My pop/imap Android experience

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eleman:
gmail's imap thingie is a pain in the soft tissue.

-eleman (February 25, 2014, 10:30 AM)
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I access my GMail via IMAP using K9, Thunderbird installed on my desktop, and occasionally a PortableApps version of Thunderbird from a thumb drive. I've never had problems getting it to work with any of them.
-Vurbal (February 25, 2014, 12:12 PM)
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In the same vein, my .ss works without significant problems, but it sometimes gives me pain. Particularly after eating lots of beans.

Imap@gmail has too much room for improvement in ease of use and configuration on various devices. Good luck making it work on your dad's windows phone, by giving him directions over the phone.

Vurbal:
gmail's imap thingie is a pain in the soft tissue.

-eleman (February 25, 2014, 10:30 AM)
--- End quote ---

I access my GMail via IMAP using K9, Thunderbird installed on my desktop, and occasionally a PortableApps version of Thunderbird from a thumb drive. I've never had problems getting it to work with any of them.
-Vurbal (February 25, 2014, 12:12 PM)
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In the same vein, my .ss works without significant problems, but it sometimes gives me pain. Particularly after eating lots of beans.

Imap@gmail has too much room for improvement in ease of use and configuration on various devices. Good luck making it work on your dad's windows phone, by giving him directions over the phone.
-eleman (February 25, 2014, 12:19 PM)
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I doubt that's a server issue. Google and Microsoft have been engaged in their own private dick measuring contest over sync protocol compatibility since Windows 7 was released. Microsoft dropped WebDAV support in the Windows 7 Calendar program and Google responded by ditching Active Sync support for free Google accounts. In Win8/WinRT/WP8 Microsoft added a bunch of features which are mostly useless without a Microsoft server (local or cloud) as a middle man.

The bottom line is if the average person wants to have a smooth and user friendly experience with either a Microsoft or Google mail client connecting to a server from the other company they should expect to pay extra for it. That's not because there's something irregular about Google's IMAP implementation or Microsoft's Active Sync servers. It's simply a thinly veiled passive aggressive anti-competition strategy on both sides. Neither is representative of the email client experience beyond their specific ecosystems.

40hz:
Imap@gmail has too much room for improvement in ease of use and configuration on various devices. Good luck making it work on your dad's windows phone, by giving him directions over the phone.
-eleman (February 25, 2014, 12:19 PM)
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I didn't run into that on my iPhone. I told it to provision a new email account, selected GMail from the list presented, entered my existing address and password, and it defaulted to an IMAP set-up without being told. Apparently if you've set your GMail account up to use IMAP, the iPhone mail client is smart enough to figure it out.

Vurbal:
I didn't run into that on my iPhone. I told it to provision a new email account, selected GMail from the list presented, entered my existing address and password, and it defaulted to an IMAP set-up without being told. Apparently if you've set your GMail account up to use IMAP, the iPhone mail client is smart enough to figure it out.

-40hz (February 25, 2014, 02:27 PM)
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And, unless things have changed when I wasn't paying attention, it's equally simple to setup ActiveSync for a Microsoft server. Not by coincidence Apple doesn't give a rat's ass whose servers are on the other end. They mostly just want to make the technology as invisible as possible.

It doesn't really do anything for me but it's perfect for my wife. And she's a lot more representative of the market - especially the most profitable segment - as a whole.

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