The missing iPhone e-mail feature

I agree with those say that iPhone's email client isn't the best feature out there..
First I couldn't add my Hotmail account because Hotmail is not supported. Then I had to follow a quite difficult procedure to set my Gmail IMAP account. Obviusly I can't use my Gmail account at work from my iPhone because there is a corporate firewall that closes the ports needed by Mail Up to connect with the server.
For these I started to try some web app to manage my mails in freedom. And I found one that works very good at www.tm.comvalid.com.
But I'd like to have the same freedom in managing my accounts in the iPhone Mail client, too.

License ActiveSync, please!!!!

There are tons of people at my work, and other people who I know who are waiting on this. Using a Blackberry or Windows Mobile device, you get so used to having your contacts, and especially your calendars, synced at all times so you don't have to ever worry about plugging your device in. With my device prior to the iPhone (a Tmobile Dash), I think I plugged it in to the computer every two or three weeks. Obviously, with an iPhone, you will do it more because of the media management, but still, it's a huge pain in the ass to remember to plug it in every day so my calendars are synced up.

The feature I want the most is to be able to have mail turn sideways to the wide view as does every other iPhone program. Much more readable for my old eyes. Also I have created a web page to place a book to read it in Safari. Much better to be able to do it in Mail. Jobs is right, only 40% read a book a year, but 20% of us read a great deal. The iPhone uses too much power to be a reader, but sometimes it would really come in handy.

Errrr......... it's still a HUGE PAIN in the arse.

The ALIAS feature of .Mac Mail does not work properly.
You can send from the Alias fine, but when you try to reply to someone? It automatically replies from the default account name! What's the point of that?

Just one feature please... A way to flag a message, so I can easily remember follow up when I get back to my desk.

Really? I love how the first few commenters always agree with the poster and try to flog the horse to death.

I used a Blackberry for two years before switching to an iPhone, and can't tell you how much easier my life has become. I don't have MS Exchange or a BES server, so for all other e-mails IMAP or POP, all I really used the Blackberry for was to read a few emergency emails on a couple of work accounts.

Today, the email on my iPhone is the first thing I show my friends who are BB users, and they are blown away with how much easier it is to use than their favorite toy. In a corporate environment, I still think the BB wins, but not for its email abilities... more for the exchange tie-in, corporate calender access, security and centralized control through the BES.

That said, I do agree with the users about having multiple signatures, and an easy way to get back to the "home accounts" screen.

The rest of the complaints I think are just nit-picking and trying to equate the user experience on desktop/laptop to a handheld. For example for the double-pane view, have any of you considered the implications of how the iPhone handles only a few messages at a time, and how negatively the downloading of messages at the time of reading (especially over Edge) will impact the double-pane view? The very fact that Steve showed it @ Macworld 2007, and then removed it from the final product shows that it probably would have been worse leaving it on in the real world.

How about the real issue here...the issue is that apple is doing next to nothing to improve the iPhone, mail.app included.

Other than the attempt to sell us more music with WiFi iTunes, what have they really done to improve the iphone in it's first year?

For the most part, they've pushed out minor tweaks that were really just ways for them to break 3rd party apps and ringtones. My safari still crashes when listening to music. We still don't have MMS, search, decent mail, etc etc etc...

I love my iPhone but hate just about everything apple has done with it since it's release.

Can be configured to use IMAP Idle?

You can delete multiple messages, at least on the iPod Touch. Dunno if the iPhone app is exactly the same. But when you're viewing the list of emails you have, select the Edit button in the top bar, and then delete as many as you'd like at the same time :)

The email on the iPhone is a bit slow for someone that relies on their email to get tasks done throughout the day. I only process my emails at specific times as to avoid the frustration.