> POP is faster because it doesn't have to do folder sync ... it just > sends whatever it's got in the inbox folder when it's polled. A lot > less to do so it happens faster.
There seems to be a bit of confusion on mail protocols. POP3 is intended only to retrieve messages from mailboxes, downloading from the server to the client. SMTP was designed for sending messages between mail servers, but is also used for sending from clients to servers. IMAP4 is designed to synchronize messages between the client and server without pulling them down from the server as POP3 does (yes, you can choose to leave messages on the server until deleted locally, but that isn't the default implementation). So, yes, there is more communication going on in IMAP4 than POP3, which is why it is slower in comparison, but it's also more effective in mobile clients, especially if the device supports the IMAP IDLE command, which is the "push" component of IMAP servers. Meaning you get the messages when they arrive, rather than when you check every 15 minutes or so, as with POP3. It also means that the server will receive commands from your device and sync the server messages to match what is on the client. Delete something on the client, it gets deleted on the server. But, even with IMAP4, you still need a SMTP server to send. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smtp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imap ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
