Managing Multiple E-mail Accounts

Let's face it; the big drawback to all of this communication is that most of us have several e-mail accounts. Either we've collected them along the way and just never closed the old ones, or we keep getting new ones every time we sign up for a service or get a new device. I have several accounts: my work address, my cell phone account, my home ISP, a Hotmail account, and so on.

At some point checking each of these accounts gets far too tedious, even if the majority of them are only checked occasionally. If the majority of your contacts use your work or home e-mail address, what good does it do you if you get a cell phone with a mobile account? Do you want everyone you know to start using the mobile e-mail address? You probably don't, especially if you need to receive e-mail attachments.

If you really need wireless access to your work address, what can you do if your corporate e-mail server doesn't support your wireless device? Many companies that have implemented wireless e-mail use solutions like the RIM Blackberry server that requires each user to have a Blackberry device to access their e-mail. This may not be an option where you work, and even if it is you may not want to have to purchase yet another device.

One alternative is to use a Web-based service that can check all of your e-mail addresses and consolidate your messages in one place. An example of this type of service is legmail.com. This service can check your POP3 e-mail server and online e-mail accounts like Yahoo! and Hotmail. It consolidates all the mail in one inbox, and you can view and reply to the mail from one place. You can also reply using the return e-mail address of the account where the mail was originally sent.

Note: If you decide to use a service like legmail.com, make sure that the service is accessible from your mobile device, especially if a WAP device.

A second alternative is to use an application called a redirector. A redirector is an application that you install on your PC. It monitors your incoming mail and forwards it to client software on your mobile device. Your PC has to remain on and connected to the Internet for a redirector to work. Depending on the redirector, you can view and reply to e-mail messages as if you were sitting right at your PC. Some re directors also enable you to redirect e-mail from Web-based e-mail and POP3 servers all to one device. An example of a I redirector is Visto MessageXpress, available at www .visto.com.

You also can set up your e-mail client to forward a copy of the e-mail to your mobile device. If you use Microsoft Outlook you can accomplish this simply by setting up a rule to forward e-mail to your device when certain conditions are met, such as when you have activated your out-of-office notification.