Is Gmail really only for Gmail accounts?

[fangorious]

Try K9 from the market for better IMAP support. It has some level of IMAP namespace support. It's been mentioned twice and I don't see you mentioning having tried it. I know your argument is that of a purist and how Google should just shut up and magically transform you IMAP/POP accounts into something that looks like gmails database driven, single-copy w\ labels, conversation grouping totally different backend, but that's just not the way people write their custom-protocol apps. The Exchange clients only connect to Exchange servers. Why should the gmail protocol client be any different? You have options for better IMAP clients than the one you have. And you also have a nice gmail protocol client.

The Epic isn't stock, it has the TouchWiz launcher. Judging by other forums posts here and at XDA TouchWiz includes Smasung's email and calendar apps, rather than the stock Google ones.

 

[dbpaddler]

Coming from the Moment, Epic's email is primarily stock android. Nowhere close to their own app like HTC's is. Touchwiz seems more superficial than anything. I haven't really seen any features of it that really bring anything to the table. Already using K9 and Maildroid, but that's not the point. A smartphone OS shouldn't have to rely on 3r parties for basic functionality of core apps, especially in this case where one type of email gets it, but not others. Also using a 3rd party or just having a 2nd app for other email defeats the purpose of integration.

Heck, the stock calendar doesn't even allow to choose a default calendar with the non syncing my calendar cemented as the default. It's just wrong for a smartphone OS to be that inadequate with core functionality compared to age old smartphone OS's.

 

[fangorious]

Heck, the stock calendar doesn't even allow to choose a default calendar with the non syncing my calendar cemented as the default.

That's because of TouchWiz. The stock Google calendar app works exactly as you expect (I don't think it even has a non-syncing local calendar). The stock Google EMail app for IMAP/POP wasn't very good but only ever tried it for IMAP access to gmail because Android 1.5 and 1.6 didn't allow registering multiple gmail accounts and was bad with gmail's IMAP interface because they have the [GMAIL] namespace on some key folders.

Try out a Google Experience phone in a store sometime and compare those apps you think are stock on your Epic, you might be surprised.

 

[dbpaddler]

The moment was pretty much stock, and I even did a stock custom 2.1 rom on it. Don't have experience with 2.2 yet.

I'll say "ahhh" about the my calendar thing. I quickly abandoned the stock calendar on all of my android phones because they just seemed inadequate.

I could care less about all the extra mail functionality, but simple things like reporting spam and saving mail to folders should be out of the box basic. And having multiple email apps just doesn't make sense. Your argument citing exchange would hold water if they didn't integrate it with the regular email app in 2.1. Yet they neutered that as well with the lack of folder support outside of viewing. Google shouldn't magically transform webmail to the featureset of gmail, but there isn't a reason it has to lack functionality that existed on other OS's, incuding ones it compete against...iphone. webos and wp7 not to mention symbian. I think android the only one that don't have folder support otside of viewing.

 

[fangorious]

Your argument citing exchange would hold water if they didn't integrate it with the regular email app in 2.1.

Hm, I didn't notice that. Neat. My company doesn't allow anything but blackberry devices to access activesync service so I never looked at it after my first failed attempt to configure it.

I certainly don't disagree with you that the Email client needs improvement. I just don't think it matters that Google separated their Gmail protocol client from their IMAP/POP protocol client.

 

[dbpaddler]

I wouln't mind as much if they didn't cripple the stock email app as much. That and it's just wrong that of the main core smartphone apps, contacts is the only one I use stock. The rest I've gone 3rd party to regain functionality I had with PalmOS, winMob & webOS. And if I could regain my groups and such in contacts via 3rd part, I'd be doing that too. They could've pulled the best features of Palm, MS, BB and symbian along with some of their 3rd part apps that were popular like agendus and datebook and create good core apps. Always thought things were supposed to evolve over time, not regress then play catch up.