Adequate Email Alternative

It seems that every time someone talks about how wonderful a Blackberry is, they start and end with push email. But push email is now available on every other mobile platform and is no longer enough to set RIM above anything else - especially when you don't need a special server on those other platforms. It was with this in mind that I set out to look at Flexmail, a Windows Mobile alternative email client.

Flexmail offers push email with Idle support, and MAPI sms. That being said, I feel compelled to state at the outset that I was never successful in getting sms to work in Flexmail. I was able to send a text message, and on one occasion I was notified (I think?) of a received sms - but it went straight to my default sms handler.

I have never been a RTFM kinda gal. I strongly feel that basic functions should be intuitive. I have to give Flexmail totally mediocre scores on this issue. While the extreme basic settings were simple, Flexmail offers so many pages of settings that can be accessed from so many different places, you quickly lose track of which settings you're even attempting to access. I did wind up reading the Flexmail documentation finally, but it only emphasized how intuitive the program was supposed to be, and didn't offer much detail.

I was quickly able to set up my IMAP account. All the standard options are available in Flexmail; incoming and outgoing server names, user name, password, security settings, secure login, SSL, etc. I was able to send and receive instantly. Idle on is great, albeit power hungry - but everyone knows that push email will drain a battery. There is a feature that will allow you to poll for email rather than using IDLE, but that seems to defeat the point of using a server and client that support IDLE.

Before I continue with commentary on IDLE support, let me describe the interface, because it is really beautiful. As you can see from the above screenshot, looking at an account overview in Flexmail is very much like looking at an account in most desktop clients. IMAP folder synchronization is great, and you can choose which folders to view as well as which folders should be used for Deleted and Sent email.

Notice how well Flexmail renders html email in the above screenshot. There are plenty of options available to control the appearance of your email. I was delighted to be able to change the default font to something large enough for me to see without squinting, reading glasses, a magnifying glass, or longer arms. Esthetically, Flexmail is impressive.

Turning IDLE off is simple. Tap and hold on the account or a single mail folder and (amongst other options), you can stop IDLE. What Flexmail is (unfortunately) sadly lacking, is as simple a method of turning IDLE back on. I'm never sure if my menu manipulation has re-enabled it, or if closing out of it completely and then starting it up again did the trick, if it's just blind luck, or if it's even been turned back on.

And speaking of shutting it down and starting it up again.... I shut it down (using task manager), and an hour later I notice it's happily chugging along. I wake up in the morning and it didn't start up on the reset that follows my nightly backup...but a few hours later...there it is again.

It's a consistency issue more than anything, and I'm having a hard time finding a lot of consistency with Flexmail. Another example in the inconsistencies is that sometimes I get new mail notification...and sometimes I don't. Granted some of this could be blamed on WM, but how much is operating system and how much application?

Someimes my folders are in sync. And sometimes they are not. It seems that every other time I open Flexmail (or it opens itself for me), there are messages sitting there that I deleted on my pc. Flexmail needs a quick sync option. At least then you could nudge it back into sync instead of just staring at it and knowing IDLE is on but wondering why it's not doing its thing.

Flexmail is adequate. It could be stellar with a few little tweaks like adding in quick sync (for an entire account or individual mailboxes), and a hot key or short cut to turn on/off IDLE. Right now Flexmail is a nice app, but there isn't much competition. A few simple changes, and there would be no chance of there ever being any competition. People need to move to Windows Mobile with part of their plan being "get Flexmail because it is simple and dependable." I believe this is the kind of productivity tool that could easily sway people into choosing Windows Mobile over another operating systems.

I like Flexmail. I would not hesitate to recommend its use. But it is far from a perfect email client, and lacks a necessary dependability. At $29.99 Flexmail is available for both Smartphone and PPC. I'll be looking forward to an update.