Out grabbing a coffee and need to get back to a colleague with business critical information? Forgot that grocery list at home and need it sent to you while you stand browsing in the shop aisle?

Well, in the near future, firing off and receiving e-mails, surfing the web, and making calls will all be possible on the go. And you'll be able to do that from a little hand-held device - yes, right here in Bermuda - all without electrical or cable connections.

Wireless access to e-mail and phone service is on the cards for the Island with AT&T Bermuda's plan to launch wireless service for PDAs.

Although the company - AT&T bought up 60 percent of Telecom Bermuda in November, 2002 and re-branded as AT&T Bermuda earlier this year - would not say exactly when the service would go live, it kicked off its pilot programme yesterday and promised the service would be available to the public by year end.

PDA devices - which stands for Personal Digital Assistant, essentially an electronic handheld information device - will be enabled for wireless access of the web, for telephone calls and send e-mails. AT&T will itself be carrying some of the newer PDA models, including the Blackberry 7210.

The gadgets won't weigh you down either with it being possible to just slip it into a pocket as some PDA models weigh in at less than five ounces - or under one-third of a pound.

But before that all becomes a reality for the Bermuda public, the cellular phone service provider plans a thorough testing of its system.

General manager Jonathan Koshar said a pilot group - made up of participants from Bermuda-based finance, insurance and IT companies - was taking part in its pre-launch of the new (to Bermuda) technology. Mr. Koshar added that AT&T Bermuda was depending on its pilot participants to help it work out any bugs before it took the service to the Bermuda public: "We are kicking off the pilot programme as a way of making sure it is well-tested before the launch," he said.

Mr. Koshar added that this was "just the tip of the iceberg" for the company as there would be lots of other technologies to follow.

Mr. Koshar said: "There is a certain amount of excitement today, and that is from you too", he told a group gathered at a pre-launch event yesterday at the Hamilton Princess, which had to be moved to a larger room after there was greater than anticipated interest from the local business community.

AT&T did not respond to a question from The Royal Gazette over how many were participating in the pilot programme. It also could not say what the PDAs would retail for, or what airtime fees for the wireless service would be. The company said pricing would be decided during the pilot phase.