T-Mobile's Pocket PC Phone Edition is my current Pocket PC of choice. After using it for several months, I believe it is the ideal information and communications assistant. In the six years that I have been using handhelds with Microsoft's software, the T-Mobile is the first device I've had that makes nearly everyone I show it to want one for himself or herself.
I don't consider myself a heavy mobile phone user, which makes me an ideal candidate for a Phone Edition device. However, I do find myself making more calls with my T-Mobile Pocket PC simply because it is so easy to use. Before I got one, I would open Contacts on my Pocket PC, look up a contact name and phone number, and then reach for my phone to dial the number. Now I start Contacts on the T-Mobile, find the contact name, and tap on the phone number. Everyone can see the value of having their entire contacts list integrated with a phone.
While making phone calls is straightforward, I have found that it takes a bit more work to take full advantage of the Pocket PC Phone Edition's data communication capabilities. In this column I will share with you what I have learned so you can take better advantage of your own Phone Edition device.
Configuring Inbox to send e-mail
T-Mobile's wireless data service provides an Internet connection, but it does not provide all the services typically offered by Internet Service Providers. You will encounter this difference when you configure Inbox for sending and receiving e-mail.
T-Mobile does not provide e-mail service. Instead, you must configure Inbox to access the e-mail services provided by another ISP. Since most people already have an ISP and e-mail service, this should not be a problem. For those who don't, Hotmail and similar services can be accessed from the T-Mobile Internet connection.
You should not have a problem configuring Inbox to receive e-mail from your ISP's POP3 or IMAP4 server. (POP3 and IMAP4 are the most common communication protocols used by e-mail servers.)
You may have a problem sending e-mail, though, because most ISPs do not allow access to their SMTP servers unless you are connected to their network. (SMTP servers are what ISPs use to send e-mail to POP3 or IMAP4 servers.) ISPs impose this restriction to prevent spammers from using their servers. Since you are connecting to the Internet via T-Mobile's network, your ISP's SMTP server may not send your e-mail.
However, you might still be able to use it if the SMTP server supports authentication. You can configure Inbox to use SMTP authentication when you set up an e-mail service. Select New Service from the Services menu and go through the five e-mail setup dialog screens. In the Server Information screen (5th screen) tap on the Options button and check the box labeled "Outgoing e-mail server requires authentication" (Screen 1). Then tap Next and complete the remaining setup screens.
Screen 1: You can configure Inbox to use SMTP authentication when setting up an e-mail service.
If your ISP does not use SMTP authentication, and they do not allow access to their SMTP servers from outside their network, you can use a third-party SMTP provider. Most of these companies use SMTP authentication, and as long as you can use your incoming e-mail user name and password, Inbox will work with their servers. One such company is SMTP.com (www.smtp.com), and you can find others listed on Yahoo or by searching the Internet.
Use nPOP for different SMTP user names
Printer-friendly version