Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First of all ... just to reassure you all, I am reviewing the Landel MAILBUG... not the Mailstation or the V-tech Postbox!! The previous review gave the Mailbug a terrible rating, but when you read the review, it was actually about the Mailstation, which is a totally different product!! Their review did not belong here! (Hopefully someone will be able to remove it.)
Anyway, as to my experience with the MailBug ... After researching on Amazon and elsewhere, we decided to purchase the MailBug for my mother (who is 80+) in January. She has a computer, but had found computer-based email increasingly frustrating, especially in that she didn't want to pay $20 for unlimited Internet access just to do email. (The pop-up windows for the free and cheaper email services were annoying and problematic, so they weren't an option.)
The MailBug has been just great; my mom has been using it regularly since day one, and is more and more delighted with it as times goes on. (The user interface is so simple that you can use it initially without even reading the manual, but by reading the manual, you can learn about extra features. She has learned those extra features very gradually.)
She finds the keyboard comfortable, and navigation easy to understand. I worried about the words on the backlit screen being too small to read easily, but she hasn't had any trouble, although I don't know that she uses it very much after dark. (Initially she had trouble seeing the screen after dark, but had just had eye surgery, and was without her glasses ... so that may be better now.)
She is able to use it in her easy chair (with an angled cushion under it, to bring it to a comfortable typing level), and has it on a small table in the living room, which is warm and comfy year 'round. (It has a VERY small footprint, no bigger than a standard piece of paper.) She especially like that it doesn't tie up the phone line for composing emails, and that it dials in automatically several times a day to check for mail, and then lets her know with the flashing light that she has mail. (You can also manually make it check at any time.)
We did have it lock up on us just twice in the past several months (not sure why), but all it took to remedy that was to unplug the power cord right at the machine, and plug it right back in. After doing so, it automatically dialed in and reset its internal clock on its own. (Now, if only our microwave would do that after a power outage!)
Some people may not like that it can't receive attachments, but she hasn't missed that at all. But, I have to admit that my Dad does have his own computer, so they have that option for receiving attachments. She also doesn't miss that it can't access websites. However, it does have an "e-info" feature that allows retrieval of some news (text only), including sports, weather, top stories, etc.
Our experience with customer-service has been limited because we haven't had problems with it ... but so far so good. When I did call in for setup, I didn't have to wade through numerous phone trees to get assistance, and the tech support was patient and explained things well. Set up was absolutely a breeze and only took a few minutes.
Cost is great ... I think the Landel website states that it's around $12 a month, but because there was a local dial-up number for my mom (rather than a national toll-free number), she pays just $10. (Discounts are offered if paying for multiple months.) She's thrifty, and wasn't sure about the cost initially, but I explained that it would cost more to send a postal letter each day over the course of the month than it does to have the Mailbug.
All in all, a great product, a great deal, and a perfect "fit" for my mom.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Landel LT-302W MailBug Email Appliance
Get quick and easy access to news, sports scores, stock quotes, weather, and more; for use in United States; not compatible for use in Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands
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