Most Internet service providers (ISPs) --with the exception of America Online (AOL) --use these standards, as do many corporations. Some firms use proprietary systems, and do not enable or support these features in their mail system installations. If your company's email is not standards-based, you may need to use a third-party conduit to HotSync your mail onto your PalmPilot.

There may be workarounds you can use, depending on your company's system. For example, my firm has standardized on Lotus Notes. Since I don't use any of the calendaring or other groupware features in Notes and my company has chosen not to enable POP3 on the Notes server, I set up an agent (a Notes term for an automated action) to forward copies of all incoming email to my ISP account, where I can pick it up directly.

Two kinds of email
For the purposes of this article, I'm going to define two kinds of PalmPilot email: HotSync-based and direct.

HotSync-based mail includes products like:

• the built-in Mail program (included in PalmOS 2.0 Pro on the PalmPilot Professional and PalmOS 3.0 on the Palm III)
• TransAOL (see http://members.aol.com/VinceDeb)
• Palmeta Mail (see http://www.palmeta.com)
• the MultiMail Conduit Pack (see http://www.actualsoft.com).

Direct mail includes four products, all of which are based on the Internet standards mentioned above:

• HandStamp (see http://www.smartcodesoft.com)
• MultiMail (see http://www.actualsoft.com)
• MailPilot (see http://www2.wbs.or.jp/~pilotdev/down.htm)
• Top Gun Postman (see http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/pilot/TGpostman/)

I will discuss HandStamp and MultiMail in detail, as these are the programs I've used the most. These four programs work only on the PalmPilot Professional or Palm III, although there is a version of HandStamp--HandStamp 2.x--that includes its own built-in TCP/IP stack, and runs on the Pilot and PalmPilot Personal. However, HandStamp 2.x isn't quite as feature-rich as HandStamp Pro.

So what about the built-in Mail program? I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never used--or even looked at--the built-in Mail program. In early 1997, I started using HandStamp 2.x on my Pilot 5000. I then transferred it to my PalmPilot Professional last May, before HandStamp Pro was released. When HandStamp Pro came out, I upgraded. And, Actual Software's competitive upgrade rebate enticed me to pony up for a copy of MultiMail Pro. So, I've never felt the need to check out the built-in mailer, primarily because I like the convenience of carrying my entire email setup, modem and all, with me wherever I go.

We'll talk more about HotSync-based email and direct email below.

What if I don't have a PalmPilot Professional or Palm III?
If you have a Pilot or PalmPilot Personal, you have a couple of alternatives. You just don't have as many choices for email as you would if you had a PalmPilot Professional or Palm III. Your options are twofold: You can use a service called PilotMail (see http://www.pilotmail.net). With this service, you do a modem HotSync to PilotMail's server, and your email is put into the Memo Pad. You can also use HandStamp 2.x, which is similar to HandStamp Pro (discussed in more detail below), but offers fewer features. Confusingly enough, both HandStamp 2.x and HandStamp Pro are sold in the same package at retail.