I'm a heavy gmail and google calendar user. I'm debating between android and iPhone on the smartphone front (i'm new to the area) and I wondered how easily I can use my Gmail contacts, google calendar and gmail email on an iphone? I know it's basically built in on android..
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How is Gmail and Gcal integration on iPhone?
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If you use Google Sync you can get your Google Contacts, Calendar, and Mail easily on your iphone:
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138740&topic=14252
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138740&topic=14252
It's good but nowhere near as good as Android. Basic syncing of email folders, contacts & calendar are good but you will lack labels, deleting, awesome email search etc.
yeah coming from blackberry, i was concerned about this too, but the iphone is pretty good at syncing google calendar and gmail. not so great at gchat or push messages as my blackberry was, though.
On my wife 3GS and my fourth gen touch, it works well enough but things like email search are far better on the GMail app on my Nexus S.
I don't know why but I can only search on locally stored email on my iPod where search works fine on the Nexus (as you'd expect).The good thing is, GMail works fine in Safari if you are stuck searching for a mail.
I don't know why but I can only search on locally stored email on my iPod where search works fine on the Nexus (as you'd expect).The good thing is, GMail works fine in Safari if you are stuck searching for a mail.
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Deleting works fine on my iPhone with gmail. You have to set it up as IMAP and it works great. Although, I do wish labels worked.
Gmail on Android is a world better than it is on the iphone. I've even considered parting ways with my iPhone 4 and going back to Android but I'm going to stick things out for a bit longer... maybe see how iOS 5 runs and see if Google release a new Nexus later this year.
Awesome using Exchange. Even faster and better than MobileMe, if I say so myself.
Using IMAP? Eh, not so much.
I don't use my phone for complete mail management. I use my phone to read and send emails on the go. When I want to organize them, I use a computer.
Using IMAP? Eh, not so much.
I don't use my phone for complete mail management. I use my phone to read and send emails on the go. When I want to organize them, I use a computer.
Gmail and google calendar are decent on iOS if you use the google sync interface. Don't even bother with the IMAP or pop3 interfaces (on the iPhone -- desktop clients should use the IMAP interface).
However, contacts may be a different story. Google sync is fine if you keep your contacts in one big steamy pile. It sucks if you use contact groups, because I don't think there's any good way of accessing google contact groups on iOS. This is the one and only reason why I use MobileMe -- I use google for mail and calendars, but MM for contact groups.
However, contacts may be a different story. Google sync is fine if you keep your contacts in one big steamy pile. It sucks if you use contact groups, because I don't think there's any good way of accessing google contact groups on iOS. This is the one and only reason why I use MobileMe -- I use google for mail and calendars, but MM for contact groups.
When I sync my contacts up to Google, and then it sync's back down, Google compresses and resizes the contact pictures. So when someone calls the images are very small and up on the top of the screen. So I had to turn off syncing the contacts.
Thanks, but I know you can get everything. Unfortunately, my nicely-sorted-into-contact-groups contacts come over as one ginormous steamy pile, and I can't stand that. For whatever reason, google doesn't support contact groups in google sync. They could, but they don't; I believe it's supported in android, though.
If you set it up as IMAP you lose push functionality and it only checks every 15 minutes. I think most would agree that they would rather get their emails instantly than have the ability to delete.
Note that there are multiple ways to access gmail on iOS:
- POP3: Ancient method. Not recommended. Used only for mail (not calendars, contacts, or notes).
- IMAP: Newer method. Recommended for desktop apps like Thunderbird or Mail.app. Supports "push" for desktop apps, but not for iOS, because iOS doesn't have the required support. (Recommended only if your mail provider doesn't support MS exchange and is not google.)
- Gmail: New method for iOS only. Does not support push. "Deleting" a message can either delete it or archive it (but this is a one-or-the-other-only setting that is buried in the mail configuration dialogs).
- MS Exchange (google sync): This is generally recommended, as this gives you push and decent 2-way synchronization of calendars and contacts (but in one big pile). Note that the "big pile of contacts" limitation is a google sync limitation, and is not an iOS one. You can also sync multiple google calendars, but you have to select those via a web page -- there's no dialog in iOS that controls that.
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Are you sure that the GMail method supports push? I thought it only supported fetching with a min interval of 15 minutes.
Yes, you're right -- it doesn't support push. However, fetch is configurable to 15 min, 30 min, 60 min, or manually.
Sigh, I even helped to write this: http://guides.macrumors.com/iOS_Email_Recommendations
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I quit using gmail push (Google Sync) because it was reducing my battery life. I tried it out right after Google rolled it out and havent gone back. I have been using Boxcar to send me a notification each time I get an email and I manually get my mail.
What does everyone else use?
What does everyone else use?
Labels actually work. You can apply more than one label on Android, inc staring emails. You can archive OR delete. You get Push. The interface is so much better on the Gmail Android app. It's not until you've used both that you really see the differences. I would love Apple to get together with Google and put the same sort of functionality into the Mail app as a lot of iPhone users use Gmail!
Edit. Right now I would be happy to forgo labels but I really want to be able to delete and archive right from the inbox while using push.
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