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Two weeks ago, consumer electronics firm Amstrad launched its E-Mailer
gadget, an all-in-one phone, voicemail, e-mail terminal and fax. But already,
Amstrad has had to scrap a plan to help subsidise the gadget’s low £80
price tag with surcharges on e-mail. Its 126-page manual states that failure to
use e-mail at least five times per week, at local phone rates plus a surcharge,
means the machine’s non-phone features will stop working. After complaints,
Amstrad says it is now “dramatically” changing the design: users are no longer
obliged to use the e-mail. But E-Mailer still needs a new session for each…