mobileu.co.uk

Google push mail released for iPhone and Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile-based smartphone and iPhone users will be able to synchronise their emails, contacts and calendars with their handsets from now on.

Google has released push mail support for the devices via its Google Sync product, meaning messages that contact mail servers will automatically be pushed to users' Gmail accounts.

As Raju Gulabani – the internet giant's product management director – points out, this eliminates the need for users to refresh their web browser to view their newest emails.

"Google Apps now offers a complete mobile sync solution for businesses," he states.

"With the over-the-air, always-on push connections, emails and changes to calendar events and contacts are reflected very quickly on their phones."

Introduced in February, Google Sync is free to Google Apps customers and can be enabled by domain administrators in the US English version of the administrative control panel.

Anyone already using Google Sync for contacts and calendar will find that push mail is automatically enabled, while iPhone and Windows Mobile users can set it up from their phones.

Experts have warned of the possible effects of the change on smartphones' battery life, although users can opt to turn off the push function.