Electronic-mail apparatus

An electronic-mail reception apparatus having a body, said apparatus comprising:

• a facsimile receiver that negotiates with a sender before receiving image data, to receive image data in facsimile format from the sender via a telephone network;
• an electronic-mail receiver that receives compressed image data in an electronic mail format from a mail sender via a communication network;
• a converter that converts the compressed image data in the electronic mail format into compressed image data in the facsimile format;
• an expander that expands the compressed image data;
• an output section that outputs the expanded image data;
• and
• an error transmission section that, data format that the electronic-mail receiver receives is different from a predetermined data format of the image data in an electronic-mail format, transmits error message to the mail sender,
• wherein the facsimile receiver, the electronic-mail receiver, the converter, the expander the output section and the error transmission section are integrated in the body of the apparatus.

A method for receiving image data using an electronic-mail reception apparatus having a body, comprising:

• negotiating with a sender before receiving image data, to receive image data in facsimile format from the sender via a telephone network;
• receiving image data in an electronic mail format from a mail sender via a communication network;
• converting the image data in the electronic mail format into image data in the facsimile format;
• outputting the converted image data;
• and
• transmitting an error message to the mail sender, when the electronic-mail receiver receives data different from the image data in an electronic-mail format,
• wherein the negotiating with the sender, the receiving image data in an electronic mail format, the converting image data in the electronic mail format into image data in the facsimile format, the outputting and the transmitting of the error message are performed in the body of the electronic-mail reception apparatus.