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I’ve been using IMAP over Gmail since the kind folks at Google enabled it for all of us.  This is exactly what I wanted in a Gmail IMAP interface.  Here’s how it works.

There is a special folder called [Gmail] that has the following subfolders: All Mail, Sent Mail, Spam, Starred, Trash.

These map directly to the folders as you see them on gmail.com.   To mark something as spam from my iPhone, I just have to move it to the Spam folder.  To add a star to an item, you just flag it.  Brilliant.

Along with those special folders, you also have a Drafts folder and a folder per label.  I use many labels to stay organized so this is great.  You can copy an item to multiple folders to apply multiple labels or if you move an item from your inbox to a label it has the same effect as labeling it and archiving it on the website.

When configuring the account for the iPhone, here are a couple things you should do in the advanced settings for your account:

1. Your Drafts Mailbox should be the Drafts mailbox on the server.  This way, all your draft messages are synced in every mail client.
2. Your Sent Mailbox should be on your iPhone.  When you send a message using Gmail’s SMTP server (smtp.gmail.com) it will auto-magically create a copy of the message in your special [Gmail]\Sent Mail folder.
3. Your Deleted Mailbox should be on your iPhone.  Since deleting a message from the inbox archives it when you’re using IMAP, you probably don’t want to do without that feature.  To actually move a message to the Trash on your gmail account, go ahead and move it to the [Gmail]\Trash folder.  To archive, just tap delete.

My Mail.app setup is very similar except I don’t use Gmail’s Drafts folder for my drafts.  There is some kind of Mail.app/Gmail bug where the auto-saved drafts that are created as you type each create a new message on Gmail.  This is super annoying… if you type a longer message you may have a dozen messages on the server by the time you’re done.

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After a few months of no official stance on an iPhone SDK and trying to convince us that web applications were enough of a SDK, Apple has announced that they will release an official SDK for native iPhone/iPod Touch applications by February ‘08.

Here’s the statement from Apple:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

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