Qwest Communications is hooking up customers with a new, free service that allows them to receive and reply to e-mails from any text-messaging enabled wireless phone without subscribing to data plans or upgrading to smartphones.
Qwest Connect with Windows Live allows customers to use their Windows Live contacts list to select only the contacts that they would like to receive e-mails from on their wireless phones.
Customers can manage their preferences through site controls, decide which senders’ messages they want to have forwarded to their wireless handsets, specify how often they receive new messages and decide how much of a message’s total length they receive on their phone.
“Qwest wants to simplify customers’ lives by helping them access more communications and entertainment services in a single place,” said Frank Simanson, vice president of product at Qwest, in a statement. “With this mobile e-mail service, customers get a customizable and intuitive way to communicate while on the go.”
Qwest helps make this mobile e-mail service available through an exclusive arrangement with Teleflip by using its flipMail technology. The flipMail technology unifies the e-mail and Internet networks with cell phone networks utilizing the SMS data channel. Messages that users elect to receive from this service will contain a sponsor message.