Is Mail as bad as Engadget says it is? Gmail?

[BiikeMike]

I am thinking of jumping ship from VZW, and if I do, the only logical thing to do is get an iPhone, right?

I have been doing all kinds of research on different devices and plans, and engadget seems to think that Mail could not be any worse than on the iPhone

There's no other way than to come out and say it: we are extremely disappointed in the iPhone's email app. So much so, in fact, that despite the keyboard and the rest of the things the iPhone lacks in the features department, its mail support may be the largest factor in killing its status as a productivity device. Don't get us wrong, the application is just fine for anyone who wants to do light email, but it lacks the power and convenience that frequent-emailers require.

Link

What are you experiances? I am a "heavy" emailer, and I use Gmail a lot, is the iPhone a viable option?

 

[megfilmworks]

I hate to agree but the email is weak for the heavy business user (who probably can't use an iPhone anyway due to the company's server policies) but for the rest of the world the email app is great. A search feature would be nice. I'm sure the business end is being worked on, remember Apple gave an iPhone to all employees, can we say R+D?

 

[mkrishnan]

Yeah... I think that's fair. I think a lot of it depends on usage profile too... I don't expect a lot of the things listed there... however, some of them seem vital, for instance a mark all read (for every 10-15 messages, I probably want to read 2-3 on the go, and know the others are not worth reading till I'm back at a desk).

 

[poppe]

If you are a verizon user who used/uses a Blackberry you will be extremely extremely disappointed. My teacher (who has a second job that depends on email) is being forced back to the Curve since blackberry's email system works so much better.

Even if for light users I find it very very disappointing. I may not get super important emails or even need to respond immediately, but it doesn't mean I don't want to emails with in an hour of them being sent. Sometimes I receive emails on my iPhone 2-3 days later than they were sent. And what makes that even worse (for my Gmail account anyways) is that they are sent to one or the other -- iPhone or Mail.app. They are not sent to both. This creates a dilemma when it sends it to my iPhone for some reason, but my iPhone does not receive it because my Mail.app will then not receive it.

My 2 cents.

 

[Steve1496]

I'm a heavy emailer. iPhone mail is great, but it's lacking simple features--although full HTML mail is nice. Basically, it needs an 'Empty Trash' Button, check boxes to select emails and then a drop down menu to perform actions. An option to check more often than every 15 minutes would be nice. That's really all it needs IMO--otherwise it's quite nice.

Steve

 

[megfilmworks]

A friend I have (upper level management in a huge corporation) has to carry around her Blackberry and iPhone and she is extremely disappointed too. Disappointed that she can't dump her Blackberry. Other than features like search and others mentioned above, which hopefully will be included in an upgrade, most of the problems are with BBE interface. A very small part of the cell market.

 

[mkrishnan]

And what makes that even worse (for my Gmail account anyways) is that they are sent to one or the other -- iPhone or Mail.app. They are not sent to both.

Hmmm...this should automatically not be happening (even on an iPhone ) ... have you tried using the recent modifier explicitly on your iPhone copy of your GMail account? (It should be doing that automatically).

PS why extremely disappointed if a Verizon BB user? What's better about BB on Verizon than anywhere else? 3G, I guess?

 

[BiikeMike]

I'm a Verizon Treo business user, and I don't have any problems with the business end, since I own my business

So its true that if I read mail on an iphone and then sync it with a Mac, it will not appear as read on the Mac? There is also no "mark all read" or "delete" without opening the message?

How could Apple overlook these things?

 

[MBHockey]

I'm a Verizon Treo business user, and I don't have any problems with the business end, since I own my business

So its true that if I read mail on an iphone and then sync it with a Mac, it will not appear as read on the Mac? There is also no "mark all read" or "delete" without opening the message?

How could Apple overlook these things?

This is *only* true because POP services (like Gmail) are just that, POP. They do not support syncing between desktop/pda and server.

I use .Mac email on my iPhone, because it is IMAP. My Mail is synced perfectly between the desktop/iPhone/server automatically.

It is dependent solely on the email protocol you are using.

 

[bostonte]

I'm a Verizon Treo business user, and I don't have any problems with the business end, since I own my business

So its true that if I read mail on an iphone and then sync it with a Mac, it will not appear as read on the Mac? There is also no "mark all read" or "delete" without opening the message?

How could Apple overlook these things?

If you use an IMAP provider it will sync read and delete actions automatically. Pop will not (Gmail is only pop right now). That's a limitation in how the protocol was supposed to be used, not limited to the iPhone.

You don't need to open to delete. You must open to get the message flagged as read. No actions on multiple messages at once.

I was a heavy BkackBerry user who depended on the email. I miss a lot about BB emai - their system has aged to the point where it has a nifty refinement to it, but its also limited in "new" features.

I've had to start getting more and more email as HTML. The BB cant view it -- some messages will be readable if you know what you're looking for, others are just blank. They work perfect on the iPhone.

The combo of all the iPhone offers is more productive for me, so I'm glad to have switched. (until you have it, you won't realize how real internet browsing can save your skin) But taken just by itself, the email app is in many ways a step down -- and hopefully going to get an update.

If other apps appeal to you and you're willing to have a learning curve as you adapt your email habits away from BB, its probably worth it. If all you want is the best plain hardcore email - stick with your BB until we get an update.

 

[BiikeMike]

Thanks for all the info, with all the reading i've been doing, it seems as .Mac mail works the best (go figure) on the iPhone and keeps everything updated between multiple computers and the iPhone.

I think I may give the iPhone a whirl, as I am getting more and more fed up with VZW. The only thing i'm worried about is the typing, but everyone i've talked to coming from a Treo/BB have said they have gotten used to it.

Here's to hoping for Landscape typing in mail via an update!

 

[BiikeMike]

oh yeah, one more thing.....

Is it possible to have one email box not included in the notifications? I have three emails, business and personal, both of which are very important and I want to be notified of immediately, and then a junk email which I get all my forum subscription notifications, etc. sent to. I don't need notification every 6 minutes on that one, which is about how often I get an email

Is there a way to not be notified in one of three mailboxes? this is how I have it set up on my Treo

 

[megfilmworks]

Nothing first gen is perfect but I have never been happier with any phone I have ever had and I've had most all of them. I am a picky electronics gadget freak, but I am also a realist. I could never go back to my BB or Razr.

 

[poppe]

If you are a verizon user who used/uses a Blackberry you will be extremely extremely disappointed. My teacher (who has a second job that depends on email) is being forced back to the Curve since blackberry's email system works so much better.

Even if for light users I find it very very disappointing. I may not get super important emails or even need to respond immediately, but it doesn't mean I don't want to emails with in an hour of them being sent. Sometimes I receive emails on my iPhone 2-3 days later than they were sent. And what makes that even worse (for my Gmail account anyways) is that they are sent to one or the other -- iPhone or Mail.app. They are not sent to both. This creates a dilemma when it sends it to my iPhone for some reason, but my iPhone does not receive it because my Mail.app will then not receive it.

My 2 cents.

Now that I think about it I am wondering if it is the EDGE network that is limiting my mail experience. The reason I say this is that when I send something via my iPhone (Gmail to yahoo) I get it instantly, but if I send it via my computer there is not telling when I will get it.

Hmmm...this should automatically not be happening (even on an iPhone ) ... have you tried using the recent modifier explicitly on your iPhone copy of your GMail account? (It should be doing that automatically).

PS why extremely disappointed if a Verizon BB user? What's better about BB on Verizon than anywhere else? 3G, I guess?

Well I had to change a bit about my Gmail account because it was sending the my sent messages to my inbox for some reason. That is my only guess to why it is doing that... I put a filter on my gmail account to filter my own email address from coming in to my sent folder. That is all I did thought so I don't know.

And I said Verizon not because of any other carrier, but because he specifically said he was a Verizon customer. I suppose it really doesn't matter what carrier he has and I could have left that out. All I know is that for most Blackberry to iPhone owners I know, email has created a Love/Hate situation for their iPhone. Amazing phone, amazing internet, email....... well you know the rest.

If other apps appeal to you and you're willing to have a learning curve as you adapt your email habits away from BB, its probably worth it. If all you want is the best plain hardcore email - stick with your BB until we get an update.

I think this is the best sum up for this thread. This is exactly what I hear from BB owners all the time.

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With that said my friend who has .Mac said he never misses an email. He has it check every 15 minutes and they always come in on time. Makes the new .Mac very tempting.....

 

[megfilmworks]

I have had mail glitches over edge but never on wifi. I have aol mail, my business server, and .mac, no gmail.

 

[mkrishnan]

Well I had to change a bit about my Gmail account because it was sending the my sent messages to my inbox for some reason. That is my only guess to why it is doing that... I put a filter on my gmail account to filter my own email address from coming in to my sent folder. That is all I did thought so I don't know.

Got it. That's most likely the issue. I think you have basically the option of getting each mail on each device along with the inbox sent copies, or not getting them on all devices.

On my Blackberry, I ignore sent messages from myself. On my Mail.app, I use a rule to move them to a sent folder.

 

[BiikeMike]

How about this one....

I have all of my gmail forwarded to a fastmail account. On my treo, I get the Fastmail, but reply with gmail.

Is it possible to set up a mailbox with the incoming as .Mac or what have you, an the SMTP outgoing as gmail?

I'm thinking of starting my iPhone 14 day trial today as a reward for when I finish cleaning my apartment

 

[MBHockey]

How about this one....

I have all of my gmail forwarded to a fastmail account. On my treo, I get the Fastmail, but reply with gmail.

Is it possible to set up a mailbox with the incoming as .Mac or what have you, an the SMTP outgoing as gmail?

I'm thinking of starting my iPhone 14 day trial today as a reward for when I finish cleaning my apartment

Yes, just enter the Gmail info for your SMTP server and your Fastmail stuff as your incoming server, and you are good to go.

 

[NewSc2]

I didn't have a Blackberry. I work for a small company, so we just have basic mail. Search would be nice, but I don't see what else they could add.

If I needed to do some serious e-mailing I wouldn't pick up my phone. Can't edit or create Office apps, so I don't see the point of not going over to my laptop to do some real work.