text. Flashy sites with lots of animation won't work at all. The phone can also access a library of classic computer games from the days of the ZX Spectrum. So if, as a child, you thrilled to Jetpac, Jet Set Willy or Chuckie Egg, you can again experience the wonder of Spectrum gaming, but without the rubbery keyboard.

Importantly, all the functions, including surfing, are very accessible. The E-m@iler Plus takes just 10 minutes to set up by following simple instructions. Throughout that process and from then on, the screen remains jargon-free.

Is there a catch? Yes, in fact, several. The screen is monochrome, so surfing, gaming and the rest only arrive in varied shades of blue. And while the unit is relatively cheap, data calls (to surf the net or download e-mail) cost 12p on top of whatever you stack up at the local rate.

However for technophobes, E-m@iler Plus is actually a user-friendly, unthreatening way to access the internet and e-mail without putting the fear of PC into you.

Amstrad E-m@iler Plus £99.99; Amstrad 01277 208811.