Thread: ChatterEmail

Chatter Email is a powerful IMAP email client for the Treo 600/650, providing true "push" email for users with compatible servers, with options for SMS-initiated, timed, or manual connections. All network communication in Chatter Email is done asynchronously, meaning that email is received and sent "in the background", so there's no waiting for connections to be made or messages to be delivered. Chatter Email works whether you're actually "in" Chatter Email or in other Treo applications; while your Treo is "awake" and while it is "sleeping". While some other email applications claim to provide "push", they all require either a desktop redirector or an intermediate pay-per-month server. Only ChatterEmail talks directly to YOUR server, giving you notification of new mail within seconds! I wonder why it took me so long to discover this application.

This is truly what I've been looking for in a mobile e-mail application and this application may be the single motivating factor for me to get a Treo 650. The interface needs a little bit of work to be as 'beautiful' as SnapperMail, but the engine that drives it is fantastic. This is how IMAP clients should work and having one connected asynchronously to the server all the time is fantastic! It'll be much better than BlackBerry and without the monthly fees! I'm however concerned about the battery drain and bandwidth usage as a asynchronous connection will mean that little bits of data will always be exchanged between the handheld and the server. Over a long period of time, these little bits of data may come out to quite a fair bit of usage. GPRS isn't exactly cheap here in Paris either. Now, if only I can get my hands on a Treo 650. They have recently added beta support for POP3, but it is the IMAP asynchronous connectivity that I find really exciting.