Direct Push

[Guest stug]

Hi all, just a question for discussion really - Does an unlimited data contract (web'n'walk) make push email irrelevant?

I've always questioned the point of push email anyway, as I believe that email should be a fundamentally passive communication format - if you need to get in touch with someone call them! However with my MDA Pro (which T-Mobile wouldn't let me get w'n'w on because of contract restrictions) I succumbed and got a mail2web account, and when I was out of the office I forwarded all my work email to it.

Now I am on w'n'w, I just have a POP3 account set to check for mail every 5 mins, and download the whole email.

Why do I need push email?

[Guest jimbouk]

With a pop account set to pick up mail every five minutes, you have the basic mail element of always up to date mail, but none of the other benefits. For business users, the benefits of calendar, contacts (inc GAL) and mail in realtime are pretty.

For example my PA can change,add or remove appointments in my calendar and they are updated on my device within seconds.

Considering my device contains all my details, I also like the fact that it is constantly backed up to the server and I can thus access the data from any web enabled device if my device gets nicked or damaged.

[Guest randomelements]

It all depends on who it's passive for. Direct push mail means passive for the recipient as they do not have to do anything to receive it as opposed to having to poll for it. It does't mean that you have to act on it.

The obvious benefit is shown by the previous incarnation "Always Up To Date". But some want to only deal with their mail at specific times.

Horses for courses.