.KEYWORD multimail
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE MultiMail Pro 3 review
.OTHER
.SUMMARY What’s on your ultimate Palm organizer’s communications wish list? Would it include the ability to read a variety of mail formats? How about reading news groups on your Palm device? Care to download attachments and read Word files or play .WAV sounds? Want multiple email accounts and powerful filters? In this review, our normally tough-as-nails Senior Technical Editor, Claire Pieterek, nearly waxes poetic over a new version of MultiMail that, apparently, is a dream come true.
.AUTHOR Claire Pieterek
Many of us take little things for granted. For instance, I’m accustomed to carrying my life around in my Palm IIIx, and would be lost without it. Another thing I take for granted is the ability to stay in touch anywhere I can find an analog phone jack. That’s one of the reasons I’m really excited about the latest release of one of my favorite Palm products, MultiMail Pro 3 by Actual Software.
I admit that I am a little biased about this product (I participated on the beta team). The new features MultiMail Pro 3 offers, especially the ability to read and post newsgroups online or offline, made it hard for me to not let any of the details slip before the product was officially released.
MultiMail Pro 3 is the most complete email and newsgroup solution for Palm device users. MultiMail Pro 3 offers two kinds of email connectivity — POP3 and IMAP — plus NNTP for those who want to download and read newsgroups. There is also a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version of MultiMail Pro 3, using the Certicom encryption technology 3Com chose to secure the Palm VII’s wireless transmissions.
.H1 Lots to like
I found a lot to like about MultiMail Pro 3. The user interface has been completely redesigned, making it easy to operate with one tap, as shown in Figure A. Messages you haven’t read are displayed in bold, and you can sort them by subject, sender, or date.
.FIG A MultiMail Pro 3 features an easy-to-use interface that lets you access the most frequently used functions with a single tap.
.H1 Improved setup
For those of you who have been intimidated by the process of setting up email on your Palm device, MultiMail Pro 3 features a Setup Wizard that simplifies the configuration process for the less-technical user. Don’t worry, the MultiMail Pro 3 Setup Wizard, shown in Figure B, will warn you before overwriting existing configurations. And, if you are already familiar with the configuration process, you can enter settings without going through the Setup Wizard, by choosing Server from the Options menu.
.FIG B The Setup Wizard leads those new to Palm-based email through four screens to configure MultiMail Pro 3 quickly and easily. Here’s the first of those screens.
.H1 Multiple email accounts
If you have a lot of different email addresses, or want to keep track of a number of newsgroups, MultiMail Pro 3 lets you have up to eight different accounts, as shown in Figure C. These accounts can be any combination of the traditional POP3, offered by many ISPs; IMAP4, which is fast becoming a corporate standard; and NNTP, the network news transfer protocol.
.FIG C Here is where you configure a newsgroup that you’d like to track.
.H1 Size, attachments, and file formats
MultiMail Pro 3 can receive individual messages up to 256KB. (Of course, the size and number of messages you can receive is limited by your Palm device’s available memory.) You can also read various kinds of attachments, from HTML to Microsoft Word (up to 60KB each), by adding free plug-ins. You can also play .WAV files and install Palm programs (.PRC) and databases (.PDB) with the appropriate plug-ins. Install any or all of the plug-ins that you need, as you need them.
There’s another benefit to MultiMail Pro 3–it’s fast. If you’re really busy, you can download headers only, and then select which messages you want to fully receive. You can also set up filters to direct incoming messages to various folders, as shown in Figure D, or to trash those you don’t want to see at all.
.FIG D You can configure filters to take care of moving your mail into different folders.
All of these features add up to a full-featured mail and newsreading program equal to many of the desktop clients I’ve used. And, at $39.95, MultiMail Pro 3 is still less expensive than its Palm-based counterparts. MultiMail Pro 3 is a necessity for anyone who wants to keep in touch with email and newsgroups, without lugging a laptop.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
More information about MultiMail Pro 3 is at http://www.actualsoft.com.
Certicom is located at http://www.certicom.com.
The two newsgroups devoted to Palm devices are alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot and comp.sys.palmtops.pilot.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
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