Use Mail more effectively on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch

Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch

Devise an effective mobile strategy, configure your accounts, and read your email with ease!

In this book, email expert Joe Kissell shares his real-world recommendations about the best ways to use the Mail app on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, helping you to develop a successful mobile email strategy. You'll get advice and directions for how to set up your accounts, receive email, read and send email, and file messages. You'll also learn to solve connection problems and work around feature limitations.

More Info
Contents & Intro
FAQ
Blog

Read Me First
Introduction
iPhone OS Mail Quick Start
Learn iPhone OS Mail Basics
Understand Email Account Options
Develop a Mobile Mail Strategy
Configure Email Accounts
Troubleshoot Email Problems
About This Book

Read Me First

The iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are fantastic tools for accessing email on the go, but they also have limitations not found in desktop email programs. This book teaches you everything you need to know to use email effectively on your mobile device, including developing a strategy that makes the most of its unique strengths. This book was written by Joe Kissell, edited by Dan Frakes, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc.

Introduction

One of the things I like best about my iPhone and iPad is their power to keep me connected to my email wherever I am. For me, having a capable, always-connected email device (with a Web browser, RSS reader, Twitter client, and a few other tools thrown in as a bonus) more than justifies the expense.

In the midst of this shiny happy situation, however, are a few notable aggravations. As is often the case, Apple made several design decisions in the iPhone OS’s Mail app that favor ease of use over flexibility, making some things that you may want to do with email difficult or even impossible. In other instances, the ways in which you must perform some common task are obscure or confusing. And let’s not forget the idiosyncrasies of various email providers, which may make the Mail app behave unexpectedly.

Because I’ve written quite a bit about improving your email experience on a Mac, I’ve received lots of inquiries about how to do similar sorts of things on iPhone OS devices. This book is my attempt to answer those questions. Beyond teaching the mechanics of configuring accounts, setting preferences, and navigating the interface, I want to show you how to think about email in a new, iPhone OS-friendly way. By changing your habits and setup a bit (even on your Mac or PC), you’ll make your mobile device a better, more effective email tool.

I hope that by the time you’re finished reading this book, you’ll have all the information you need to make smart decisions about how to manage email on your mobile device, as well as know lots of tricks and hidden features that will save you time and effort. Your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch may still be less capable than a desktop email client, but I think I can get you close to the functionality most of us need from a mobile email program.

This book assumes that your iPhone OS device is using iPhone OS 3.x. After iPhone OS 4.0 ships for the iPhone in mid-2010 and the iPad in late 2010, I hope to update this book to reflect the changes in the new version.

iPhone OS Mail Quick Start

This book shows you how to manage email on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. If you're already comfortable with the fundamentals of sending, receiving, and working with email, you can skip Learn iPhone OS Mail Basics initially and refer back to it when needed. Other than that, this text makes the most sense when read in order, as later sections build on earlier ones.

Get to know Mail on your iPhone OS device:

Discover how to do the essential tasks of sending, receiving, reading, and filing mail; see Learn iPhone OS Mail Basics.

Create a plan of attack:

Learn about email protocols, push and fetch, Gmail oddities, and other essential background information that can affect how you use your iPhone OS device for email; see Understand Email Account Options.
Decide which accounts you should access using your iPhone OS device and how to organize them for maximum efficiency; see Develop a Mobile Mail Strategy.

Deal with the nuts and bolts of email configuration:

Set up and customize the email accounts on your iPhone OS device; see Configure Email Accounts.
Solve email problems; see Troubleshoot Email Problems.

Update Plans

August 2010 -- Apple added several neat features to the Mail app in iOS 4. In order to include those features in the ebook, we are currently working on an update. This update will have a new name—Take Control of iOS 4 Mail, and we plan (but do not promise) to release it in September. In its version 1.0 release, this new ebook will cover the iPhone and iPod touch only (at present, the iPad doesn't run iOS 4, so it's not possible to include the iPad). It will be a free update to everyone who bought this current edition.

We are also discussing when/how to re-integrate the iPad into the ebook once iOS 4 is available on the iPad.

—Tonya Engst

New MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, Archiving, and More

June 22, 2010 --

The new version of MobileMe Mail is out of beta, so whether you read your email on the MobileMe Web site or you have a MobileMe-based email account, you'll have a smoother email experience if you review the new options and consider how they may affect the way you handle your email. I explain why the new version of MobileMe is interesting, run through the major new features, and offer helpful tips for using the new version in the TidBITS article MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, SSL, and More.

—Tonya Engst

Apple Unveils MobileMe Mail Beta

June 11, 2010 --

Apple recently announced the beta of an update to its Web-based mail service, MobileMe Mail. The beta offers widescreen and compact views, single-click archiving, a message-formatting toolbar, increased security via SSL, server-based rules, and overall enhanced performance. The beta is open to all MobileMe users, and you can switch back to the previous version at any time. To sign up, log in to MobileMe Mail and click the link to request an invitation in the lower left of the page.

—Tonya Engst

More iPad Thoughts from Joe

June 8, 2010 --

If you'd like to talk to Joe about all things iPad, I can't set up a personal meeting, but I can recommend the next best thing—read a recent interview between Joe and blogger Eolake Stobblehouse. In this conversational interview, Joe compares the iPad to a minivan, gives a nice explanation of how Document Support works on the iPad, and discusses pros and cons of trying to do work on an iPad. The comments following the interview expand on stylus options and issues with the Apple App Store.

—Tonya Engst

Mail Improvements Coming in iOS 4

June 8, 2010 --

At yesterday's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Steve Jobs revealed that the previously announced iPhone OS 4 will ship as iOS 4. It will ship for the iPhone and iPod touch on June 21, but it won't be available for the iPad until later this year (we're guessing October). iOS 4 won't support the first-generation iPhone or iPod touch, but it will work on later models (as well as, naturally, the soon-to-be-released iPhone 4), although some of the new capabilities will be unavailable on older devices.

I'm delighted that Apple's Mail app will gain several great new features in iOS 4. Upgrading to the new version when it's available will give you the following:

A Unified Inbox. No matter how many email accounts you have set up on your device, you'll be able to see all your incoming mail in one place, if you choose.
Support for Multiple Exchange Accounts. Now users who have, for example, a corporate email account on an Exchange server and also want to access Gmail via Exchange (to get push email and other benefits) no longer have to choose which one to use.
Threaded Conversations. You will be able to see all the messages that form part of a conversation (including ones you've sent) in a single view.
Document Support. When an email message contains an attachment, you'll be able to open it in another app on your device that supports that file type.

There will certainly be other improvements to Mail, too, but I won't know the full extent of the changes until I've had a chance to examine iOS 4 myself in detail.

I'll be updating Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch to incorporate the changes in iOS 4, but will most likely keep the instructions for iPhone OS 3.x for the benefit of those with older devices that can't be updated to run the new software. I can't yet say when the updated version of the book will be ready, but I'll do my best (given that I'm currently caring for a newborn baby!) to get it out as soon as possible after iOS 4 ships for the iPhone. Since the iPad version of iOS 4 won't appear for several months, I'll probably have to update the book again later this year.

To find out more about iOS 4, see the TidBITS article Apple Reveals iOS 4 and More at WWDC 2010 Keynote.

—Joe Kissell

Mail Tips and Musings from Joe Kissell

May 11, 2010 --

Find out what Joe thinks about changes in the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard version of Apple Mail and with the topic of email generally. In MacVoices #1076, Joe joins host Chuck Joiner to chat about what's new in the world of handling spam, how to use Google Apps to manage multiple email addresses within a single Gmail account, compromises and changes that Apple made to Mail in order to turn it into an app for an iDevice, and more.

Joe also talks about what's new in his Mail-related ebooks that were released in May of 2010—Take Control of Apple Mail in Snow Leopard, Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail, and Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

—Tonya Engst

Three Ebooks Offer Mail Help for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

May 10, 2010 --

We're pleased to bring you not one, not two, but three new Take Control ebooks from Joe Kissell, all aimed at helping you use Apple Mail more effectively and solve pesky email-related problems. Two of these titles are updates to stalwarts of the Take Control series, and the third explores the timely topic of using the Mail app on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. They can all be read on their own or in combination for more comprehensive guidance; various 30-percent-off bundles are available on the book pages linked below.

The new ebooks are:

Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch: Brought to you by the dream team of Joe Kissell (author) and Dan Frakes (editor), this new 96-page ebook takes a practical look at using the Mail app on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. It explains various email account options, helps you develop a real-world mobile email strategy that integrates with your Mac, explains the mechanics of sending and receiving mobile email, and provides essential troubleshooting advice. Joe started with the iPhone and iPod touch in mind but was delighted to find that he could extend the manuscript to cover iPad details too, thus providing helpful, timely advice regardless of which device(s) you use for email. $10
Take Control of Apple Mail in Snow Leopard: Completely updated for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard's Mail 4, this 133-page ebook provides comprehensive guidance on all things related to Apple Mail. You'll learn the nuts and bolts of receiving, composing, and sending email, along with many advanced topics, including real-world Exchange, MobileMe, and Gmail integration; mastering sophisticated organization and filing techniques; and using digital signatures and encryption. Plus you'll get a handle on various Mail mysteries - the sometimes-present Outbox, the Dock unread count, why smart addresses can be stupid, "unsafe" addresses, the Previous Recipients list, attachment tricks, and much more. $15
Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail: If the 5 pages of advice about eliminating spam from your Inbox in Take Control of Apple Mail in Snow Leopard aren't sufficient for the volume of spam you receive on your Macintosh, this ebook brings out the big guns. Now at version 1.5, this 73-page ebook explains how Apple Mail filters out spam, discusses how to optimize the Junk Mail filter, and gives advice for fixing a spam-clogged incoming queue. Joe also reviews third-party options that can identify even more spam. The ebook comes with a coupon for $5 off on SpamSieve, Joe's favorite plug-in for enhancing Mail's anti-spam capabilities. The ebook covers Apple Mail in 10.3 Panther all the way through 10.6 Snow Leopard. $10

If you're curious about how you might read these and other Take Control ebooks on an iPad, check out Tonya's article on the topic (Reading Take Control Ebooks on an iPad (or iPhone or iPod touch)), which also introduces our still-in-beta account management system. These books won't be available in EPUB format for a week or so, but we'll post the files as soon as we get them back from conversion.

—Adam C. Engst

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Book Info

About the Author

Book Reviews

Author Interviews

Table of Contents

Read Me First

Introduction

iPhone OS Mail Quick Start

Get to know Mail on your iPhone OS device:

Create a plan of attack:

Deal with the nuts and bolts of email configuration:

Can I read this ebook on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch?

Ask a Question

Send Us Your Comments!

Update Plans

New MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, Archiving, and More

Apple Unveils MobileMe Mail Beta

More iPad Thoughts from Joe

Mail Improvements Coming in iOS 4

Mail Tips and Musings from Joe Kissell

Three Ebooks Offer Mail Help for Mac, iPad, and iPhone