In the past few years several companies, such as Intellisync, Good Technology, and Visto, have entered the mobile e-mail market.

All are relatively small, however, and most analysts believe that they will have to consolidate into larger companies if they wish to challenge Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry, currently the largest mobile e-mail handler, or Microsoft, which is expected to enter the market.

The first of the consolidations has taken place with the acquisition by Seven, a U.S. mobile e-mail company, of Smartner, a Finnish company.

The chief executive at Seven has said that the merger makes sense for both companies, as their combined resources give the new entity more world-wide coverage than either had before.

Although the mobile e-mail market is still very young, estimates are that by the end of 2008, some 80 percent of e-mail users will access it by mobile phone.