A little more than a year ago Google dropped Exchange support for iOS devices. Before Google crapped on millions of iPhone users who depended Gmail, iOS Mail and Gmail via Exchange was the best way to get push mail on any device. Apple’s Mail client on the iPhone was fantastic, and paired with Gmail it made the iPhone a brilliant device. Is it any wonder that Google pulled Exchange support? But, some people like to use a separate client even for Gmail and Google is alienating iPhone users by pulling Exchange support.
Exchange is a Microsoft product and Google obviously wants to use open protocols, but give me a break. IMAP is such a lame protocol compared to Exchange or BlackBerry's BES. Google support Exchange for a long time and still does in their paid offerings. Couldn't they just charge me to upgrade my Gmail account to some kind of premium offering? They obviously don't want to.
Google’s intention is apparently to force iPhone users to use its own app (or move to Android) which is a dirty move for sure. Google decided to disrupt iPhone customers for business reasons and that sucks!
Google still offers Exchange support via Google Apps, but sadly they offer no way for me to migrate my account to Google Apps. Their only migration tool is an older Windows app that doesn’t work. I tried it on 7 computers and they all failed. Moving to Google Apps means I lost the labels on my old emails, and exporting and importing filters is sketchy at best. Add in the fact that you use your Gmail account to sign into other services like Docs, YouTube, Plus, etc., and you’ve got yourself a real mess on your hands.
iPhone users can use the iOS Gmail client which does a nice job of pushing alerts to the iPhone, but it is lacking in several key areas.
1. Load times are slow
Gmail takes awhile to load if you haven’t run the app in awhile. This is frustrating, but is probably unavoidable.
2. The fonts are too small
The font in Gmail is so small it’s uncomfortable to read. For some reason Google doesn’t see fit to give us options for font sizes.
3. HTML emails still don’t zoom properly
Gmail treats HTML emails as if you are reading them on a desktop. Apple’s Mail app does a nice job of zooming HTML emails to make them readable. In Gmail, HTML emails are zoomed all the way making them impossible to read.
4. No signature tweaks
Gmail for iOS does not have an option to place signatures above replies. Instead, Gmail inserts 2 dashes above your signature then places the block at the end of replies. This behavior seems archaic in 2014. Most mail clients, including Desktop Gmail, place the signature above replies.
Google’s effort to make iPhone users uncomfortable is probably designed to get people to switch to Android. That’s not happening in my case. I would rather move my data to iCloud or Outlook.com than use Android. Gmail is the fastest way to manage large amounts of email, but this move by Google has forced me to dump Gmail. If I can only connect via IMAP or POP then it makes more sense for me to go back to using my own server for email. That way, Google does not have my data and I’m more secure.
I hate when companies disrupt users for business decisions like this. They all do it, but I’d rather stick to companies who give me the most options. Google has been a good company in the past, but this move of giving the finger to iPhone users has caused me to bail on Google. There are other options out there and I intend to use them.
I’ve waited for about a year in hopes that Google would improve Gmail for iOS or offer Exchange support for a fee, but they haven’t. It’s now time for me to move on. Bye Google!
Exchange is a Microsoft product and Google obviously wants to use open protocols, but give me a break. IMAP is such a lame protocol compared to Exchange or BlackBerry's BES. Google support Exchange for a long time and still does in their paid offerings. Couldn't they just charge me to upgrade my Gmail account to some kind of premium offering? They obviously don't want to.
Google’s intention is apparently to force iPhone users to use its own app (or move to Android) which is a dirty move for sure. Google decided to disrupt iPhone customers for business reasons and that sucks!
Google still offers Exchange support via Google Apps, but sadly they offer no way for me to migrate my account to Google Apps. Their only migration tool is an older Windows app that doesn’t work. I tried it on 7 computers and they all failed. Moving to Google Apps means I lost the labels on my old emails, and exporting and importing filters is sketchy at best. Add in the fact that you use your Gmail account to sign into other services like Docs, YouTube, Plus, etc., and you’ve got yourself a real mess on your hands.
iPhone users can use the iOS Gmail client which does a nice job of pushing alerts to the iPhone, but it is lacking in several key areas.
1. Load times are slow
Gmail takes awhile to load if you haven’t run the app in awhile. This is frustrating, but is probably unavoidable.
2. The fonts are too small
The font in Gmail is so small it’s uncomfortable to read. For some reason Google doesn’t see fit to give us options for font sizes.
3. HTML emails still don’t zoom properly
Gmail treats HTML emails as if you are reading them on a desktop. Apple’s Mail app does a nice job of zooming HTML emails to make them readable. In Gmail, HTML emails are zoomed all the way making them impossible to read.
4. No signature tweaks
Gmail for iOS does not have an option to place signatures above replies. Instead, Gmail inserts 2 dashes above your signature then places the block at the end of replies. This behavior seems archaic in 2014. Most mail clients, including Desktop Gmail, place the signature above replies.
Google’s effort to make iPhone users uncomfortable is probably designed to get people to switch to Android. That’s not happening in my case. I would rather move my data to iCloud or Outlook.com than use Android. Gmail is the fastest way to manage large amounts of email, but this move by Google has forced me to dump Gmail. If I can only connect via IMAP or POP then it makes more sense for me to go back to using my own server for email. That way, Google does not have my data and I’m more secure.
I hate when companies disrupt users for business decisions like this. They all do it, but I’d rather stick to companies who give me the most options. Google has been a good company in the past, but this move of giving the finger to iPhone users has caused me to bail on Google. There are other options out there and I intend to use them.
I’ve waited for about a year in hopes that Google would improve Gmail for iOS or offer Exchange support for a fee, but they haven’t. It’s now time for me to move on. Bye Google!