How to use e-mail on the nokia n800 and n810

How do I access my e-mail on the N800 and N810?
There are two ways to use e-mail on the tablets, webmail and the built-in e-mail application. Webmail is where you access e-mail through a website, while the built-in e-mail app lets you look at mails on the tablet itself.

The built-in e-mail application requires some setting up to get it working, but many people prefer to use it because they feel it's quicker and more flexible than webmail.

How to use webmail on the tablets
Webmail is by far the easiest to use, there's no set-up process at all.

You just open the tablet web browser and go to your usual webmail site (for example gmail.com). The site works just as it would do on a PC, you just log in and use the site as normal.

Incidentally, if you're a Gmail user and your tablet is on a slow connection, you might want to use the simpler version of the Gmail site by logging on as usual and then clicking on the "HTML" link at the bottom of the page. If you're on a VERY slow connection, there's an even simpler version of Gmail which you can access at the address m.gmail.com

Do you often use Gmail through your tablet web browser? If so, read this
If you use Gmail through the tablet's web browser, you might like to install the Gmail notification application called "Mnotify", which automatically checks your e-mail at regular intervals and displays a white envelope at the top of the screen when you have unread mail. Clicking on the envelope lets you go straight to your Gmail inbox in the web browser.

To install Mnotify, go to the application menu (the green squares on the left), then Settings, then Application Manager, then "Browse Installable Applications", then "All", then scroll down the screen until you find Mnotify. Click on it, and then click "Install" at the bottom of the page.

After you've installed it, click on the envelope at the top of the screen (which will have a yellow exclamation mark on it). Click on settings, pick the interval at which you want it to check for new mail (the more often you do it, the more it uses the battery), then click on the "Gmail Account" tab. Enter your Gmail username and password, then click OK.

If Mnotify is set up correctly, the yellow exclamation mark should disappear and be replaced by a white envelope (if you have unread mail) or a dark one (if there's no unread mail). The white envelope will flash if you have brand new unread mail. Clicking on the envelope brings up a menu which includes a "View Inbox" option that opens a new browser window and takes you straight to your Gmail inbox. You can also select "Check Mail Now" if you want to manually check for new messages, though the app will automatically check at regular intervals anyway.

How to use the tablets' built-in e-mail application
IMPORTANT NOTE: This tutorial assumes you've updated your tablet to the very latest firmware. If you haven't done this in a while, do the update and then come back to this tutorial. You can find more about how to update your tablet by clicking here.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want to use Gmail or another webmail provider with the built-in e-mail application, you may have to switch on their POP or IMAP service first. You can see an example of how to activate the Gmail POP service in the video at the beginning of this tutorial.

Webmail is very easy to use, but some people prefer the tablets' built-in e-mail application. Many feel that the built-in app is faster to use and more flexible, and that's what we're going to look at now.

Some of the benefits of the built-in app include the ability to write e-mails while the tablet is disconnected from the internet, and also an on-screen notification icon which flashes when you receive new mail (it also makes your tablet's light flash).

Here's how to set up the application:

1. Click on the contacts icon (the orange icon on the left).

2. Click on "View E-Mail Inbox".

3. The app's account setup wizard will automatically appear. Click "Next".

4. Select your country from the dropdown "Region" list.

5. Select your e-mail provider from the "Service Provider" dropdown list.

6. If you want, give the account a name (e.g. "Gmail" or "My email" or whatever, it's not important). You can just leave it as "Account" if you want.

7. Click on "Next".

8. Enter the name you want to appear on your e-mails.

9. Enter the username of your e-mail account (write it in full including the part after the @ sign, e.g. example@example.com).

10. Enter the password of your e-mail account.

11. Enter the address of your e-mail account (e.g. example@example.com).

12. Click on "Next".

13. Click on "Finish".

The e-mail app should now be set up for use with your e-mail account. It will now automatically try to check your inbox, and if it succeeds then you have set everything up correctly.

Don't worry if you get a security warning about an "unknown certificate", just click on OK. It will only show you the warning once.

Once the app is set up correctly, you can read e-mail in your inbox by double-clicking on it to see it in a new window. Close the new window to get back to the inbox. You can see more of the inbox by dragging the central line to the left.

You can write a new e-mail by clicking on the contacts icon (the orange icon) and selecting "Compose E-Mail Message". The icons next to the "To" and "CC" fields let you select recipients from your tablet's contacts list, and the icon next to the subject line lets you attach a file from the tablet's memory. When you're ready to send the mail, click on the envelope icon in the bottom left of the screen.

How to make the built-in e-mail app tell you when you've got new mail (and also how to turn this feature off)
You can optionally make the built-in app check for new mail at regular intervals. If it finds new mail, it will display a flashing envelope icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. It will also make the tablet's light flash.

One important thing to note is that this feature works even when the e-mail app isn't running.

To switch this feature on, click on the contacts icon, then "View E-Mail Inbox", then the grey E-Mail menu at the top, then Tools, then Settings and then tick the box marked "Update Automatically". You can choose from the dropdown menu whether it only updates when connected to Wi-Fi (WLAN), or whether it can use other types of connection too. The update interval is also important because the more often it checks for new mail the more it will use the battery. Once you've chosen all the appropriate options, click on "OK", then close the e-mail application using the X in the top right corner.

To switch the feature off, use the method above but UNtick the box marked "Update Automatically.

How to use the tablet's contacts list
The tablet has a built-in contacts application which is an electronic address book.

The built-in e-mail application lets you make use of this contacts list, with icons on the e-mail composition screen that let you add addresses from your contacts.

By default the contacts list is blank of course, but you can add names and addresses very easily:

1. Click on the contacts icon (the orange icon on the left).

2. Click on "View Contacts".

3. Click on the + sign at the bottom of the screen.

4. Enter whatever information you want to, and if you want to add a new category of information click on the "Add Field" option. You can also add an image for that contact by clicking on the "Browse" button and selecting the appropriate image file from your tablet's memory.

5. When you've finished adding info about the contact, click on OK.

...and that's it, the contact is added to your tablet's list.