Filed under: How-tos, Productivity, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Internet Tools, iPhone
The perfect iPhone email setup
As you may have read previously, I haven't taken the plunge on an iPhone yet (although I heard McNulty did the other day, which means I might be the only one left at TUAW). But I have been considering it a lot (more than is healthy, probably), and one of my considerations is email. Just a few months ago, I switched completely to Gmail, because I wanted one inbox for all my addresses that I could check and send from anywhere. And with an iPhone, I worry how reading messages will work-- I know I can log right into my Gmail account, but sometimes I have hundreds of messages, and I suspect things will get lost in the mix.Catcubed had the same problem with his iPhone, and now has worked out what he calls the perfect solution. He's written up a tutorial to get Gmail, IMAP, and his iPhone all working together nicely. Basically, he's got it set up so that Gmail archives and checks everything, and then forwards messages that make it through the filter onto his iPhone via a special address that's IMAPped to Mail. Outgoing messages from the iPhone are synced back into Gmail (to be archived), and look like they're coming from the Gmail address. So while he's on the road, Cat can send and check directly from his email address via his iPhone, without having to wade through everything that comes in, and everything will still be kept in his Gmail when he gets back.
It sounds darn complicated to set up. But once it gets rolling, it sounds like I won't have any problem getting my iPhone email right. Now, I just need to come up with the $500 for my cell phone budget...
Thanks, SFSlim!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
NutMac said 9:39PM on 8-15-2007
For what it's worth, I had Google-related discussion with my friends at Google few months ago. I complained about Gmail and Google Documents & Spreadsheets not having folders, and Gmail not having IMAP.
My friends are not part of Gmail or Documents & Spreadsheets projects, so I am not sure how reliable they are, but they told me such features were coming. Perhaps they are more reliable than showing up for dinner appointments in time... folders were added to Documents & Spreadsheets recently.
Reply
BdeRWest said 11:57PM on 8-15-2007
I forward all my Gmail e-mails to my yahoo address, which is push IMAP for iPhone users. That way I get any e-mails as soon as Gmail sends them to Yahoo. While perhaps my sent messages are only archived on Yahoo's servers, I'm OK with that.
I also download Gmail e-mails via POP and Mail on my MacBook Pro.
My two cents.
Reply
tnkgrl said 12:58AM on 8-16-2007
Mike, you know SFSlim and Catcubed? It's a small world :)
Reply
Jonathan T. King said 2:28AM on 8-16-2007
Wow. Kind of an insensitive picture, you jerks. I like this website a lot, but for cryin' out loud... Get real.
Reply
Leif said 4:40AM on 8-16-2007
After seeing your picture, I thought you'd like my video of begging for an iphone on the street with my daughter...
Check it out here:
http://www.iphoneplease.com
Reply
glad said 9:18AM on 8-16-2007
I am in complete agreement with J.T. King, the picture is crass, insensitive and I have to wonder at the kind of lame brain who would do this type of thing.
Reply
Stretch said 10:08AM on 8-16-2007
Anyone know how/if you could set this up to use .Mac as the IMAP account?
Reply
Jack said 11:51AM on 8-16-2007
Wow, what kind of crap is that picture? One of the most overpriced/overhyped things ever and you take a picture of a homeless person and use it as a joke?
Was that shot taken with an iPhone? Did you at least toss the guy $20 or $40 for the use of his image?
Reply
Rick said 1:23PM on 8-16-2007
Yes, this works with .Mac IMAP. My setup is similar, though with an added account to deal with. My mail has been going to a SNET(now AT&T)/Yahoo account for a few years, so I have GMail grab all of the mail from that account, and then anything that gets through GMail's SPAM filter gets forwarded to my .Mac account. My home iMac and iPhone both just check .Mac for mail.
This actually works very well - I've set up folders on .Mac, and I leave my home machine running while I'm at work (it's usually busy converting video or similar). If I leave Mail running on the iMac, it sorts all of my mail into the proper folders. I do it this way because the iPhone only sees new mail in the Inbox folder, so sorting via filters on the server causes problems. This way, the mail hits the Inbox and is usually seen by the iPhone before my iMac gets it and sorts it properly, and I don't have to deal with moving the mail to the proper folders manually.
Reply
Petar Smilajkov said 12:49PM on 8-16-2007
Hey there...
I was also worried about Gmail but check this out. I do not use Gmail itself, but my personal mail is hosted by Gmail and it actually works with iPhone better than I expected. I set it up as a regular POP account! All mails come one. Once I answer, I automatically get the sent message back in my INBOX - which at first seemed ODD, but when I went to Gmail itself I realized it's because the conversation was updated with my response. Therefore, Gmail in my case works REALLY GOOD with iPhone. No other phone was ever doing this.
Try it out, you'll like it :) FORGET iMap!
P.S> Before doing so though, go to Gmail settings. Disable your POP access, then re-enable it and make sure you check "for all messages that arrive from this moment on". This way you wont get a bazillion messages the first time you connect. Deleting them one by one on iPhone is Ridiculous.
Reply
Colin Catcubed said 1:58PM on 8-16-2007
Thanks for the post. I've been using this set up for a while now and I've been loving it still (and you encounter none of the problems Petar Smilajkov is having). Rick's comment is a good one. Currently, I just read and delete (letting Gmail be my storage), but if I ever shift that strategy and keep it in the IMAP, filtering in Apple Mail is a good suggestion.
p.s. I'm pretty damn liberal and I've got no problem with the picture. Hell, I've seen homeless people with signs that say things almost exactly like that.
Reply
chris said 11:02PM on 8-16-2007
I'm confused, why would you just use POP, gmail offers it for free, and it works nicely, I have 3 gmail accounts on my phone (2 business Gapps and one personal Gmail, all use POP, and all send form the correct address, all don't send messeges back to me, and all keep a sent copy in my mailbox. You guys have really over complicated this. Or maybe you doing something extra special here, but I don't see the use in making it this overly complicated when you can just use pop.
Reply
Rob Lawton said 11:10AM on 10-17-2007
I think the 'over-complication' is to get Gmail (POP) working as Push E-Mail (IMAP) so that you don't have to 'check' for new mail.
If you set up your Gmail to forward to an IMAP email address it will PUSH it to your iPhone as it arrives so you don't have to wait the 15 minutes I believe the iPhone can set as the minimum 'send/receive' timeframe.
Reply