Why is Gmail so bad?

[gmichie]

I'm loving my Hero. I upgraded from a BB Curve, and almost everything about the Hero is better. Almost.

The one thing that's really bugging me is that Gmail sucks. You can't adjust the font size, there are no "back" and "next" buttons, the "reply" button is buried at the end of long emails. And there are virtually no customization options. I thought one of the big selling points of Android was its tight integration with all things Google. Why does the Blackberry have a better Gmail experience?

 

[highwayman1224]

If you pinch & zoom, the text will get bigger.

 

[highwayman1224]

Also, if you go to short cuts and select mail inbox, click on Google. It will add a mailbox icon on your home screen. If you use that one to check your gmail, you get a reply button right there & up down arrows that u use as Back & next.

 

[anon(697)]

Doesn't work for me - if I choose Mail Inbox I can only select between Microsoft Exchange and Other.

Pinch to zoom doesn't work in the Gmail app that I can see either and like the OP I only get the Reply button after scrolling down and have no Next and Previous buttons.

Dave

 

[gmichie]

Pinch and zoom does not work in the Gmail app for me -- and the default text is tiny. And I don't have a Google choice on mail inbox either. Anybody have tips on how to get these working?

 

[highwayman1224]

I'm talking about the one that puts an icon of an actual house style mailbox on your screen. If you go into that one, you can pinch to zoom, use the up/down to scroll thru messages & the reply button is on the bottom of the screen between the arrows.

 

[highwayman1224]

On your home screen hit the + button, then shortcut then mail inbox. You will have a choice between gmail or yahoo. Hit gmail and it'll put it on your home screen.

 

[alottabull]

On your home screen hit the + button, then shortcut then mail inbox. You will have a choice between gmail or yahoo. Hit gmail and it'll put it on your home screen.

That is only showing me Exchange or IMAP. Those look like the options present in the "Mail" application and not the built in Gmail application that I am using...

 

[highwayman1224]

All I know is it does what the op wants.

 

[alottabull]

All I know is it does what the op wants.

So that brings on the question that since you are not using the Gmail app are you actually getting push email... Supposedly the Gmail app does push email but the Mail app doesn't support IMAP IDLE, since the only option I see to configure a mail account in that app is IMAP I would assume that you wouldn't get your Gmail pushed anymore. So it seems you can get what the OP wants at a price... Can someone confirm? As far as I know the Mail app will not do push email but the Gmail app will....

 

[highwayman1224]

I have no clue what IMAP idle or anything else you're talking about is. I'm just a guy with a gmail acct. All I know is that gmail will come thru almost instantly on this thing. Much faster than my yahoo mail.

 

[natrixgli]

Standard Mail App: Does NOT support "push" with IMAP accounts, yes this would include Gmail. Also creates annoying "IMAP/Sent, IMAP/Drafts, IMAP/Trash" labels in Gmail.

When you set up your account, you would select "Other" and enter your Gmail username/password. It chooses IMAP automatically.

The only clear advantages I can see to using the standard mail app over the Gmail app would be:

- You don't want two different styles of notifications
- You want to be able to use the sweet HTC mail widget
- You want to be able use multi-touch zoom gestures
- You want an icon on your screen with unread msg notifications
- You want to be able to accept invites via your Gmail on your phone

The reality is there isn't one single great option for email on the Hero, at this point both email clients are mostly rubbish. Though you gotta admit the email home screen widget is pretty awesome, even if it doesn't properly delete messages and doesn't work with the Gmail client.

Cheers,

-n8

 

[Monkey Brawler]

Personally, i prefer the gmail client, the imap options work like a charm and the text isnt that big of an issue, i really like how it strips the crap out of an email so i have the important parts and straight to the point, the re size isn't even that big of a deal because the screen is huge, i imagine my eyesight is better than some. Also...i wouldn't not say GMAIL is bad...google is watching....they are almighty and will soon fix there issues im sure.

 

[abraham the grey]

Has anybody figured out a way to get a filter to apply to the [Imap]/Trash label that the HTC mail makes on gmail? If I could get a filter on this trash label, which I cannot seem to figure out how to do, it does not show up in searches or anything, I could automatically archive the emails in there, that'd be great. I hope someone can help, thanks.

 

[techsamaritan]

Oh my, thanks for the idea, that stock Gmail client's font is just way to small! Why wear my eyes out early?