3 offering push email on all handsets for all email addresses

This is a much bigger story than I thought it was when it pinged into my inbox. I originally thought it was just “email on your phone” which is, obviously, nothing new, but then I saw that magic “push” word, and tingled a little inside.

The process behind push email is very simple. When you check for emails in normal “pull” email, your phone contacts the server, says “hi server, are there any messages for me?” and the server says “yes. Here they are”. In push email however, the server breaks down your door, yells “here are your messages, scum!” and then dumps on your coffee table before stomping out the door.

Actually, it doesn’t sound better when I explain it like that, but rest-assured – it is. With pull email, you check email. With push email, email checks you. Anyway – previously, this functionality was only available on a select few phones, notably the Blackberry. 3 are now volunteering, however, to send you all your emails from any account, to any handset. Yep – almost ANY handset.

And are 3 charging the earth for this? No! Just £2.50 for one email account, plus 10MB of browsing. A fiver a month will get you two emails (work and personal, perhaps?) and 1GB of data. Definitely worth plumping for the latter, in my humble opinion. I’ll be ringing up O2 tomorrow, my personal mobile provider, to ask why they don’t do it.

Fantastic work 3, more of this, please!

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