Push email is one of the biggest improvements to iPhone 3G. But there’s a catch. You must either have access to Microsoft Exchange, purchase a MobileMe account for $99 a year, or use Yahoo! mail.
If you are a Gmail user, like myself, this is probably a bit of a disappointment. It’s understandable that Yahoo! would have this feature given their partnership with AT&T for DSL. But my prediction is that Gmail will not be far off in supporting push email for the iPhone. Google has a lot invested in the iPhone’s success; they had YouTube and Google Maps embedded in the device from the beginning. While there are some quality workarounds to be found online or through the App Store, Google would be wise to make this happen.
If anyone finds more about this online, feel free to post it here.
why do you need push gmail? It isn’t like the email pops up like an SMS. Also, I’ve noticed the push (I have mobile me) SUCKS battery like crazy! I had to charge 3 times in less than 10 hours. I use gmail and don’t need my contacts constantly synced so I turned the push off.
MobileMe does much more than allow you to push contacts and email, it also gives you iDisk space to store files from anywhere. It can sync all your computers and laptops together, along with the iPhone, from anywhere.
Apple doesn’t advertise it, but I think some of the old features from .Mac are still around as well, such as the Web page stuff. Plus, I think the student/teacher discount makes it about $69/year, which isn’t bad.
Apple is having issues with the transformation from .Mac to MobileMe right now and has even said that they will stop using the “push” terminology until they get it all sorted out.