Jtalk Reads Your E-Mail Over the Phone 

Jtalk uses text-to-speech technology to read your e-mail to you when you
can't get to a PC. 

by Melissa Riofrio, special to PC World 
October 15, 1998, 4:30 p.m. PT 

Do you want your e-mail now, but can't get to a computer? No problem--just
find a telephone. On Monday Jfax launches Jtalk, a new service that uses
text-to-speech technology to read your e-mail messages to you over the phone.
You use phone-button commands to delete or save a message, forward it to
another telephone number, or reply by voice mail. Jtalk can't read e-mail
attachments, but it can tell you whether there is one. A user ID and password
protect your account from prying ears. 

Travelers temporarily deprived of computer access to e-mail will probably be
the biggest initial users of Jtalk, according to Jack Rieley, vice chair and
cofounder of Jfax. However, there is another seemingly unlikely group. 

"Hundreds of thousands of people don't own a computer," Rieley notes, "but
they need e-mail. You can use a friend's computer to sign up for an e-mail
account, and use Jtalk to listen to your messages."  

The service costs $2.50 per month, plus a $15 activation fee; in addition,
you're charged 25 cents per minute for e-mail retrieval. Jtalk can access any
POP3-compliant e-mail system. Jfax is working with America Online (which is
not POP3-compliant) to make the popular online service's e-mail accounts
compatible with Jtalk. Pager access will be available shortly 

Jfax is only the latest company to introduce a service that lets you access
your e-mail via the telephone. QualComm recently rolled out the slightly less
expensive Eudora E-mail By Phone. Similar to Jtalk in operation, it has a
$9.95 sign-up fee and charges 25 cents per minute of use; however, it does
not charge a monthly fee. More sophisticated (and more expensive) services
such as General Magic's Portico let you use the phone to access your e-mail,
appointments, and address book as well--for a price. Portico has a $50
sign-up fee, and rates start at $19.95 per month for 60 minutes of use.