Mobile software provider Seven was selected by AT&T Inc. to power Xpress Mail, a mobile email service that is available on 20 AT&T smart devices including the new Palm Centro.

AT&T Xpress Mail lets users check their personal and business email with one-click directly from the home screen.

"The key requirements behind the strategy are addressing how to make the [email] experience easy, straight-forward and transparent so that anyone can use it on a small device," said Ari Backholm, vice president of marketing at Seven, Redwood City, CA.

"What we do with AT&T is simplify the experience, make sure the experience is 100 percent reliable, meaning that you always have your latest email when you have 15 seconds to two minutes to spare on your phone," he said.

Seven is a creator of software for mobile messaging, targeting mobile operators, Internet email providers and service providers. The company's software is used by enterprises, small to midsize organizations, workgroups, individual professionals and consumers.

AT&T Xpress Mail gives users real-time access to their email, calendar and contacts, with all actions entered on the mobile or the PC instantly mirrored on the devices so subscribers only have to manage one inbox and one calendar.

The Palm Centro featuring AT&T Xpress Mail provides many messaging options and contact and calendar management for mobile users. This is the first Palm OS smartphone offered by AT&T and comes with touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 megapixel camera, and USB and Bluetooth connectivity.

Xpress Mail provides access to email from services such as AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.

Some devices available for XpressMail download include the Palm Centro, AT&T Tilt, Pantech Duo, Moto Q Global and the Samsung BlackJack II.

Customers can access AT&T Xpress Mail on their smart devices in the United States and in more than 140 countries.

AT&T is running national campaigns for Xpress Mail, both in print and online.

Seven gets its advertising on the device when users see its Xpress Mail logo on their mobile screen.

Xpress Mail is a free feature in AT&T data plans.

"The two key challenges are simplicity and reliability," Mr. Backholm said. "When you are mobile every second seems very long and we are addressing that issue."