ONmail

Service launch

The service became available via an over-the-air update to the ONdigital set-top box which added the OnMail interface. This was in addition to the already existing 'Inbox', which could be accessed via the main menu. This menu was never used due to limitations of the existing software.

Interface

The onscreen interface was accessed via the ONdigital menu system (as opposed to the system menu which access the 'Inbox' described above). The interface was in a purple colour, as opposed to the standard green that the rest of the ONdigital software used. The user could thus distinguish it from the television functionality of the box, and because the contrast in colours made text easier to read.

Limitations

The system had clear limitations in many aspects. The main one was that it could only be used to access ONmail accounts, which had the addresses @onmail.co.uk. Additionally, a problem that became increasingly salient as the service aged was that there was no way of accessing attachments via the set-top box interface. This was not only because of the limited interface, but also because of the slowness of the inbuilt modem.

Move to ONnet

With the launch of the ONnet Service in June 2000, and the replacement of the 2400bit/s modem with the plug-in 56K modem of the new ONnet plug-in box, the ONmail service became accessible on set-top boxes through the ONmail web site. The website (www.onmail.co.uk) provided additional features that were lacking in the set-top box interface. Though this caused most users to switch to accessing the service through ONnet, many people still used the original interface as not all users had purchased an ONnet box. This was exacerbated by the impending launch of broadband services and the comparatively limited modem integrated in the new box.

References