Mobile Gmailing

One of the exciting things Google has added is the ability to use Gmail on a mobile device. From the XHTML search page, click the Gmail link. Gmail is currently available only using XHTML. When you sign in, your Gmail inbox automatically appears for you, as shown in Figure 28.4.

Figure 28.4: Access all the features of Gmail from your mobile device.

Note 

You need to sign up for a Gmail account using a nonmobile Internet account before you can use it on your mobile device.

Reading your mobile Gmail

Scroll down to the e-mail message you want to read and click on it by pressing the mobile device Enter key. An e-mail “header” appears listing the sender’s name, the name of the recipient, the date the message was received, and the subject of the message. If there are attachments, they are listed in the header as links. Scroll to them, select the one you want to view, and click it with the Enter key.

Your mobile device must have an application that allows it to view files other than most standard image types. For example, if someone sends you an Excel spreadsheet, your mobile device needs Excel or a program that allows you to view Excel spreadsheets before you can view an Excel spreadsheet attachment.

One of the features of Gmail is to show you e-mail as threaded messages, so when an e-mail message has replies, you can view those as a list of message links. Selecting and clicking one of these links causes the message to appear, including the header described earlier.

The body of the message appears below the e-mail header. You may need to scroll to see the entire message. When you finish reading your message, you can choose to respond to the message using the standard Gmail message options.

Using the message options

You may need to scroll further below the body of the message to view the Gmail message options, which appear beneath the text of the message. To move to the next message, simply click Next conversation. To respond to the e-mail you are viewing, select one of the Gmail options by clicking the number listed before the option or by scrolling with your mobile device and pressing Enter. These are your options:

1. Reply: Reply to this message by sending a return message to the sender only.

2. Reply to all: Reply to this message by sending a return message to the sender and all other recipients of the message.

3. Forward: Send a copy of this message to a new recipient.

4. Archive: Create an archive of this message.

5. Mark unread: Mark this message as though it has never been read.

6. Add star: Add a star to this message to mark it.

7. Trash message: Send this message to the trash.

8. Compose Mail: Create a new e-mail message.

10. Inbox: View your inbox.

Two additional selections appear below the numbered menu. These are Contacts, which allows you to view your list of contacts, and more views, which allows you to select other Gmail folders and labels.

By selecting the more views option, you are presented with a list of folders that can be included in the list that appears on the main Gmail page when viewing it in your mobile device. It is wise to include only those folders you view on a regular basis to limit the amount of space used by the list of folder options.

Searching your Gmail

At the bottom of the list of options, a Google search box appears that allows you to search your e-mail. Type a search term in the search box, and click Search Mail. Your search results appear listed as links. Scroll to the message containing your search term, and press Enter on your mobile device. You see the number of search results listed. You may need to continue to the next page of messages. Because they are listed from newest to oldest, click the Older link to continue to the next page of older messages. This link changes to Newer after you continue to the next page, allowing you to return to the previous page of messages.

Tip 

For more information about Gmail and its features, see Chapter 19.