Filed at 8:47 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- A new feature from AT&T Wireless lets customers use a mobile phone to find the approximate location of another cell phone user -- the nation's first taste of ``location-based'' service after years of industry hype.
The company also introduced an application that enables Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes users to forward e-mail in real time from an office computer to a cell phone even if the corporate network isn't set up for e-mail forwarding.
Both of the new services are only available in the 18 markets where AT&T Wireless has upgraded its network with a wireless technology known as GPRS.
Similar offerings are expected from other carriers as they upgrade with next-generation technologies and comply with government requirements to pinpoint the location of any person making an emergency 911 call from a mobile phone.
The new ``Find Friends'' feature is being offered as part of AT&T Wireless' mMode service, which provides access to an assortment of Web information, messaging and entertainment options.
The location service is set up in much the same way as the ``buddy lists'' used for instant messaging on a computer. Each cell phone user can decide on a person-by-person basis if and when to be ``findable'' by another AT&T Wireless customer.
If two people agree to be able to find each other, the location of either person would be approximated as the intersection of streets closest to the cellular tower that detects the desired handset. The two people can then exchange messages, make a voice call or choose from a list of nearby eateries and stores where they might meet.
The fee for mMode ranges from $2.99 per month plus 2 cents for each kilobyte of data sent or received to $12.49 per month for up to 2 megabytes of use. A location query would usually consume from 1 to 3 kilobytes, or about the same as a typical short e-mail, the company said.
The new Office Online e-mail service, which costs an additional $2.99 per month plus usage, redirects e-mail from Outlook and Notes on an office computer connected to a corporate network and sends it to a wireless phone.
The service is based on the latest version of an application from ViAir Inc. that is also available through VoiceStream and Nextel. The version offered by VoiceStream and Nextel forwards e-mail in batches every 15 minutes rather than sending each message as it arrives.
While the services by VoiceStream and Nextel won't let users open or send e-mail attachments, the new offering by AT&T Wireless adds attachment capabilities for handheld computers, laptops and cell phones.
