Originally Posted by eplantz
Since the update to 2.1, my email has not worked well.... did not get email messages regularly, etc. MobileMe would not push, regular POP became unreliable (not always fetching regularly).
I signed up with InterwaysMail about 10 days ago. They have a 30-day free trial (don't even need to give them a credit card). They use Exchange push email that worked first time. I now get my messages immediately, every time. Contacts and calendars from my Mac are also push and work as advertised (except no sync for Entourage calendars).
The staff there has been helpful and prompt at answering support questions. At $4.99/mo (12 month signup), it is nice not to have to mess around with mail accounts anymore.
I simply cannot figure out what these various other services (MobileMe, Yahoo, whatever) cannot get push email right.
Ehhh...I don't see an alternative to MobileMe right now...not one that is so well-integrated into the Apple ecosystem. I am happy with it. It's not perfect--as a heavy calendar user, it could be more reliable. But they're working on that. Mail is solid and arrives right away, all the time--forwarded Gmail messages and messages directly to me. Contacts and bookmarks work like a charm--primarily because they're not updated that oten. The calendar is the sticking point for me. I'm having to check up on appointments I create in one location to ensure they show up elsewhere.
Nobody...and I mean NOBODY--offers what MobileMe does. A great Apple Insider article spells it out. Sure, I have free e-mail at Gmail, but it's not IMAP push. And they don't do any stuff with contacts/calendars/bookmarks. That sync is critical for me.