For as long as we can remember, Palm and Pocket PC handhelds have offered email via synchronization so that new messages received on your desktop system are transferred to the PDA for on-the-go reading. You also can reply to messages and compose new ones; the outbound mail is sent via your desktop the next time you sync.
As you might expect, Windows Mobile's email client supports synchronization with Outlook only. That's not a bad thing--unless you use Outlook Express, Microsoft Exchange, or Lotus Notes on your PC. In contrast, Palm VersaMail 2.5 supports those and other apps, including Outlook.
Pocket Outlook and VersaMail aren't limited to email via synchronization, as both programs can use any available wireless connection (such as Bluetooth, GPRS, or Wi-Fi) for direct access to POP3 and SMTP servers. VersaMail goes a step further, with support for Web mail accounts such as Yahoo Mail. Both clients can download file attachments, and both allow you to tap HTML links to view Web pages in a browser.
As for the clients themselves, Pocket Outlook has a rudimentary look and feel, much like Windows Mobile's Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, but it's functional enough so that few users will need to seek third-party alternatives. VersaMail offers a lot more features, including filters and automatic message retrieval, and it's more intuitive (though marginally so) than Pocket Outlook. It's important to note, however, that VersaMail isn't part of the Palm OS but rather a Palm-built application that's bundled with most PalmOne models. If you want to add it to, say, a Sony CLIE, you'll have to fork over US$34.99 (S$59).
As you might expect, Windows Mobile's email client supports synchronization with Outlook only. That's not a bad thing--unless you use Outlook Express, Microsoft Exchange, or Lotus Notes on your PC. In contrast, Palm VersaMail 2.5 supports those and other apps, including Outlook.
Pocket Outlook and VersaMail aren't limited to email via synchronization, as both programs can use any available wireless connection (such as Bluetooth, GPRS, or Wi-Fi) for direct access to POP3 and SMTP servers. VersaMail goes a step further, with support for Web mail accounts such as Yahoo Mail. Both clients can download file attachments, and both allow you to tap HTML links to view Web pages in a browser.
As for the clients themselves, Pocket Outlook has a rudimentary look and feel, much like Windows Mobile's Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, but it's functional enough so that few users will need to seek third-party alternatives. VersaMail offers a lot more features, including filters and automatic message retrieval, and it's more intuitive (though marginally so) than Pocket Outlook. It's important to note, however, that VersaMail isn't part of the Palm OS but rather a Palm-built application that's bundled with most PalmOne models. If you want to add it to, say, a Sony CLIE, you'll have to fork over US$34.99 (S$59).
