While the phone's keypad is annoying for anything longer than a few words, it works and does the job. Battery life is barely a full day , depending on the phone and which battery you get. The Pilot has certainly become the most popular gizmo around, but it is more useful at contact and time management than a pure email scheme. While there are many people who swear by their Pilots, I have never much cared for them and don't really trust them to hold critical information. I still use a paper diary that is instant-on, always available, and works under the widest and harshest operating conditions.
Batteries last several weeks .
You can get either a wired or wireless modem and have it send and receive email directly to the unit, but that gets very pricey and adds lots of weight and bulk to the small Pilot. Also, you'll need to learn its Graffiti language, which some people take to quickly and others stumble over. If that is an issue, you can buy a separate keyboard. The next step up is the Sharp Telmail device. This is about the size of a large eyeglass case and contains a small acoustic coupler that pops out the back.