The world today runs on Internet. Would you like to send a letter to your colleague, quoting something urgent ? Would you like to send a snail mail for a job application ? Of course not ! We have a piece of magic called Email !
Email works on client-server model. Server, a remote powerful computer holds all data and emails and is responsible for routing the emails properly. Client access them through internet cloud. For example, when you are accessing your Gmail you are actually accessing a client.
Normal email works on the principle of Polling. One needs to be connected to internet all the times, and keep refreshing your inbox. Poll email keeps pinging the server to get new emails. That means request to check new email is sent by client. Every time you access email through browser, you use polling. Post Office Protocol (POP) is another polling email technology, used to configure email clients and mobile phones.
Polling is not convenient for mobile phones. To check for new messages, it must ping server frequently, which ultimately uses internet connection. Internet connection on mobile has comparatively less bandwidth. And it is sort of costly as well. Plus mobile could consume battery faster, if it keeps using data connection all the time. Otherwise you don’t get an email on time.
Rather than client asking for new email, what if the server intimates the client about it ? Push emails works in exact same way. Internet Messaging Protocol (IMAP) is popular Push email protocol. Client doesn’t need to keep pinging server on and on. Upon getting new email, server will intimate client to read it. Then it could fetch the same, upon user command.
This is the perfect thing for mobile. Mobile doesn’t need to waste bandwidth for checking new emails. We have mobile handsets capable of Push Email.
Push Email was popularized by Research In Motion(RIM), the  Canadian company which makes Blackberry handsets. It has since been a big hit with enterprise users who use email a lot. Android, Palm OS and Apple iPhone also offer Push Email. Certain Nokia S60 Handsets and Sony Ericsson handsets does offer partial or full IMAP support. All you need to do is setup an email account. Your mailbox server must be capable for push. Then relax, you will get notification, as soon as an email is received.
Unfortunately, if your mailbox server does not have Push, you might need to use third party mobile/push email providers. Seven, Emoze and Syncronica are few of such providers. Nokia Mail for Exchange is also one of such services.
With Push email, you get powerful electronic mailbox, in your pocket all the times !
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