Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 26, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Google will shortly activate IMAP functionality in its Gmail webmail service. In addition to retrieving different mail accounts via POP settings, IMAP support allows simultaneous two-way synchronization with online accounts or mail clients such as Outlook or Thunderbird. If e-mails retrieved via Gmail are deleted or moved to specific folders, the e-mail client on the desktop also adopts these changes. Conversely, the same principle also works from the e-mail client towards the Gmail interface.
Although Google spokesman Stefan Keuchel did not want to confirm the imminent launch of the feature to the pressetext.de news service, he acknowledged that the integration of the technology was desired by many users. “IMAP has the advantage that it makes organizing one’s own e-mails decisively easier regardless of location and device. This type of synchronization is extrmely practical, especially for managing e-mail accounts via mobile devices,” says Keuchel. To make the mobile use of Gmail easier, Google has for some time offered a mobile client that is available for free download.
Even if Google did not yet want to officially confirm the activation of the new function, it can be assumed that the accounts will already be equipped successively with the additional function in the coming days. As some US users report, the new feature already appeared in some accounts last Wednesday. A look at the Google Gmail Help Center also reveals – although currently only in English – extensive assistance with the new synchronization function.
Further links:
- Google Gmail
mobile Gmail client
Help with the new synchronization function
