Gmail vs other email accounts on phone

[Opivyattack]

Can someone tell me if there are differences between using a Gmail email account on my android phone vs. using another email (ie hotmail). Also if there are, what are the differences? You can probably tell I'm new to Android..

Thanks!

 

[RetiredFinally]

Not sure on other accounts but with Gmail you get your emails as fast as you get them on the web, all your contacts in Gmail are synced and calendar with the phone. Nice almost instant syncing!

 

[brykins]

First off, you NEED a Google email account to use the Market and download Apps. So you're going to have to set one up.

Now as far as email goes, Android phones have an app installed specifically for Googlemail and if you are used to Googlemail on the web then that's great - stars, labels, etc. Me? Never used Googlemail on the web, so I installed K-9 Mail (free on the Market) and set up my Gmail account as an IMAP.

Google's IMAP servers support IMAP PUSH (IDLE) so I am getting instant email with my Gmail account using K-9 Mail. Sent items are sync'd and as I also use IMAP to access me Gmail on the desktop, it all stays in sync.

I also have a Hotmail account and I have set up K-9 Mail to access this via POP3 and check for email every 15minutes. My Hotmail account is my secondary account so four times per hour is fine to check. K-9 leaves the mail on the Hotmail servers so they are there when I check later on on the desktop. Only problem is that sent items aren't sync'd when sent from the phone.

Lastly I have a number of my own domains and these are hosted at 1&1 and I have set these up using IMAP as well. 1&1 IMAP servers also support PUSH (IDLE) so I get instant email on those too.

So that's all my email, mostly instant, without having to use Google's mail App.

As far as contact and calendar goes - I tried letting the phone sync with Google's online contacts and calendar but hated it. Can't get used to using the online contacts and calendar and their crippling lack of functionality so ended up installing HTC Sync and now I sync my handset to my desktop Outlook once per day.

 

[takeshi]

Can someone tell me if there are differences between using a Gmail email account on my android phone vs. using another email (ie hotmail). Also if there are, what are the differences? You can probably tell I'm new to Android..

Depends on the specific types of email accounts you're asking about. The email account itself can impose limitations based on what it's capable of. IIRC gmail and Exchange (at least with ActiveSync) are push. POP can never be push (and can't be synced) due to it limitations. Not sure about Hotmail.

What specific differences are you interested in? This is a pretty broad topic the way you've phrased your question. What are your specific concerns? Are you formerly a heavy Hotmail user who isn't looking forward to switching to gmail?

Personally, I'm using an Exchange account with Touchdown on the Droid. Gmail is set up since it's required but I never use it.

 

[tomcat84]

Reading this thread, Im wondering, what can the HTC calendar do that the Google calendar cannot?

Apparently, the HTC calendar (and contacts by the way) cannot be synced with the google calendar at all?

Or am I completely wrong here?

(Im not an Android user yet, so I cant try it for myself...)

 

[brykins]

They do sync. HTC have their own layer on top of the standard Calendar and People apps on the Android phones, but they use the same database as far as I know. These still sync with Google Calendar and Contacts online.

I have used this method but have reverted to using HTC Sync on the desktop and syncing contacts and calendar with Outlook, simply due to the limited functionality of Google's online offerings.

 

[rberry88]

How easy is it to setup interaction with an exchange server? My work uses MS Outlook (hence the exchange need). Some say it doesn't get the emails from the exchange server unless you manually plug the phone into the PC and sync. Is there an app you can get for the phone (HTC Incredible) that allows you to get your email pushed from an exchange server while on the go?