Sprint Brings Corporate E-mail To Cell PhonesSprint Brings Corporate E-mail To Cell Phones

Sprint users who want access to corporate e-mail but don't find smartphones appealing could be in luck. The company is enabling select cell phones to receive push e-mail from Microsoft Exchange Server and Lotus Notes accounts.

The application, called Sprint Mobile E-Mail Work, allows users to receive, read, compose, edit, delete, and send business e-mails from popular handsets like the Samsung Instinct.

Users can also receive alerts when new e-mails arrive, as well as look up online contacts and address books. All changes made on the phone are automatically synchronized to the user's desktop mailbox.

Many non-smartphones on Sprint's networks can receive e-mails from Web-based providers like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and others, but this application lets mobile users access Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, 2003, and 2007 accounts, or IBM Lotus Domino accounts.

Sprint worked with software company Seven to develop this application, and it's included at no additional cost with the company's Simply Everything plans. With all other plans, it's available for $9.99 a month in addition to data and voice charges.

The application will be preloaded on the Instinct, and it will be available as an over-the-air download for 11 popular consumer handsets including the LG Rumor and the Motorola Razr. The company said Thursday it plans to extend the service to additional phones in the future.

Business e-mail access was once the exclusive domain of smartphones like the BlackBerry, but wireless companies are recognizing that there's an audience that wants corporate e-mails on consumer-centric devices. Earlier this month, Verizon Wireless announced a similar application for some of its popular cell phones.