Technology Can Be So Frustrating Sometimes

I've developed a problem with email on my iPhone and it's a problem that others are having but, as yet, there seems to be no solution.

By default, the iPhone uses IMAP email to connect to my Yahoo email account. This means that a) my email is always in sync with the mail server and b) when I move an email to a folder, it is moved on the server too. However, yesterday Mail got stuck in a loop where it thinks that there is new mail and keeps trying to download it. Apparently, this is caused when the Mail client on the iPhone doesn't get an end of session flag from the IMAP server. This means that the iPhone will keep on trying to download the ghost email and this constant activity drains the battery quickly as the phone is working flat out to go nowhere.

There are a couple of solutions to this. The first is to change from IMAP to POP mail. Whilst this works fine, mail is no longer in sync with the server and so, when you log onto webmail, all the mail you have moved or deleted is still sitting in your inbox. Worse, any mail that you sent from the Mail client on the iPhone isn't in your sent folder on the server which makes searching for an email you know you have sent a messy affair.

The other solution, and the one I have chosen, is to use a different mail client. I have downloaded Yahoo's own iPhone App which, apart from giving you full access to the mail on the server along with all the folder syncing and real time updates, is also a news aggregator and social networking client.

There are however 2 problems. Firstly, emails are not pushed to the app, you have to open it and get it to check for email - this isn't a problem for me. What is a problem is that the new version of Yahoo email (which is really nicely designed and quite fun to use) doesn't seem to work. It will work OK for the first couple of times and then it just shows a blank screen. I think this is because the app hasn't been written to take advantage of iOS 4 and I have fired off an email to Yahoo to see what they think.

Still, at least I've got mail and I can keep my online account nicely in sync.

Talking of iPhones, I met my best mate's wife at St Pancras station yesterday evening and gave her my old iPhone 3G to pass to he husband. It felt like giving a child up for adoption as I have loved, cared for and cherished that phone for the past 18 months.

You see, my best mate doesn't have a very good track record with mobile phones - his current phone went for a full cycle in the washing machine. So, I am half expecting this one to end up in the toaster or under the back wheel of his car.

Oh well!