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PRODUCT REVIEW
MultiMail Pro 3 review
By Claire Pieterek
Many of us take little things for granted. For instance, I'm accustomed to carrying my life around in my Palm IIIx, and would be lost without it. Another thing I take for granted is the ability to stay in touch anywhere I can find an analog phone jack. That's one of the reasons I'm really excited about the latest release of one of my favorite Palm products, MultiMail Pro 3 by Actual Software.
I admit that I am a little biased about this product (I participated on the beta team). The new features MultiMail Pro 3 offers, especially the ability to read and post newsgroups online or offline, made it hard for me to not let any of the details slip before the product was officially released.
MultiMail Pro 3 is the most complete email and newsgroup solution for Palm device users. MultiMail Pro 3 offers two kinds of email connectivity -- POP3 and IMAP -- plus NNTP for those who want to download and read newsgroups. There is also a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version of MultiMail Pro 3, using the Certicom encryption technology 3Com chose to secure the Palm VII's wireless transmissions.
Lots to like
I found a lot to like about MultiMail Pro 3. The user interface has been completely redesigned, making it easy to operate with one tap, as shown in Figure A. Messages you haven't read are displayed in bold, and you can sort them by subject, sender, or date.
FIGURE A
MultiMail Pro 3 features an easy-to-use interface that lets you access the most frequently used functions with a single tap.
Improved setup
For those of you who have been intimidated by the process of setting up email on your Palm device, MultiMail Pro 3 features a Setup Wizard that simplifies the configuration process for the less-technical user. Don't worry, the MultiMail Pro 3 Setup Wizard, shown in Figure B, will warn you before overwriting existing configurations. And, if you are already familiar with the configuration process, you can enter settings without going through the Setup Wizard, by choosing Server from the Options menu.
FIGURE B
The Setup Wizard leads those new to Palm-based email through four screens to configure MultiMail Pro 3 quickly and easily. Here's the first of those screens.
Multiple email accounts
If you have a lot of different email addresses, or want to keep track of a number of newsgroups, MultiMail Pro 3 lets you have up to eight different accounts, as shown in Figure C. These accounts can be any combination of the traditional POP3, offered by many ISPs; IMAP4, which is fast becoming a corporate standard; and NNTP, the network news transfer protocol.
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