What is Push email?
Push email is a mail delivery scheme having a capability to work in real time to “push” the emails from mail server to the client. In other words, with push email service, the email system of the user always remains ON.
A push email delivery system is different than the conventional “polling” email delivery system. In the latter, the client (also called as Mail User Agent or MUA) has to be open and continuously running. When logged in, the client or the user has to pull the emails manually from the server. On the other hand, in a push email service, the mails are “pushed” to the client without waiting for the user to poll (or pull) them from the server.
A push email service enabled system is faster in response than a usual polling system, as the mailbox is persistently updated with incoming emails. Most of the modern and advanced email clients like smartphones embrace the system of push email.
Why push email is so important?
In a traditional email system, the emails, when sent, arrive at the mail server of the receiver’s internet service provider. All of the incoming emails are collected at this stage. In case of a web-based email, the emails may arrive at the respective website server. Whatever may be the way, the emails remain stuck with the mail server, until the user or the client polls the server. Thus, the new email is pulled to the user’s computer. Due to this, the client will not be aware of new email, until and unless the mail server is polled for the same.
Unlike the conventional counterpart, a push email service makes the mail server to push (or move) the email to the client’s mailbox without holding it back for polling. The client constantly gets an alert as soon as new emails arrive, without client’s intervention.
Now, the question arises, why push email is so important? The answer lies in the need of the user. If a person is communicating with his clients; then he would need a faster way to know his customers’ reply on the recently sent business proposal. With a conventional mail delivery system, the person will have to pull the emails every now and then, just to check whether he has or not received an email. However, with the push mail service, the emails are automatically pushed into his mailbox with an alert for the same. This defiantly reduces the risk of losing his business.
Push email on mobile
Though push email and push email service was meant for wired systems; it is best used on the advanced mobiles. The push email on mobile is the latest trend for the new generation of techies. Most of the mobile email servers are making use of push email. The iphone email server, Windows mobile email server and even the most famous blackberry email server have adopted this new technique. The user keeps on getting alerts for new emails arrived. Hence, accessing email on mobile has become so much faster and easier with this service.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess this is the difference between yahoo and gmail? I always have to refresh my yahoo email (huge pain) to get new mail to show up, but with gmail it just happens naturally.
So gmail has push and yahoo doesn’t I guess? I always wondered what the difference was.
it’s good that everyone has picked up on push, it keeps the playing field even. i know i wouldn’t want to pick an os that didn’t have automatic email push built into it unless i absolutely had to, and that would be an annoying reason to have to limit my smart phone options.
I never realized that there was something involved in that either Mary.I would get annoyed when my mail wouldn’t update on it’s own but I thought it was just my browser or my computer, I didn’t realize it was the actual mail service.
Is email push automatically configured, or do you have to do something to keep it running?
It seems like one of those benefits that you’d have to activate or pay extra for, so if you guys just do it automatically then that is really impressive.
I don’t understand why anyone would even want to get their mail on their phone if there wasn’t a push service involved. It’s just illogical… Clearly you access email by phone so you can get it faster, if you have to wait an hour you’re probably back at a computer with instant access anyways. I’m surprised they didn’t all adopt push technology sooner.