iPhone: The Missing Manual

Chapter 8. Email

You ain't never seen email on a phone like this. It offers full formatting, fonts, graphics, choice of type size; file attachments like Word, Excel, PDF, and photos; compatibility with Yahoo Mail, Gmail, AOL Mail, .Mac mail, and just about any standard email account. Dude, if you want a more satisfying portable email machine than this one, buy a laptop.

Setting Up Your Account

If you play your cards right, you won't have to set up your email account on the phone. The first time you set up the iPhone to sync with your computer (Chapter 11), you're offered the chance to sync your Mac's or PC's mail with the phone. That doesn't mean it copies actual messages—only the email settings, so the iPhone is ready to start downloading mail.

You're offered this option if your Mac's mail program is Mail or Microsoft Entourage, or if your PC's mail program is Outlook or Outlook Express.

But what if you don't use one of those email programs? No sweat. You can also plug the necessary settings right into the iPhone.

Free Email Accounts

If you have a free (or paid) email account from Google, AOL, Yahoo, or .Mac, setup on the iPhone is easy.

From the Home screen, tap Settings→Mail→Add Account. Tap the colorful logo that corresponds to the kind of account you have (Google, Yahoo, or whatever).

Now you land on the account-information screen. Tap into each of the four blanks and, when the keyboard ...