# Email without a computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395 "2005-11-10T14:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/1 "2005-11-10T14:55:38Z")
So… where can I buy a widget that would allow me to receive/send email and access the net without all the bells and wistles of a full computer. Of course I need it to also be a lot cheaper than a computer. I think I saw something been sold once. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/2 "2005-11-10T15:17:40Z")
[like this?](http://msntv.com/pc/) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/3 "2005-11-10T15:20:01Z")
A library? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/4 "2005-11-10T15:22:52Z")
When you can get a [computer for under $400](http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DB110A&s=dhs), not sure if there’s much of a market for anything that limits functionality to just email & web browsing (assuming that’s what you mean by “access the net”) and could be a lot cheaper. Not sure what kind of volume MSN TV is doing. (Plus TV resolution isn’t good unless you have a digital TV, which I guess we’ll all have when Congress gets done with us. Not sure if this gizmo gives you high-res even on a high-res screen.) ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/5 "2005-11-10T15:28:59Z")
The [Amstrad Emailer](http://www.amstrad.com/emailer_plus.html) would seem to fit the bill. (Amstrad = Alan Michael Suger Trading) (Alan Suger = our version of Donald Trump\*) \*well… he fronted the UK series of The Apprentice, if that counts ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/6 "2005-11-10T15:34:42Z")
You can get a nice used computer for $50. E.g., a 500Mhz PII or some such. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/7 "2005-11-10T15:42:39Z")
My parents use [PocketMail](http://www.pocketmail.com) for e-mail. You can get your e-mail using any telephone. No attachments, though, and no Web surfing. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/8 "2005-11-10T22:12:01Z")
Let me see if I can explain myself. I have an apartment that I rent short-term. We offer cable internet service to our guests, since not all of them have a laptop we use to “rent” an old but good-enough one that we had for a very low price, in the understanding that the little money we got from that was to set aside for when we had to substitute it because it had died of either old age or misuse. It is dead now. A desktop is too cumbersome for the task, a brand new laptop is too expensive if I don’t know when the a guest is going to screw it, and a used laptop is probably going to die before is paid for. Hence my idea of getting something where guests can access the internet and that is really cheap and small. I hope there is such thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-without-a-computer/330395/9 "2005-11-10T22:22:33Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Let me see if I can explain myself. > > I have an apartment that I rent short-term. We offer cable internet service to our guests, since not all of them have a laptop we use to “rent” an old but good-enough one that we had for a very low price, in the understanding that the little money we got from that was to set aside for when we had to substitute it because it had died of either old age or misuse. It is dead now. A desktop is too cumbersome for the task, a brand new laptop is too expensive if I don’t know when the a guest is going to screw it, and a used laptop is probably going to die before is paid for. Hence my idea of getting something where guests can access the internet and that is really cheap and small. > > I hope there is such thing. See post #2. It costs $100, hooks up to any TV and phone line, and is about $20/month for service. It consists of a box smaller than a cable tv box, and a wireless keyboard. Heck, you can even hook up a cheap printer to it if you want.