Telstra Launches MyConnect – SMS And Email Service For PC And Mobile

This announcement from Telstra confuses me: We can already access email on pretty much any mobile phone these days, and I can’t picture most people wanting to check their SMS messages on their PC. So what’s the deal?

MyConnect is made up of three different parts: My Inbox, which is an online message, contact and calendar management service for all your various messages like email, sms, voicemail etc and is free; My Email which lets you access up to five different email accounts on your mobile for $7 a month (hang on, doesn’t the HTC Touch Diamond do that for free?) and MySync, which for $3 a month will backup all your contacts and calendars and synchronise it with MyInbox.

So essentially it’s like a MobileMe for Telstra customers. And it costs about the same too – for all the features you’re looking at $120 a year.

Aside from the obvious bitching about price, is this something any of you guys would be interested in? Or are there other, better solutions you’d prefer?

Telstra delivers an Australian first for consumers:
A unified messaging and email service for mobiles and PCs

In an Australian first, Telstra today launched MyConnect™, a next generation messaging suite for Next G™ and BigPond® customers that combines email, voicemail, picture messaging, SMS and multimedia communications in one secure, integrated online and mobile service.

Mr David Moffatt, Group Managing Director, Telstra Consumer, said MyConnect™ breaks down the traditional barriers between multiple messaging systems, allowing customers to manage their phone messages and emails from any compatible Next G™ mobile phone or online at BigPond.com.

“With MyConnect™, customers have access to a truly integrated mobile and online messaging system. Sending email on your Next G™ mobile phone is now as simple as sending an SMS – using a single messaging folder for easy access,” Mr Moffatt said.

“When a customer receives a picture message on their mobile phone and they are sitting at their PC using the internet, they can view the message on their computer screen in MyInbox. Similarly, if they’re out and about, they can still receive important emails on their Next G™ handset,” he said.

MyConnect™ includes three new integrated services:
MyInbox – an online one-stop shop: an online message, contact and calendar management centre where customers can access email, picture messaging, voicemail and videomail as well as send SMS, MMS and email – no subscription costs and access included in your Telstra or BigPond membership/plans.
MyEmail – email on the mobile: provides access to up to five existing email accounts, plus alerts of incoming mail on compatible Telstra Next G ™ mobile handsets – $7 per month.
MySync – backup & synchronise your contacts: full automatic daily backup of contacts from compatible Next G™ mobiles to a secure on-line website, and synchronisation with MyInbox. So if a customer loses, breaks or upgrades their mobile phone, their contacts are not lost and they can stay in touch – just $3 per month.

Ms Holly Kramer, Group Managing Director, Telstra Product Management, said MyConnect™ brings customers closer to the people, information, accounts and devices they really care about.

“With MySync, customers also have the peace of mind of knowing that their important contact data is safe and easily recoverable if they lose, break or upgrade their mobile handset,” Ms Kramer said.

“Telstra’s product team pioneered this product for the Australian consumer market. The ingenuity of our people has brought to life our vision of easy one-click access to the information customers really want – on-line or on-mobile.”

MyConnect™ hosts all your MyInbox and other synchronised information in an online server, kept secure on Telstra’s networks. It is available now for Telstra Next G™, BigPond and Telstra.com customers. Customers can call 13 22 00 or go online www.telstra.com for further information.

[Telstra]