Sprint Nextel today said that its NextMail voice messaging service is now available on all of the devices the carrier sells.
NextMail allows a user to send a recorded voice message to up to 50 e-mail addresses or text message addresses. The message is sent with the push of a button, either "Direct Connect" on a Nextel handheld or by using "Send" on any Sprint or Nextel device. The recipient gets a "listen to" notice in an e-mail inbox or text inbox, and opens it to listen to the message.
NextMail costs $7.50 a month per user; a NextMail Professional version costs $19.99 a month per user.
The Pro version builds on the standard service by allowing users to include location information garnered over GPS as well as include pictures. Sprint said that emergency responders can use the location and picture capabilities to share details from an emergency scene with a command center.
NextMail Professional was first introduced as NextMail Locator in January 2009, but only worked with Nextel Direct Connect devices. Now, it works with smartphones , including the HTC Evo , which uses Sprint's Wimax-based 4G network and was introduced in early June.
NextMail locator has been most popular with field service, construction and distribution workers and is designed as a voice replacement for handwriting notes or thumb-typing on small keypads.
