Imagine sending an email to someone residing in a remote village who has never heard about computers or internet and there's not even an electricity connection in the house.That's where ePost, a service of the Indian Postal Department, fits in. You can still reach that person via email.
Here's how the ePost service works - you send an email to ePost with the postal address of the recipient. The email message is then forwarded to the nearest Post office where it is printed, enveloped and delivered by the postman like other snail mail.
You can also send handwritten message through this service - walk into your nearest post office where the letter will be scanned as an image and transmitted through e-mail.
All this at a cost of ~20¢ per page per addressee. And the undelivered messages are physically returned to the sender by snail mail.
Now a company in Germany have taken that concept a step further - in addition to emails, they even deliver SMS text messages and printed copies of documents using the old-school postal system.
Like ePost, you type the message online or upload a document, make the payment and PixelLetter will then print, fold and envelope your letter and deliver it the old fashioned way. Europe only.
The glorious days of the good-old postman are back again.
ePost - India Post | Pixel Letter [via Adverlab]
Update: There's another service called Bharatmail that allows you to send email in most Indian languages which is finally delivered as snail mail to your contact in India. Thanks Kaps.
Find this article at: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/02/home-delivery-of-e-mail-messages-via.html
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
This is a slightly old concept. I remember receiving email to post from my friends in US way back in 1999. It also had a post to email option so letters mailed to an address in Mumbai would get delivered as a scanned image in my friends' mailbox in US. The name of the company slips my mind right now but I'm sure one of the readers can help...Somehow that company does not seem to have taken off and become very famous( and that's why we are unable to recall the name today!). But the idea is indeed great and serves a great purpose..
Written on 10/2/07 8:34 AM
I remember one company called bharatmail.com. It was doing that way back in 2002 but i am not sure about now.
Written on 10/2/07 11:04 AM
I wrote about the need of such a service sometime back .. Good to know someone has implemented it in a neat manner.
Written on 10/2/07 11:43 AM
i share the same thoughts as other readers about such a service been in existance for some time.
Another website which i can remember is naveenmail.com or navinmail.com , i am not sure about it current status, but i guess a service by the indian postal service reduces one step of being posted by the third party like bhartmail.com or naveenmail.com
Written on 10/2/07 10:54 PM
Why did not u put some indian postman pic? Then readers will get it at first sight that is is in India
thanks
Written on 12/2/07 11:30 AM
Isn't this an interesting concept? I wonder how it will catch on. I could actually see it working. Unfortunately, I could also see it working for highly targeted ads. Just what we need - more junk mail.
Written on 13/2/07 6:21 PM
Yes the idea is workable and i did use bharatmail free service in 2000 and than they sold the concept to ymi- your man in india and they discontinued free service and started fee based service and that too is not available any more... some other free providers are working but not reliable and letters seldome reack free of cost to destination.
e-post india post paid service is good but you cna not buy credit online as visa caards are not updated for purchaseing credits and u have to buy credits in india post office only... Surprising and that how indian post office is still working at snail speed... ??
If someone know free tested service working well do inform me
with love
love4looned@hotmail.com
Written on 8/3/07 6:17 AM