01-24-2003, 11:00 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 468
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@Mail Improves the Pocket PC Email Experience
Ok, I admit it. I'm an email junkie. I'm on more email lists than I can think of and between work and personal email I receive several hundred messages a day. I would love to be able to read them and manage them on my Pocket PC, but the brain-dead Inbox application just doesn't cut it. Enter @Mail, the new Inbox replacement application from Web Information Solutions, Inc. (WebIS), the folks who brought us the excellent Pocket Informant. This application is strong for a 1.0 release, but not without issues - read on to find out what they are.
@Mail 1.0, from the folks who created Pocket Informant, has most of the missing features left out of Inbox. It's not quite perfect yet (what application is?), but the folks at WebIS have a strong record of quality products with Pocket Informant, and this new application has plenty of potential.
Can I finally read HTML messages?
Yes, you can. With some caveats. The HTML feature works only with POP3/IMAP message services, not ActiveSync. That's not WebIS's fault, it's a limitation of ActiveSync itself. WebIS is planning on replacing the built-in mail transport services with their own in order to get passed the limitations they force, but that won't be until sometime after version 1.0. But, while the ability to read HTML messages is probably the single best advantage @Mail has over Inbox, it's not the only one.
Figure 1: HTML message in @Mail.
Better views of your mail
@Mail also provides much better ways to view your messages. The primary screen on which to view your mail is the Folders view. This tree-view lists each of your mail services and all the folders within. Also, note the links at the top of the list for Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Tasks. If you have Pocket Informant installed, clicking these will open it to the corresponding screen within.
Figure 2: Folder view.
The next big improvement over Inbox is the Mail List views. This screen lists the content of a particular mail folder and has two versions. The summary view shows each email on it's own shaded area with the subject, sender, date, and size. The list view shows all of those plus icons to show the message's status and attachments. The primary difference is the list view shows each on one line and you need to scroll horizontally to see everything. Also, it is possible to select multiple messages (for deleting SPAM, for instance) only in the summary view.
Figure 2: Mail list - summary view.
Figure 2: Mail list - list view.
Additionally, @Mail provides a couple of specialized view of your mail, including a nifty one that shows all of your unread mail -- no matter which folder or which service it came from! This is a very nice way to keep track of the messages still waiting for you to get to. And with as much email as I get, it's necessary!
Figure 2: All unread email.
Finally, @Mail has made good use of the Pocket PCs directional-pad for navigating the application. Pressing the right and left directions will move between the Folders, Mail List, and Mail Item views. Pressing the up and down directions will scroll among the messages in the Mail List and within text messages themselves (but not within HTML messages). Most applications seem to ignore the d-pad, so I'm pleased to see it used well here.
Gotchas
I tested the Release Candidate of @Mail 1.0, so the code I used wasn't perfect. I have some very large email folders and sometimes @Mail choked on them. At one point, I tried emptying my Deleted Items folder which had over 2000 messages in it. @Mail did it... eventually. But while testing the application, I performed more soft resets in a couple of days than I had the previous month. That said, I'm very confident that problems I found will be worked out, and I base that confidence on my experience with Pocket Informant, which in my opinion, is one of the best applications out there for Pocket PCs.
As I mentioned before there are also some limitations caused by the use of the built-in mail transport services. WebIS hope to resolve these by creating their own transport services at some point in the future.
Still, though, there are other limitations of the application, at least one of which is very nearly a deal breaker:
- There is no way to move or copy messages from one folder to another! Not including this feature was, in my view, a horrible mistake. I simply can't properly manage my email without being able to sort it into folders. That said, there is a workaround, though it's unwieldy. Since @Mail and Inbox share the same message stores, you can close @Mail and open Inbox and move your messages around in Inbox. Then close it and reopen @Mail and your messages will be properly stored.
- When reading a message, if you delete it, you cannot automatically have the next or previous item opened. This is another bad omission. Each time you delete a message, you're taken back to the Mail list view where you must click on the next message you wish to read. Even Inbox is better than this!
- As I mentioned before, you cannot read messages in your ActiceSync service in HTML format. But this isn't WebIS's fault, so I can't really hold it against them.
- You cannot compose or reply messages in HTML format. Plain text is the only format supported, at least in this version. They do plan on adding this feature soon, however.
- Lastly, and this is nitpicking a bit, @Mail doesn't always handle HTML links very well. If the message contains a URL that isn't formatted with the HTML link tags (< A > link </ A >), @Mail doesn't recognize it as a clickable link. And sometimes, when clicking on a link, the new page is opened right there within @Mail instead of in Internet Explorer. But there are no back buttons or any other navigation controls, so the only way to get back to your message is to go back to the Mail List view and re-open it.
Where To Buy
The software can be purchased for $24.95 (affiliate link). Existing Pocket Informant users can get a $5 discount code by visiting this page on the Pocket Informant website.
Conclusions
@Mail is a 1.0 release, somewhat limited in feature-set, and not without its problems. That said, however, it's a great deal better than Inbox in most regards and a very worthy companion to the excellent Pocket Informant. Plus, with this good start, it can only get better, and I can't wait to see future releases. But don't wait for them! If you do a lot of email, @Mail will definitely make your life easier.
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01-24-2003, 11:08 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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Nice write up Perry. Curious to know. I have 4 email accounts that I have to check. With the current Inbox implementation, I have to connect, check, disconnect, change email service and repeat until I am done with each account. Does @mail allow for multiple account queries on one connection?
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01-24-2003, 11:13 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 740
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by bdegroodt
Does @mail allow for multiple account queries on one connection?
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Yes it does. I purchased the 1.0 version this morning, and it does that by default.
If you want to check only a single account, you must go to the Folder list, tap and hold on the Service Name and then choose Send and Receive from the Context Menu.
The biggest problem I found with this version (other than those already called out in the article) was the INABILITY to select more than one message at a time. I get upwards of 200 e-mail messages a day, many of which are SPAM. I want to be able to select more than one message at a time so that I can delete them in groups (i.e.: more than one at a time) or some how mark messages for deletion.
As it stands, the only way to delete messages is to go thru your Inbox a single message at a time, tap and hold and then choose Delete from the Context Message. Going thru almost 150 at 3pm this afternoon took me well over 20 minutes.
Christopher Spera
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01-24-2003, 11:16 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 468
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by bdegroodt
Nice write up Perry. Curious to know. I have 4 email accounts that I have to check. With the current Inbox implementation, I have to connect, check, disconnect, change email service and repeat until I am done with each account. Does @mail allow for multiple account queries on one connection?
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Thanks!
And yes it does allow for multiple accounts. In fact, it does it extremely well, combining all of your accounts onto the single Folders view.
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01-24-2003, 11:18 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 468
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ChrisSpera
The biggest problem I found with this version (other than those already called out in the article) was the INABILITY to select more than one message at a time. I get upwards of 200 e-mail messages a day, many of which are SPAM. I want to be able to select more than one message at a time so that I can delete them in groups (i.e.: more than one at a time) or some how mark messages for deletion.
As it stands, the only way to delete messages is to go thru your Inbox a single message at a time, tap and hold and then choose Delete from the Context Message. Going thru almost 150 at 3pm this afternoon took me well over 20 minutes.
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Actually, I had that same issue until I checked in with the WebIS guys. The solution is to use the Summary view in the Mail List tab. That view will let you select multiple messages.
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01-24-2003, 11:59 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 20
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Nice review ! I like @mail as it adds lots of features I miss with Inbox.
But what I'd like to have is Outlook-like view with the folder view on the left and mails on the right side. OK you could use the d-pad to switch between the views but having it all-in-one would be great
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01-25-2003, 12:04 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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Anyone think that a lot of the missing stuff from the MS applications (Pocket Word, Inbox, Calendar) will be patched up in the next release?
Whoa! I just noticed I've been crowned a PPC Intellectual (Do you have to know how to spell that without looking it up to retain the title? :P )!!!
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01-25-2003, 12:23 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 263
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Nice review Perry.
I'm an old Pocket Informant user and @mail was announced a long time ago in WebIS site, everybody there were asking for it's release but me, I didn't get the point until I gave it a try this morning, I just find it great! 
I must say I'm not an e-mail junkie, e.g. I don't care about HTML and things like that, just handle 20 to 30 mails a day within two accounts, almost all of them work related and many with excel and word attachments, but as soon as I started using @mail and learned a few features, everything became smooth and easy, I'm really impressed how mobile I will get, best of all, there are some PI links present and more to come. Quoting somebody: '...I can't pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend', now I must say a new friend isn't a stranger at all, feels like I'm using it since ever.
I understand people asking for still missing features they use, they're going to be there soon, I've seen Kac and his team working with Pocket Informant for a long time and making it what it is (always customer driven), @mail will follow the same path.
I'll buy it right now (Perry's review read, period :wink: ) but I think everybody interested should download the trial version and decide, sure it won't take long.
Cheers.
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01-25-2003, 12:41 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,639
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Nice one Perry.
I'm slowly homing in on what I want to have when I make the switch to PPC. From what I've read it's going to be PI for my PIM stuff and @mail is obviously the way to go for email.
Now, if I could only figure out which PPC I would be in good shape!
Hey, I'm looking forward to being in your neck of the woods for a meeting next week, it's been super cold here in New Hampshire.
__________________
Cheers!
David
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01-25-2003, 01:23 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 578
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Re: @Mail Improves the Pocket PC Email Experience
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Perry Reed
Still, though, there are other limitations of the application, at least one of which is very nearly a deal breaker:
- There is no way to move or copy messages from one folder to another! Not including this feature was, in my view, a horrible mistake. I simply can't properly manage my email without being able to sort it into folders. That said, there is a workaround, though it's unwieldy. Since @Mail and Inbox share the same message stores, you can close @Mail and open Inbox and move your messages around in Inbox. Then close it and reopen @Mail and your messages will be properly stored.
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This is, indeed, a big deal. This function needs to be added quickly.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Perry Reed
- When reading a message, if you delete it, you cannot automatically have the next or previous item opened. This is another bad omission. Each time you delete a message, you're taken back to the Mail list view where you must click on the next message you wish to read. Even Inbox is better than this!
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I prefer to go back to the list when I delete a message. It's rare that I go right to the next message in the order the messages arrived. I go back to the list and pick the next one I want to read. So this feature doesn't matter to me.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Perry Reed
- As I mentioned before, you cannot read messages in your ActiceSync service in HTML format. But this isn't WebIS's fault, so I can't really hold it against them.
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I don't know what this "transport" thing is you mentioned, but would that also overcome this issue?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Perry Reed
- You cannot compose or reply messages in HTML format. Plain text is the only format supported, at least in this version. They do plan on adding this feature soon, however.
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Yes, this needs to be added. I really do like my messages to look better than plain text.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Perry Reed
- Lastly, and this is nitpicking a bit, @Mail doesn't always handle HTML links very well. If the message contains a URL that isn't formatted with the HTML link tags (< A > link </ A >), @Mail doesn't recognize it as a clickable link. And sometimes, when clicking on a link, the new page is opened right there within @Mail instead of in Internet Explorer. But there are no back buttons or any other navigation controls, so the only way to get back to your message is to go back to the Mail List view and re-open it.
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I don't this that's nitpicking at all. This should work properly. It seems to work in Inbox. Are you saying it doesn't work as well in @Mail? If not, this is an important thing to fix in the next release.[/list]
Nice, informative review. Everything else I've read has been a flat-out rave, so it's great to read something evaluative and objective from someone who has really put the product through its paces.
I've only used it for a few minutes, but @Mail appears to be a very good product. Based on WebIS's record I anticipate excellent support and responsive upgrades.
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