EMail: IMAP .vs. POP (Hotmail)

[Mes]

With the recent availability of Hotmail to the iPhone ... and the questions concerning lack of email features, it seems a good time to address the two primary email differences.

POP (POP3): Simple one-way communication. NEW mail is downloaded to the iPhone. No folder access, no synchronization, usually mail is deleted from the server after download.

IMAP: Advanced two-way communication. Mail is stored on the mail server and sync'd to the iPhone. Advanced folder management.

POP examples: Hotmail -> iPhone
IMAP examples: GMail, Outlook, (some) webmail <-> iPhone

As you can see, IMAP is much better than POP. GMail (also Yahoo) and many others use IMAP. Hotmail is really really late to mobile email support, and with only basic POP capabilities. (Why? think $$$$ )

POP & IMAP Accounts
E-mail Explained: The Difference Between IMAP and POP
Official Gmail Blog: Getting Gmail anywhere: IMAP versus POP

FYI: Exchange is an email server commonly set up by large corporations. Both POP and IMAP can access exchange email, depending upon requirements & setup.

[CZroe]

Thanks!

Some MAJOR ISPs like Charter do not offer IMAP. My Charter.net email address is POP3 or Webmail *only*.


BTW, your list should mention say "some webmail," seeing as how Hotmail is an obvious exception and many POP servers DO offer webmail (like Charter).

Also, a tip for POP users:

Your primary email client should be configured download email but leave downloaded messages on the server for an extended period so that your other "satellite clients" can still see the recent ones. These "satellite" clients should be configured to leave the messages on the server no matter what so that they will still be downloaded to the other clients and archived with the mail client. POP accounts usually have smaller storage allocations because they only expect to store new messages you haven't received. As a result, setting all your clients to "never delete messages from server" will eventually result in bounced messages to the senders. You do not want more than one client set to download and delete from the server or else you will have some messages in one client and some in others, so tracking conversations and histories will be a laborious or impossible task.

Now, here's how things can be "fixed:" Someone should write a local inbox-to-IMAP app to run on a local PC or create a service that can do this (if your local PC is not routable). No, I'm not talking about IzyMail, which requires you to share sensitive login details, continually pay a subscription fee, and which can be blocked or broken by changes Microsoft makes. I'm talking about an app that runs an email server on your PC and plugs in to Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Livemail, Thunderbird, etc... you know, the one that is set to download and delete your POP3 mail. A paid service could be used for mobile PCs or those that aren't publicly Internet-routable or always on. On this PC, you will likely have an organizational hierarchy, such as an eBay folder with sub folders for each transaction. Translate that to IMAP and you will no longer have to read a message twice (once on the iPhone and once more on the main client when sorting it).

Such an app would only rely on Microsoft continuing to provide POP3 access and could provide many IMAP features (wouldn't even require POP3 if it works with Windows Live Mail).

Also, I have a question: The iPhone can't create and manage mailboxes so I can't, say, make a new mailbox in my eBay mailbox for a new eBay transaction and move a message there. I can only move it to mailbox "folders" that already exist, so I'd have to sort it into the eBay mailbox and then create and sort again from my primary client. So, has anyone made an IMAP management app for the iPhone? You know, one that'll let me log into my IMAP email server and make a new mailbox, then either let me move the message or I could exit and use the iPhone's mail app to move it and continue viewing, sorting, replying, etc.

[confucious]

My main account is an MS Exchange account Which has full push support and works fine on the iPhone.
My Hotmail account is my secondary account and I barely use my gmail or yahoo accounts and they are the only four accounts I have on my iPhone.

[Miro89]

mbox mail for hotmail uses imap

get it from the appstore

[confucious]

mbox mail for hotmail uses imap

get it from the appstore

Tried that - really didn't like it. None of the links were clickable!

[Miro89]

weird, cuz it works for me when i click a link it directs me to safari and opens the link i clicked

[CZroe]

mbox mail for hotmail uses imap

get it from the appstore

If it were using IMAP, hotmail would have worked with the standard mail app all along. No, rather, it simply interprets Microsoft's proprietary method used by Windows Live Mail or it simulates a standard web user.

[Miro89]

ok thx 4 making it clear

[BarcaMagic]

I use m-box mail from app store and i love it .Finally my hotmail account on my iphone .

[blkcadi]

Today I tied again to add my hotmail account as I have at least 5 or 6 times before.... and magic, it worked. no special settings needed. Just typed in my addy and pword and bingo it works. MSN must have changed something. Jumping up and down!

[confucious]

Good, innit?

[CZroe]

Today I tied again to add my hotmail account as I have at least 5 or 6 times before.... and magic, it worked. no special settings needed. Just typed in my addy and pword and bingo it works. MSN must have changed something. Jumping up and down!

They did. They just relented and added POP3 support a couple weeks ago. There are a couple of threads about it, including his one.