Vodafone hots up e-mail battle with Nokia E61

Vodafone has released a Nokia business handset as part of its strategy to offer an alternative to the Blackberry push e-mail system.

Equipped with the Vodafone Business Email system, the Nokia E61 spearheads Vodafone’s drive to take on Blackberry maker Research in Motion in the growing automatic push e-mail market.

The E61 is designed to give business users simplified integrated push e-mail, said Vodafone.

The E61 has a qwerty keyboard, 3G connectivity and a large user memory, while also providing the type of business applications found on a personal digital assistant.

Mark Bond, director of enterprise marketing at Vodafone, said, “We expect this combination not only to set a benchmark, but also to capture the imagination of business customers and encourage a broader adoption of mobile e-mail.”

Vodafone said the device offered IT departments a simplified set-up and advanced security.

It also features improved support for e-mail attachments and automatic over-the-air synchronisation of contacts and calendars.