Nextel Communications, Inc., Reston, Va., has introduced NextMail, an application that allows users to send an mp3 voice message

from their phone to any e-mail recipient by simply pressing the Direct Connect button on the side of every Nextel phone.
The sender speaks into the phone to record the message. The recipient gets an e-mail that contains an mp3 file that will play over the computer’s sound systems. Nextel describes the new service as a “distinct convergence of instant walkie-talkie voice communication and e-mail.” Clearly it is the convergence of mp3 and e-mail.
According to the company, NextMail service is ideal for business customers who may not always have time to write an e-mail or have access to a computer. Messages are sent with a time and date stamp. NextMail can e-mail to as many as 50 addresses at once. Customers can deliver NextMail messages to their own e-mail inboxes as verbal reminders or to record meeting notes. Messages can be stored electronically in order to provide detailed documentation of important projects.
Nextel customers can send NextMail messages from anywhere in Nextel's U.S. network, or while traveling in Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Peru. Later this summer, Nextel will enable International Direct Connect and NextMail services to and from Mexico. Recipients of NextMail messages can be located anywhere in the world, wherever e-mail is accessible, and they do not need to be Nextel customers.
For more information visit wwwl.nextel.com.