Google Power Tools Bible
One of the great things about Gmail is the ability to check it while you’re on the go using the Web browser on your mobile phone. First, your phone must be equipped with a Web browser. It doesn’t need to use a color display, but it helps. Unlike other Web-based e-mail programs that make you search through a full-sized Web page to read your e-mail on a tiny screen, Gmail automatically adjusts its display for the phone on which you are viewing your e-mail.
Like almost all the other Google applications, Gmail mobile is free to use. Point your phone’s Web browser to http://m.gmail.com. You need to know how to use your phone’s Web browser because each phone works in a slightly different manner.
You can get an idea of what Gmail will look like on your mobile phone by visiting http://m.gmail.com in your regular Internet Web browser. Figure 19.8 shows how the interface is pared down with limited graphics and simple text interface, perfect for most mobile browsers, particularly when bandwidth is limited, which slows your connection.
Your mobile phone must meet several minimum requirements before it can be used to access Gmail. You may need to upgrade your phone’s operating system or upgrade your phone to use Gmail, but it’s worth it.
The phone’s Web browser must be XHTML compliant. You can test your phone’s XHTML compliance by using the Google test page found at www.google.com/xhtml. Perform a search from this page; if you are successful, then your phone is XHTML compliant.
Your mobile phone must accept cookies. No, not Girl Scout Cookies. Cookies are small files that store information on your computer and saved by Web pages. Some phones do not have the ability to save cookies, and some service providers do not allow cookies to be saved. But if your phone is cookie-capable, enable cookies on your phone. If your phone gives you a cookie error when trying to use Gmail, first check your browser’s cookie setting, then try deselecting the Remember Me setting on the login page. This often solves the problem.
The mobile phone and browser your phone has installed must be able to make a secure SSL connection. This secure connection encrypts information sent and received between your phone and Gmail. This requirement is for your own security. You may need to check with your mobile phone service provider to see if your phone and your service are SSL capable.
Gmail Mobile also allows you to view many kinds of attachments, including Adobe PDF files. This saves you a lot of trouble trying to transfer the files later onto you laptop or desktop just to read an attachment.
You can read your e-mail by clicking the Inbox link and selecting a message you want to read. Notice that Gmail Mobile does not show you all the various folders, such as Trash, All Mail, and Spam to limit the amount of space required to display the e-mail program on your mobile.
Clicking the Contacts link shows you a list of your Frequently Mailed contacts and then provides a search box so that you can search for other contacts from your list.
Unfortunately, many of the Gmail features available on your desktop, such as Gmail Chat, are not available using the mobile version. Some features needed to be sacrificed to create a simple interface that works on almost all Internet-ready phones and mobile devices.