e-mail providers.

PaulJ

PaulJ

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I have recently upgraded my mobile phone so that I can use my laptop on the boat. I went for a Vodafone package, Vodaphone are also an ISP and I now have a Vodaphone e-mail address for use on the boat which can be accessed either from the computer or direct through the phone. It all seems to work very well and seems to do all I want of it however the Vodaphone Home Page is quite elaborate and takes quite a time do download before I even start looking at my e-mails..... More Kbs = more money /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I have also tried my Hotmail and Gmail addresses but again, they both have a login page that takes significant time to download. So my question is..... Can anybody suggest an e-mail provider/address that has a plain, simple and quick login page.... and preferrably is free! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.

Also, is it really necessary to "logout" after reading your e-mails (more Kbs) or is it sufficient to just disconnect from the internet?

Paul.
 
You could try Mailasail.com I use it with my Iridium phone, which not only has a much slower download speed than a mobile phone but also costs 1USD a min. So speeding things up is important!

Mailasail cuts the email message size by about 90%
 
You could try an smtp relay, then you avoid having to use web mail. I've just posted on this in AndrewB's thread on e-accounts below. One advantage is that you can use your existing email accounts from your usual email client - so prepare mail offline and then just log on to send.
 
You can use a Mail Client (Outlook Express or other) to access your GMail without ever using your web browser provided you set up a POP3 box first on your GMail account. Make the GPRS connection first via your mobile phone then launch your mail client. It worked a treat for me in Turkey.

If you use your mail client in this way, don't forget to configure it to use the GMail SMTP server for outgoing mail as well as the GMail POP3 server for incoming mail. There are detailed instructions and auto-configure files for most mail clients on the Gmail site.
 
MedMan's solution sounds fine if Gmail's smtp will relay for other email accounts. Most won't because they don't want spammers using their server, so they only let mail through that comes from one of their own IP addresses. I guess with gmail that wouldn't apply, but they must have some spam control in at that end. Maybe they use password authentication (?). If so then it would be the same as using a dedicated smtp relay provider. Except that you'd be using Gmail with its profiling aspects.

Services like Web2Mail are fine for internet access, but mostly only of real benefit if you ever want to dail up a connection from a hotel room. With Wi Fi so available there's little point unless you are in very remote areas, and even there things change fast.
 
If you don't especially want to lose your existing set-up but just want it to work faster, I have heard that Onspeed is pretty good.

It's basically software compression that speeds up whatever connection you happen to be using at the time.

Can be ordered online for about £25 a year.
 
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Now I will have a long session to try them all and see which seems to suit my particular system (and meagre computing abilities) best /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Paul.
 
If you get your self a PDA instead of a phone, It has a version of internet explorer in it which allows you to "download text only", this is naturally a lot quicker... you could also try www.mail2web.com this has a version for PDA/phones as well.

I have a roaming GPRS package with vodaphone which is Data only and costs around 20 quid a month. Perfect for doing email and checking the weather....
 
Sorry, I didnt see someone else had suggested mail2web....

I am new to the boating world and see that this appears to be a common concern to people (email & weather)...

Isnt there a radio type service that provides email but costs a fortune when you are out at sea?
 
Many thanks for all your suggestions. For what it's worth, here are my conclusions.......

I tried Fastmail and it is simple and EXTREMELY fast. I was impressed.

I had a long battle with Outlook Express and did eventually get it to open my gmail account but unfortunately it opens attachments AUTOMATICALLY so if someone were to send me a big file I would be stuck with paying for it even if I didn't want it.

I looked at Mailasail, it looks pretty good but you do have to pay...

Mail2web worked well and was quite fast so I will probably use that to access my existing e-mail accounts should I need to. However Fastmail was so fast and simple that I have decided to go for that as it seems to fulfill all my requirements.

One further question...... I have noticed that logging out uses quite a few more Kbs so is it necessary to "Log out" of an e-mail account or is it sufficient to just disconnect from the internet? ie. does logging out actually close anything and prevent anyone accessing it or would that happen anyway if it became disconnected?

Thanks again for all your responses.

Paul.
 
I use yahoo They have in store all my emails for the last five years (minus spam). I can access email through gprs vodafone or any internet cafe abroad or in the UK. While I was sailing abroad I just used internet cafes. Now I am back in the UK I also use Vodafone gprs. As you know it is not the time but actual data which you are charged for. Therefore mark Yahoo.co home page as a favourite (i asume your using microsoft windows and IE). Then when you need to check your email login to vodafone, make sure your ofline then display from history or fvourites the yahoo page. Then click on mail. If you get a connect now box click ok and away you go. But if you get the email logon page straight from your computer memmory you will need to click on refresh.
 
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