Palm Pre Tutorial: Setup Email for Web Hosting Accounts

In my last tutorial I showed how easy it was to setup push email for my Google Apps and Gmail accounts on the Palm Pre. Earlier this week I discovered that setting up push email for the accounts I have setup with my web host was just as easy.

This is pretty exciting to me because I have avoided using these email addresses in the past because I didn’t care for the various webmail clients that were available to use with them and I couldn’t sync them to my phone. I suspect many other web developers and website owners feel the same way by the number of people I see using a Gmail address instead of an email address that utilizes their own domain name.

I would still recommend that businesses or heavy email users run their email with Google Apps for Your Domain and following my previous tutorial to sync it to your Pre. That way you get the benefits of Gmail with your domain name and it’s easier to use on your desktop. However, for setting up sites that require minimal email use, the Pre makes web host email accounts a viable solution.

With that said, let’s get to the tutorial. Below are the steps I used to setup push email for accounts I have with AN Hosting, my web host of choice.

Find the Manual Settings for Your Email Account

First you’ll need to log into the cPanel of your hosting account.

• Once logged in, click “Email Accounts”
• If you haven’t already created an email account you can do so at the top of this page. Follow the video tutorial if needed.
• Select the email you want to sync to your Pre from your list of current accounts and click “Configure Mail Client.

On the following page take note of the “Manual Settings.”

Add An Account on Your Palm Pre

1. Click the email icon to open your email.
2. Click the “Email” drop down arrow in the upper left hand corner.
3. Select “Preferences & Accounts.”
4. Scroll to the bottom and select “Add An Account.”
5. Click the “Email” drop down arrow in the upper left hand corner again.
6. Select “Manual Setup.”

Enter Manual Settings into Your Palm Pre

Mail Type: IMAP
Email Address: Enter your full email address (i.e. username@yourdomain.com)

Incoming Mail Server
Server Name: Enter the mail server address listed after “Incoming Mail Server: (SSL)” from your web hosts manual settings (3rd line down in the above screenshot).
Username: Same as you entered for Email Address above.
Password: Enter the password you use to access your email account.
Port #: 993
Encryption: SSL

 

Outgoing Mail Server
Server Name: Enter the mail server address listed after “Outgoing Mail Server: (SSL)” from your web hosts manual settings (5th line down in the above screenshot).
Use Authentication: On
Username: Same as you entered for “Incoming Mail Server.”
Password: Same as you entered for “Incoming Mail Server.”
Port#: 465
Encryption: SSL

Root Folder: leave blank

When all finished, click “Sign In.” Give the Pre a couple minutes to sync and you’re all set.

Final Thoughts

The only downside I’ve seen to this so far is that I have to log into the crummy webmail client of my hosting provider to create any folders I want in addition to the inbox. At the moment I’m not going to use this for any heavily used email accounts, but it’s a nice alternative to setting up another Gmail account to manage a site that seldom requires email.

Give it a shot and let me know if you have any questions.